Replacing the Water Heater

How big is your hot water heater? 40 gallons? 50 gallons? Mine is 11 gallons. Yes, that is correct, eleven. And it provides plenty of hot water for dishes, laundry, and showers (even for someone with long hair).

When we discovered that our hot water heater had a leak we jumped right into problem solving mode. Seriously, who wants to take a cold shower or even just wash their hands in cold water.

The leak was small. The stream of water was so fine it looked more like a spider web. The leak might not have been large but the water had good aim; it was spraying right onto an electrical box. This is where the Facebook Live Aboard Boats group came to our rescue. I put out a request for suggestions on a temporary fix and found out about JB Waterweld.

Sorry that I can't say exactly how long the patch lasted. We are fully aware that one leak just means that that the hot water heater is on its last leg. Our hope was that the leak would get us through a week or so while we researched new water heaters. I'm happy to say that it did its job.

This is where we ran into a snag. I know I bragged about my huge 11 gallon tank at the beginning of the post. Well, we actually started with a 20 gallon tank. The problem is that our water heater model is no longer being made and we struggled to find something else that would fit into the space allocated. Our old unit was tall and thin. Most of the units being made today are short and wide. After another plea for answers from the online group, we decided to take the plunge and purchase a smaller unit.

Old unit on the left. New unit on the right.

The new (smaller capacity) tank has been installed for a few months now and I really don't feel like I'm missing anything. I have literally stood in the shower waiting to see if the hot water would run out. I usually end up giving up when there is no end to warm water in sight. I often find myself wondering how I ever used all the hot water in a huge home tank.

So, how large is your hot water heater? And do you really think you need one that large?