Water Heaters - Water heater blanket (insulation)

My water heater (Gas) is installed in the garage with the furnace. It takes forever to get the HOT water to come to any faucet in the house. Some I am sure due to distance. I cant do anything about the distance but I started to work on this issue by insulating the garage to attempt to keep it warmer and less drafty out there and now I want to get one of those insulating blankets for the water heater as well.............
My question is this.......I have leftover Roll wall insulation (Owens Corning) rated R-13. Can I just tape this to the water heater or do I need to buy a blanket? I'd like to save money by using the roll insulation that I have left over..........

Thoughts anyone??

Thanks
Ken

The main feature of an actual blanket is the foil facing which cosmetically is more attractive. Otherwise, any insulation is good.

Some important points, especially for a gas unit:

Keep the insulation clear of the gas controls and any air inlet screens on the sides. It is OK to wrap the TP valve, but be careful not to "tweak" it.

DO NOT put any insulation at all on the top of a gas WH. Interferes with the draw.


One of the best things you can do is to insulate the pipes anyplace you have access to them.

There is something you can do about getting hot water quickly to the far faucets. Install a recirculation demand system. You can get hot water quickly and save water too. More info here:

http://www.gothotwater.com/