Do the water heater blankets work and could you wrap multiple blankets to increase the R-value?

Hi EM:

According to the manufacturer, there is absolutely no value to the water heater insulating blankets. Here, water heaters are already so highly insulated that adding a blanket to the tank adds no real additional heat retention. If you touch a tank, you can confirm that there is no heat lost through the tank. In fact, the greatest heat loss associated with a water heater will be the uninsulated hot water pipe. Manufacturer's recommend that you insulate the first 10 feet (minimum) of hot water pipe to help control the heat lost from the pipe(s). Further, manufacturer's are actually sending pipe insulation AND insulation for the temperature and pressure relief valve as this is another source of heat loss from the heaters. The tank itself, however, needs no additional insulating blanket or blankets... multiple insulating blankets would probably create problems like mold between layers, damage to wiring (over time), etc...

Let us know if you'd like to discuss more.

Mark

Mark, good information ! Certainly, I agree with what you've said. I wanted to give you positive feedback but the system did not allow me to do so...

Same with me... it would not let me do it. Just another one of those items that looks good until you think it through like MP did.

You will find that some water heater manufacturers will void the warranty if you put an insulating jacket on the heater.