Winnipesaukee Forum - View Single Post - Electric water heater: OK to turn it off?

SailinAway · 09-04-2022, 01:49 PM

At this point I've had the water heater turned off at the breaker for the past month. My August kWh usage was 34% lower than August last year with a combination of strategies.

Yesterday I closed the hot and cold valves on the water heater to make sure I'm not bathing with water from the heater due to the risk of bacteria. I'm drawing cold water from the town supply for bathing.

Q1: My handyman says I should drain the water heater at this point to avoid mold etc. growing in it and also rust. Is he correct?

Q2: Would the simplest solution be a well-insulated 10-gallon tank placed next to the 53-gallon tank? That way the next owner of the house could use the larger tank if they prefer, while I would not use the large tank from this point forward.

09-04-2022, 01:49 PM	#83
SailinAway Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2019 Posts: 991 Thanks: 256 Thanked 280 Times in 169 Posts	Update At this point I've had the water heater turned off at the breaker for the past month. My August kWh usage was 34% lower than August last year with a combination of strategies. Yesterday I closed the hot and cold valves on the water heater to make sure I'm not bathing with water from the heater due to the risk of bacteria. I'm drawing cold water from the town supply for bathing. Q1: My handyman says I should drain the water heater at this point to avoid mold etc. growing in it and also rust. Is he correct? Q2: Would the simplest solution be a well-insulated 10-gallon tank placed next to the 53-gallon tank? That way the next owner of the house could use the larger tank if they prefer, while I would not use the large tank from this point forward.