1/17    Has anyone tried adding water heater blankets to the water heater?
        Does it really save on gas prices and pay off in 1-2 years?
        \_ Feel the exterior of the water heater.  Is it warm to the touch?
           Then get a blanket.  Most modern water heaters have plenty of
           insulation.
           \_ Agreed.  Feel the exterior of the water heater and the washing
              machine at the same time (when the washing machine hasn't been
              used for at least a few hours.)  This is a good comparison
              because the exterior of the two are made of the same material.
              If the water heater feels warmer, it's leaking heat and a blanket
              will help.
           \_ I turned my water heater down to 'vacation' while I was away for
              xmas holidays. I was gone for a week, came back and had forgotten
              to turn the heater back on, took a shower and the water was still
              very hot. Course the next day the water was quite cold..
              \_ Was the pilot light still on in "vacation" mode?  The pilot
                 light was keeping the water hot.  Back in 1997, one pilot
                 light in a wall heater plus four pilot lights on a stove
                 costed me $10/mo.  So it probably means that your water heater
                 cost me $10/mo.  So it probably means that your water heater
                 is leaking $2/mo worth of heat.
        \_ Another way to reduce heat loss is to adjust the thermostat
           downward.  For example, if you usually use 50% water from the hot
           tap and 50% from the cold tap when you take a shower, you can adjust
           the thermostat downward such that you'll be using 100% water from
           the hot tap.
           \_ True, but bad idea in a busy household, as you're reducing your
              available supply of mixed water at temperature X.