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My gas heater has a dial on it that regulates the temperature. Just turn it up to "Very Hot" (scalding). Give your wife a warning that the water will be very hot and to watch out. She'll then have to mix it with more cold water, thus leaving you more hot water for your shower.
And I agree with others here, 15-25 minutes for a shower is excessive and wasteful.
Humm, I have a 50 ga. gas water heater and it can provide hot water for two people taking 20 minute showers back to back. You may want to have the water heater checked.
We have 30 gal double element electric in this home and home in CT,we take back to back showers no problems,set on 120.Have had this set up in 2 other homes,no problem.
get a new gear driven shower head. I paid 14 at HD for a delta and it's very difficult to tell you are in a tree hugger shower.
If you have an electric; you may have a load reducer or something similar that will effect your dryer and hwh. People have replaced dryers that were in perfectly good shape...I thought it was just an 80s thing. My hwh is gas and outside..a 40, in phoenix. It is almost unlimited with my shower head.
1) Turn up the temp on the heater. This should yield another 5-15 minutes of joy time for the wife.
2) Good idea to drain the heater annually.
3) Good idea to look at the anode rod and be prepared to replace it. Loss of the anode rod is usually what determines the longevity of a hot water heater. Commercial heaters have 2-3 anode rods. Anode rods do not come out easily. You will probably need a breaker bar.
Anode rods:
After the water borne minerals have attacked and devoured your sacrificial anode rod, they attack and devour your hot water heater. Its that simple.
Rods are cheap. You should be able to get them from a plumbing supply house. Mail order if need be.
Anode rods vary in thickness and length. Bigger is better. They are either magnesium or aluminum. I think magnesium rods have a lump on the top of the rod where the rod protrudes from the heater.
Also, remember that the water coming in to your house from the street is colder this time of year so your hot water heater is having to work harder to heat up the water.
Also, remember that the water coming in to your house from the street is colder this time of year so your hot water heater is having to work harder to heat up the water.
Bingo.
You said you had the same problem this time last year....most likely thats your problem. If you have a valve where you can regulate the pressure of the water coming out of the showerhead(like a symmons s96-2) , when you switch the lever from TUB to SHOWER, dont move it all the way over, only about 80%, this cuts down on the pressure but also extends the length of your hot water.
Exactly. This issue happened last year at this time and now.
I think it is related to colder water flowing into the heater, and taking longer than "normal" showers in morning during the winter months to zap the chill out of your bones. Myself, I can shower in 5 - 10 minutes, but I'm not soaping up long hair, rinsing, conditioning, etc. From that Yahoo post I noted, a lot of people said they take 15-20 minute showers.... surprised me. And someone on here said they take 20 minute showers back to back and are fine.
How would I confirm that my shower head is putting out 2.5g per minute and not more? Put a bucket under it and time it?
I do have the water heater (it's gas) turned up to just one notch shy of the hottest setting. I'll bump it higher. Maybe I'll have to do this in the winter months, and back off in spring and summer.
I'll give it a flush as well. I've heard to make sure the dip tube isn't broken off. Not sure how easy that is to access and check.
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I have a 50 ga. gas water heater and it can provide hot water for two people taking 20 minute showers back to back. You may want to have the water heater checked.
