Electric Bill

[Dakota (Premo)]

Last month, I got a whopping $628.00 electric bill (2200 square foot home - 4 people). I had a feeling the villian of my rather high electric bills since we've lived in the house was our water heater. So.... on the 3rd of August, my husband and I decided to take the old one out and put in a new one. There was TONS of sludge in our old one from mineral build-up. Our electric bill dropped a whopping 58% in one month (cycle was from July 17th to August 17) .

On August 14th, the same day I had the septic pumped, I had service done on our heat pump. The unit had a semi-clogged condensation trap but over-all, for being 16 years old, it is running rather well. It was suggested to me to make sure I have money aside for replacement - since each day after this is a gift with a system so old. Anyway, since the service, I haved noticed that my heat pump cycles and actually does shut off from time to time now instead of running non-stop all the time, like it had been.

Now, I'm looking forward to the next bill because I think the heat pump is adding to the costly bills and the water heater was replaced in the middle of a billing cycle.

But I have a question, who here flushes thier water heater on a schedule and how often? It is so easy to do and can really save you from high bills but I'm not so sure many know they should flush these things.

[GWguy]

I never found it beneficial to flush my water heater in this area. The mineral deposits are large and heavy enough that flushing won't do it.

If and when I need to replace an element, I clean it out while I have to access covers off.

[RoseRed (Premo)]

My current bill was extra high, too. When I read it I did the

Only to discover that I inadvertently forgot to pay last month's bill.

[Baja28 (Premo)]

I bought my place in Oct. of 98 and it was 14 years old then. I haven't touched the water heater. What is the life expectancy on a water heater? Should I do anything?

[DoWhat (Premo)]

Originally Posted by Baja28

I bought my place in Oct. of 98 and it was 14 years old then. I haven't touched the water heater. What is the life expectancy on a water heater? Should I do anything?

My old one, that I just replaced with a tankless, lasted over 20 years.

[SamSpade]

We completely replaced our old water heater a couple years ago, when I woke up to the sound of leaking water, to find that the bottom of the tank had completely rusted through.

I haven't noticed any appreciable change in electricity since then. I have wondered if one of those "blankets" - the thermal covers for water heaters - will do any good. I'm skeptical, because I thought that water heater tanks already had some kind of thermal barrier.

Then again, our hot water pressure SERIOUSLY sucks throughout most of the house. It can take forever for hot water to "arrive" and then it takes a while before it really starts. In the kid's bathtub, the hot water starts so slowly, I start their bath a good ten minutes before they get in.

I've done just about everything I can afford, except replace the windows. I'm thinking that may be my next project.

[Dakota (Premo)]

Originally Posted by SamSpade

We completely replaced our old water heater a couple years ago, when I woke up to the sound of leaking water, to find that the bottom of the tank had completely rusted through.

I haven't noticed any appreciable change in electricity since then. I have wondered if one of those "blankets" - the thermal covers for water heaters - will do any good. I'm skeptical, because I thought that water heater tanks already had some kind of thermal barrier.

Then again, our hot water pressure SERIOUSLY sucks throughout most of the house. It can take forever for hot water to "arrive" and then it takes a while before it really starts. In the kid's bathtub, the hot water starts so slowly, I start their bath a good ten minutes before they get in.

I've done just about everything I can afford, except replace the windows. I'm thinking that may be my next project.

Oh, I guess I should have mentioned we did put a blanket on ours. They don't cost much so I figured, why not...

I'm hoping every bit helps.

[Dakota (Premo)]

Originally Posted by RoseRed

My current bill was extra high, too. When I read it I did the

Only to discover that I inadvertently forgot to pay last month's bill.

That is what I originally thought when I saw the amount.

But nope... it was for 1 month.

[Dakota (Premo)]

Originally Posted by GWguy

I never found it beneficial to flush my water heater in this area. The mineral deposits are large and heavy enough that flushing won't do it.

If and when I need to replace an element, I clean it out while I have to access covers off.

We had sludge in ours up to the 1st element.... We got it drained but only so far and had to use a hand truck to get it out of the house. Once we got it outside, we rolled it until we get most of it drained. It still went to the dump with water and large, heavy deposits in it.

[GWguy]

Originally Posted by Baja28

I bought my place in Oct. of 98 and it was 14 years old then. I haven't touched the water heater. What is the life expectancy on a water heater? Should I do anything?

I bought my house in '94 and it's still doing fine. No idea how old it was before I bought it.

I have been thinking about replacing it with a more efficient unit, just because.