Water Heaters - Tankless or More Capacity ?

Hello

First let me state that gas isn't an option for me. I live in a high fire danger area and electricity is the only thing that powers everything in my house. I have a 200 amp panel.
That said my problem is 10-15 min. hot showers with a newer 30 gal. electric water heater. And a 30 min. recovery time to take another 10 min. shower.
I don't run anything requiring hot water simultaneously. But would like back to back showers/baths, etc.
I'm really interested in the PowerStar AE115 80 amp tankless.\
I can get it for $500 and since I'm an electrician by trade install will be $0 labor.
My manufactured home is 900 sq', the water heater is less that 20' from the farthest shower and the house was piped with 3/4" od (it came that way) pvc.
My water/electric bill is $3-400 a month.

Should I go with the tankless or buy a 66 gal electric ?
Which would I save more water and elctricity with ?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks
Jeff Gray

Anybody with and opinion or advise ?

Thanks
Jeff

SoCAl - I'll assume that you have checked the temp setting on your existing heater. I have a 50 gal electric HWH. There are just two of us, but I can't remember ever running out of hot water. I have done laundry, run the dishwasher and taken a Hollywood shower using water as hot as I can stand and never had a problem. I don't know the recovery time of my heater because I've never used all the hot water.

Hi

Temp set at 115 deg. Starting to think about a 50-66 gal. tank water heater w/ timer. I'll check with the neighbors and see what they've got and what they think.

Tanks
Jeff

Wow, I'm amazed by your electric bill for 900 sq ft.. what is your kw/hr rate there?

You need to up the temp on the heater to at least 140, not only will this increase your relative hot water supply, it's also the recommended temperature to keep bacteria from growing inside the tank.

The instructions for my electric HWH have an entire page dedicated to setting the water temperature. It is set at 120F at the factory (I left it that way). There are lots of cautions about setting temps above 125F. I'm sure they are trying to limit their liability but the dangers of scalding are real. Notes in BOLD that say stuff like "Water temperature over 125F can cause severe burns instantly or death from scalds."
There is a table in the instructions that lists the effects of temperature/time to produce a serious burn. 140F time is less than 5 seconds. I think I'll leave mine at 120F and risk the bacteria.
I don't know what your typical consumption is, but IMO if you upgrade to 50-60 gallons you'll be OK.
BTW - It took me less than 2 hours to replace mine. Pretty easy job.

Hey Wayne

I'm pretty sure mines at the factory setting also, it's right in the middle. I'm not having a problem with the temp. In fact I'm tempted to turn the thermostat down. One turn of the hot valve takes two from the cold to make it tolerable.
Capacity our duration is what I'm lacking when it comes to hot water.
And the more I think about it 19,200 watts is alot more than the 6,000 watts my tank water heater is putting out. Besides I don't really feel like crawling under the house to do all the electrical work that needs to be done. That's one of the reasons I became a City Electrician.

One more ? , maybe you can help me with.
I was thinking about putting a timer in line with the water heater. Thinking that it would cut down on electricity by keeping the thermostat from running in the middle of the nite when I'm not using it.
But then I read a post on this forum about someone who actually tested the myth and found that the thermostat only kicked on after he took a shower,laundry, etc.
Seems to make sense, since it's a well insulated glass tank.
I know I answered my ? But what's your 2 cents ?

Thanks
Jeff