Water Heater Tank Size

[wewiserangers]

I have a utility sink in my shop, full bathroom with shower and a kitchen area. Trying to decide what size electric tank water heater. This is all in my shop so it's all an occational use area really. Tankess is not an option due to the power requirements.

I need it to work but not be overkill.

 

[sparky 1971]

Anything less than 30 gallons could lead to a cold shower. My first house had a 30 gallon electric water heater and every morning over the winter I would be in the shower until ice cubes were coming out of the head and it didn't seem to take very long. Personally, I'd put a 40 gallon in and forget about it.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Figure out how many GPM will come out of your shower head, multiply that by how long it takes for you to take a shower.
If it weren't for the shower you could probably get away with a 5 or 10 gallon heater.

 

[The Cobbler]

how long of a shower do you want?
I can (Navy) shower with a 6 gallon set fairly high temperature and throttling the water down when shampooing or sudsing up . shaving & brushing teeth usually included

 

[Vtor]

Tank size and recovery time - need to consider both. If recovery time is short, may be able to make due with smaller tank.

Went tankless.... never going back.

 

[PoorUB]

If you want to use the shower regularly, get a 40 gallon. Also, if you shop around you will find a 40 gallon will be competitively priced to anything smaller worth considering.

 

[jblnut]

I have a 6gal in my shop and I can shower easily with it. Takes a bit to recover but isn’t an issue. You can’t sing a musical while showering but you’ll get clean before it gets cold.

 

[JuncleJohn]

Most campers only have 6 gallon water heaters. Plenty of water to shower if you don’t let the water run. Why pay to heat 30 or more gallons for occasional use?

John

 

[finn]

Sort of depends on where you live. It’s a little exaggeration to say our forty gallon tank Is overkill in our Tucson house. Our Michigan house has a 40 gallon hybrid and it’s more than adequate for the two of us, or even when the kids show up. Growing up in a family of eight, I recall frequently running out of hot water even with only one shower in the house, especially on wash day, with a forty gallon tank.

My mom’s Florida condo had a thirty gallon, I think, and it was adequate for my family of five, plus my folks.

My three gallon at the shop barely gets me through washing the dishes. Works ok for most tasks, but I would hook up the DHW loop of the propane boiler if I wanted to add a shower.

Aren’t most camper tanks propane fired? Electric has slower recovery. I think most small electric are 120 v.

I would shoot for a 20 or at most a thirty gallon tank for a shop with the understanding your showers aren’t going to be half hour affairs.

 

[rlitman]

Most campers only have 6 gallon water heaters. Plenty of water to shower if you don’t let the water run. Why pay to heat 30 or more gallons for occasional use?

I've gotten my full quarter's worth out of a coin op shower, so "plenty" is all relative.

But there's nowhere near enough info here to make an informed decision. What climate is this shop in? What are the power limitations that prevent a tankless from being used? How clean is the air in the shop? Would a heat pump water heater make sense?