Hot Water Tank Size

[RCrein]

I am looking at a student residence with a 50 gallon gas water heater for 12 rooms. The websites I have found so far only give examples of typical family of four situations but imply that the tank is undersized. Can anyone refer to a better source to estimate sizes for larger purposes? If you have any multifamily buildings with approximately 12 residents, what size gas water tank do you have? Has that size been adequate?

Thanks in advance.

 

[housingrental]

No idea
I wouldn`t be concerned about when purchasing a property
Reliance will generally upgrade size when changing over tanks but you`ll pay more per month
If no one else answers here ask the current residents if any issues with hot water. Seems like a quick and accurate answer to be had.

 

[wgraham]

Have you (or anyone else for that matter) looked at tankless solutions for your rentals?

 

[JimWhitelaw]

FWIW, I looked at some tankless systems briefly at a home reno show recently. I don`t recall the brand, but they were starting around $4300 and do require some maintenance that tank type systems don`t. I couldn`t see the ROI for a rental. Note: my research is far from exhaustive, it`s possible there`s better/cheaper systems available.

 

[housingrental]

Repair man claims they break down more often
And cost more to repair
And cost more to purchase initially
And have a shorter life span

 

[RCrein]

Bumping this up to get some responses with sizes of hot water tank for your multifamily or student units. How big a tank do you have in your properties that effectively serve about 12 people? If its not exactly 12 just let me know how many and I`ll prorate. Come on you multi-unit owners

Thanks for helping.

 

[Aneta]

I can`t provide you an answer with volume size, but can advise you to consider the risk of undersized water tank = hot water running out = unhappy tenants = annoying phone calls. Also consider usage intensity of hot water...would there be multiple hot showers, dishwasher, laundry within short period of time?

 

[RCrein]

I thought this was a pretty straight forward question. I`m just looking for some guidance about the size of gas hot water heating tanks others are using successfully in their buildings. Those of you who have anywhere between eight to sixteen people in one of their buildings that use a gas water heater would you please share the size (gallons) of your gas hot water heater and the number of people drawing on it? As a further detail, are you using water saving shower heads? The post can be as simple as `8 people, gas 50 gallons, low flow shower heads`. Thanks for all responses.

 

[tnguyen]

QUOTE (RCrein @ Jul 7 2010, 09:06 PM) I thought this was a pretty straight forward question. I`m just looking for some guidance about the size of gas hot water heating tanks others are using successfully in their buildings. Those of you who have anywhere between eight to sixteen people in one of their buildings that use a gas water heater would you please share the size (gallons) of your gas hot water heater and the number of people drawing on it? As a further detail, are you using water saving shower heads? The post can be as simple as `8 people, gas 50 gallons, low flow shower heads`. Thanks for all responses.
I`ve seen the 15 people building using 2 (60 Gal). If your tenants complaint of lacking hot water, then get a bigger size 80Gal or add another 50 Gal. I don`t think all of 12 people are taking shower at the same time.

 

[RCrein]

QUOTE (tnguyen @ Jul 8 2010, 04:45 AM) I`ve seen the 15 people building using 2 (60 Gal). If your tenants complaint of lacking hot water, then get a bigger size 80Gal or add another 50 Gal. I don`t think all of 12 people are taking shower at the same time.

Thanks Tnguyen,

Your response is helpful. Any others out their with numbers to share?

 

[Nir]

QUOTE (RCrein @ Jul 7 2010, 09:06 PM) this was a pretty straight forward question.

RC,

here is the answer you were looking for: you need about 10 gallons per person so around 100 gallon per 10 people.
it`s just an estimate as a more accurate formula would also depend on the number of units, climate, etc.

I have a 4-plex with two 50 gallon water tanks and a total of 10 tenants. another 4-plex I have has one 60 gallon tank and 6 tenants in total.

so you would probably need one additional 50-gallon tank as mentioned. obviously this should not affect a buying decision (as oppose to the pipes` diameter, for example, that might).

Cheers,
N.

 

[frdm35]

[quote name=`RCrein` date=`Jul 7 2010, 09:06 PM` post=`88832`]
I thought this was a pretty straight forward question. I`m just looking for some guidance about the size of gas hot water heating tanks others are using successfully in their buildings. Those of you who have anywhere between eight to sixteen people in one of their buildings that use a gas water heater would you please share the size (gallons) of your gas hot water heater and the number of people drawing on it? As a further detail, are you using water saving shower heads? The post can be as simple as `8 people, gas 50 gallons, low flow shower heads`. Thanks for all responses.




I have:

6 tenants with a 50 gallon tank - no complaints from tenants - $22 month rental fee -no low flow shower heads
6 tenants with a 60 gallon tank - no complaints from tenants - $24 month rental fee -no low flow shower heads


Cheers,
A