How long does it take for a gas water heater to heat up

Water Heater Heat Up Times

Water Heater Recovery Heat Up Times Comparison Chart

There isn’t much that can ruin your day rather as quickly as an ice cold shower, and if you have the wrong hot water heater, this might become your brand-new normal. If your existing heating unit is dying on you, don’t let the tension of the circumstance rush you into making the wrong option for your replacement.

Prior to you choosing a hot water heater, make certain you consider for how long it takes for your water heater you choose to heat up. If you wish to run lots of hot water at the same time, you’ll require a more effective system than if you just wish to have a day-to-day hot shower.

So, how long does it take a hot water heater to heat water up again once it’s ran out? While there are lots of elements which can impact the time, the chart below shows how long each type of hot water heater takes to heat up usually.

Gas Water Heaters

Gas Conventional Water Heater Details
Your average gas tank water heater takes about 30 to 40 minutes to heat water once it gets in the tank. This preliminary heat up happens when new water from your water supply is fed into the tank.

A more particular explanation of why this takes 30 minutes requires some mathematics. The heater’s tank size is obviously a significant factor, as more water will take longer to heat. The next significant factor is the heater’s BTU (or British Thermal Unit) rating. Basically, a BTU is the quantity of heat needed to raise one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. A heater with more BTUs can heat water faster.

For instance, the average hot water heating unit tank is 40 gallons. There are around 8.3 pounds of water per gallon, so our example tank has about 330 pounds of water to heat.

40 Gallons x 8.3 pounds Per Gallon = 330 pounds of water

If the water is already 60 degrees and you want it to reach 120-degree hot water, a temperature level rise of 60 degrees is needed.

To prevent entering full-blown thermodynamics computations, we can simplify and state that a 40,000 BTU system with a 40-gallon tank requires one half of one minute to heat each gallon, leading to a half hour heat up time.

If you have a smaller sized tank or higher BTU rating, your hot water heating system’s warm-up time will be much shorter. If you have a bigger tank or lower BTU score, on the other hand, it will take longer to heat your tank.

If you want an efficient hot water heater which will warm up your water in the quantity of time you desire (after it runs out of warm water) in addition to store an excellent amount of hot water, these are the requirements you will need to bear in mind.

Likewise, bear in mind that this is the quantity of time it takes for new cold water to be warmed in your tank. When switching on the hot water for the first time after your tank has been storing warm water already, you should have warm water within simply a few minutes because tanks save pre-heated water.

This amount of time it requires to warm up brand-new water comes into consideration when all the warm water in the tank is consumed. That’s when the gas tank water heater will have to begin heating new water once again from the incoming groundwater temperature level.

A gas tank hot water heater will take roughly 40 minutes to warm up new inbound water for the very first time.

Electric Conventional Water Heater Details
Electric tank hot water heaters typically need double the quantity of time compared to their gas counterparts. Electric elements, while usually more economical, just can not take on the high performance of gas-fired systems. From the time brand-new water enters, it would take about an hour for an electric hot water heater to warm the 40-gallon tank explained above.

This is why houses with bigger water demands generally choose to buy a whole home gas tank water heater instead of an electric design. Electric designs are outstanding for smaller sized homes and smaller water needs.

An electric tank hot water heater takes 60-80 minutes compared to 30 minutes that a gas tank heater requires to heat water.

Gas Tankless Water Heater Details
Tankless water heaters heat up your water “as needed”, so the range from your heating unit to the device being utilized is the only factor to consider which identifies the length of time it will take to receive the hot water out of your faucet.

If the system is working appropriately, this must not be more than a few seconds with a normal sized house. With a big house, it may take a couple of more seconds to travel through the pipes and reach home appliances further far from the heater.

A tankless gas heater warms up water immediately so it should just take a couple of seconds before that warm water takes a trip through your pipes into your component.

Electric Tankless Water Heater Details
Similar to tankless gas hot water heaters, tankless electrical hot water heater only begin to warm up your water once an appliance demands it. Simply put, the water is not warmed up until you turn on the dishwashing machine or open up the hot water the faucet.

In most cases, an electric tankless heating unit will supply warm water within minutes, however they can take a little bit longer than gas systems, due to the power of gas heat.

A tankless electrical heater heats up water quickly so it need to likewise only take a few seconds before the warm water takes a trip through your pipelines into your fixture.

Things That Affect Heat Up Time
In addition to the aspects we’ve currently checked out, such as tank size and BTU, there are other scenarios that could determine the length of time your water heater requires to warm up water for the very first time.

• Incoming Temperature- For both tankless and tank-style hot water heater, the temperature level that the water starts at will dictate the time to come up to temp. Due to the fact that tank heating units save water and keep them heated up, the inbound temperature should not affect it so greatly. Tankless heating systems, however, feed inbound water as needed simply seconds prior to it coming out of your faucet. This implies that if the groundwater temperature level is very low, the water might not gethot as quick. Both types of heaters can be affected by extremely cold ambient temperature levels in the room or area where they are kept.
• Settings- Although water heaters appear reasonably easy when compared to other household mechanicals, they typically have more to them. If your heating unit isn’t working, a professional might need to come to check out any settings or calibration that could be adversely affecting its performance.
  Age/ Maintenance Issues– Similar To any other mechanical equipment, your heating system’s age and condition could ultimately impact its efficiency, including for how long it requires to warm up. A lack of basic upkeep, especially stopping working to clean up sediment that might remain in the pipes could cause efficiency concerns also. Pipeline sediment is more likely in locations with hard water.
• Location- Often it’s easy for the end user to forget, but your hot water is traveling from the ground, through the heating unit, and pipes in your house prior to reaching the faucet. The further your bathroom is from the heating system, the longer it might take for the heated water to reach it. A savvy installer should represent this when establishing your system, so it should not be excessive of a concern.
• Pipe Diameter- In addition to the length of piping, the width of your pipes could affect how long it takes the water heater to warm up. A broader pipe is beneficial as it brings more water, but it will require more water to be heated before the pressure builds enough for it to press through the remaining pipeline system.

In summary, there’s a heater ideal for everyone out there. Whether it’s a traditional tank or tankless, think of your needs prior to picking one.

South End Plumbing specializes in all plumbing services, so remember, we are just a click away. We also specialize in tankless water heaters – give us a call! South End Plumbing is one of the only companies that will give you a free estimate. Call us at 704-919-1722 or fill out the form online to schedule a visit.

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