water heater element wattages?

[horsez2go]

hello, could someone tell me the average element wattage, upper & lower for a 40 gal heater? is a 4,500 watt lower a bit unusual? it's been a while since i've had to change elements, and have forgotten the usual sizes and temp settings. the guy that owns the place is trying to nurse an old limed up unit along after costing me a TON in electricity over 2 months. at first he was going to install a new one, then just wound up scraping out the sediment, scraping off the lower element then put it all back together again. i've spent enough for 2 months to have bought 2 or 3 new heaters. as usual, i'm just gonna have to do it myself. just getting tired of giving owners new equipment just to keep from loosing my tail in energy costs!

[junkcollector]

4500 W is pretty common for 40 and 50 gallon water heaters. Some of the older water heaters had smaller elements- 3500 or 3000. Some 50 gallon water heaters have 5500 W, but 4500 is the most common.

[horsez2go]

thanks for the info. its been some years since i've had to mess with a water heater and just couldn't remember what the usual wattages were.

[AllanJ]

Are you sure that a new element will save you money in electricity costs?

The element is immersed (completely) in the water being heated so all of the energy consumed in the element goes into heating the water.

You might want to get a fiberglass blanket to wrap around the heater to reduce heat loss to the surrounding air.

[scuba_dave]

My 50g tank has dual 4500w elements

[junkcollector]

My 50g tank has dual 4500w elements

Right.:rock:

And we should note that both elements are not powered at the same time.


Otherwise, we would have a 9000 W heater!:laugh:

[scuba_dave]

Oops...yeah
I guess I just thought everyone knew that
I thought 2 was standard...no?

[junkcollector]

Right. Two heaters were standard on most normal residential size water heaters for as long as most can remember.

It just reminded me of a time on another diy board were someone asked,"what size wire do I need for a 9000 W water heater.":laugh:

[jebluke]

I also use one 40g water heater with 3500 watt. And it is still going on well. Another option you can use is instant water heater. Think about it, in my dad's home we have fixed one.