Q: Mechanical gas valve convert to Electric

Plumbing Forums

Help Support Plumbing Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

patrick taylor

New Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2018
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Location
h town
Hello

I know nothing about water heaters. I want wifi control of my hot water heater. its in the attic and i work away from home. its not efficient or fun to go into the attic to turn the mechanical down or up when i leave or come home. and id like to be able to add maybe the Rheem wifi control unit to a electric unit on my current unit. this needs to be a cost effective method. purchasing a new water heater to replace the one i have that currently works is not worth it when control of the gas going to my water heater will only save me 10-20 bucks a month on gas. i work away from home and my gas bills when away are 20-27$ total. however if it IS possible to upgrade just the gas control valve unit , to an electric on that has the ability to add the Rheem wifi unit , for control via my smart phone i need to find this information.

thank you in advance.
 
never heard of such a thing.
Newer residential WH are coming out with gas valves that have electronic controls but none, that I know of, that are adaptable to remote control.
Now if you had a water heater that had self lighting electronic ignition all you'd have to do is turn of power supply.

And you want to be cost effective. Good luck with that.
 
well , more cost effective than let me replace this entire water heater 400-1500$ USD cash on a whim that i "Want" remote control over the natrual gas burning in my tank to keep water hot while im gone for 3 months, longest ive done is 97 days , so im heating water to keep shower hot ready water toasty for 97 days that it never gets used.....

if i can get it done for less than a new tank i want to but its not gonna save me a ton , maybe 10 bucks a month on the gas bill , so if it costs 800 its gonna take years to recoup that ,

thats basically what im trying to figure out , the electric control gas valve , can i swap one for my older mechanical unit ,
 
Call the company of the brand of water heater that you have. Ask them at tech support. They would be able to tell you
want you want to know.
 
How about trying to control the thermostat setpoint instead?
A crude solution would be to epoxy a popsicle stick to the thermostat knob and put a string or wire on the end. Pull one way and you set for 80 degrees, pull the other way and you set for 120.
If you are good with electrical/mechanical things, maybe a servo or solenoid could be rigged to accomplish this.
 
Back
Top