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The hot water was left running over night about 6 hours in my bathroom sink Would that have caused any damage to the hot water heater

ratchet freak
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user35557
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  • What type of gas water heater? A tanked heater I would not expect any problemswith but a tankless depending on the style may have problems of the burner was set to max temp. – Ed Beal May 16 '18 at 17:41

1 Answers1

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No significant damage, just a bit more wear and wasted fuel.

keshlam
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    Mostly the damage will be to your wallet when the next utility bill comes in. – Ecnerwal Apr 13 '15 at 15:57
  • I wonder what costs more, the water or the gas/electricity. – DMoore Apr 13 '15 at 18:15
  • Depends on how you're heating the water and what current local prices are for water and energy. – keshlam Apr 14 '15 at 00:14
  • Based on the water rate (not really - average water bill for families of 4 using X gallons per person-per day, they seem a bit shy of telling the actual rates) in what's claimed to be the highest water rate city (Santa Fe) in this page, http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2010/world/the-price-of-water-a-comparison-of-water-rates-usage-in-30-u-s-cities/ I'm going to guess the gas/oil/electricity for heating it by a landslide. – Ecnerwal Apr 14 '15 at 00:47
  • America does keep water prices very low. Though our ability to do so is being stretched.

    (Low enough that it's not unreasonable to use a pump powered by water pressure as a backup for a sump pump. That has the advantage of (mostly) making maintaining power to the pump someone else's problem; even if electric lines are out, water generally has its own massive backups.)

     – keshlam Apr 14 '15 at 19:35
  • @keshlam - the cost of damage is so high from a broken sump pump that even human power is cost effective (which I know from experience when my brother and I spent a couple hours emptying the sump with a bucket after a rainy power outage while dad went to get the 12v bilge pump from our small boat). We got a proper battery backed emergency pump after that. – Johnny Dec 24 '16 at 19:47