Water heater capacity?

[WolfeMacleod]

I have a gas heated water heater in my house. I find that, when taking a shower, the hot water run out within about five minutes. Sometimes less, it seems. Barely enough time to take a shower. Forget about two people taking a shower in the morning (say a kid going to school and someone going to work)
The water heater is 40 gallons, and we have good water pressure. It's fairly new.

Is this considered a small, low capacity water heater? Average size?

[Hugh R]

Check the temperature setting dial on the water heater. Also, most water heaters have a tube that discharges the cold water to the bottom of the tank, where the heating element is located. Sometimes that tube breaks or falls off. You can usually access the tube via' the cold water inlet connection. Also, try draining the junk out of the bottom of the heater, there is a drain valve on the front with a garden hose connection. 40 gallon is average for a family of four.

[legion]

I would say that you need to turn your water heater up.

I have a 40 gallon as weel and mine is set fairly high. In the summer, when the water is coming into the house at 70º, I have unlimited hot water. I discovered this when I was sick a few years ago and took a 2-hour bath. Right now, the water is coming into the house at about 35º and we get about a half hour of use before it gets cold.

[Neilk]

Check the dip tube. If it is broken, as Hugh said, it will mix the cold and hot water near the top of the water heater which is where the hot water leaves the heater. It's a $3 part.

The fact that you get 5 minutes of hot water seems to indicate that the water heater is otherwise working normally.

[Mo_Gearhead]

If you are in a part of the country that has HARD water (minerals) you can get a build-up of lime/deposits at the bottom of the W.H. If you hear a lot of bubbling/rumbling noises when the burners are on, that's a good indication of build-up.

Especially with gas burners, it acts as an insulator and prohibits, to some extent, its efficiency.

As already stated, a bad or missing 'dip tube' is certainly possible.

(assuming the temp. setting is correct?)

[Mo_Gearhead]

RE: Capacity - you could do a calculation of water flow ( gallons per minute) if you know the shower heads flow-rate.

My anecdotal experience: 40 gal. heater, operating properly - you should get at least 3 showers (back to back or same time) before you notice any temperature drop... unless people are taking 'extended-length' showers.

[WolfeMacleod]

I turned the tempurate up the the "scald your skin off" setting this morning and still, not more than about five minutes of shower time. All the while, having to turn the cold water down to maitain tempurature.

Will take a further look at the heater...thanks!

[gr8fl4porsche]

As stated - it is the dip tube. Extremely common and probably a recall item.
Didn't State recall all their dip tubes a few years ago?

Call the manufacturer, you may get lucky.

[gr8fl4porsche]

Sorry, that recall of dip tubes expired years ago.

If the heater is less than 5 yrs you may still be in luck.

[masraum]

40 gal should be fine. I think ours is 35 gal and also gas fired. We can do two showers either in parallel or series. Part of it may depend upon how long the showers are. If I take a really long shower I might run it low for other folks.