Gas Water Heater Timer Reviews

Works perfectly, was really easy to install and I have even seen a drop in my propane usage. Really happy with the purchase.

Previously I purchased Timer for Model 2 and was very happy with this unit for past 4 years now I changed Gas valve to type 1 and I need new unit for my new valve.

Super Impressed and I Highly recommend this product.

Thanks , Igor

I was very excited to find that this item exists. I’ve Ben wanting to schedule my hot water heater for a while, but this is the first solution I’ve seen that allows me to control my gas water heater. The unit seems to be high quality. It’s plastic, but sturdy. The installation was extremely easy. No tools are needed and anyone can do it! I just connected the timer to my water heater and I’m using a WeMo Switch, Wi-Fi Enabled, Control your Electronics from anywhere, Compatible with Amazon Echo, instead of the appliance timer that American Pacific includes with the unit. I love it because now I can create custom schedules and manually turn the water heater off and on which my iPhone from anywhere. I’m expecting to save a decent amount of money on my gas bill, but only time will tell. Regardless, this is a great invention! Thanks, American Pacific!

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you go directly to American Pacific’s website, they have more options for fitting the timer to different types of water heater gas control valves.

From: James

Message:

Hello I purchased one a couple years ago for my church. Fabulous! we are only in service a couple nights a week and I only heat to hand washing temp, took thousands of run hours off of the tank. My niece recently acquired a laundromat I think it’s a boiler system I had looked at the tanks and I cannot see a knob like on residential can this work with a laundromat system? thanks and GOD BLESS.

Answer:

Hello James,

If either you or your niece can send me photos of the water heaters or boilers to include any electrical wiring if applicable, I might be able to help you with applying a timer

—

Best regards,

Jeff Davis

American Pacific
530-613-4166
sales@gaswaterheatertimer.com

Comes with a timer and I replaced with a z-wave to integrate with my home automation so I can disable when we are away and override if we have visitors without having to venture out to the garage etc.

Frank /Vegas

Hi, great product as I have been looking for something like this for 10 years. Well built and simple which is the best type of design. I also have a heater in the workshop that will also have a x10 switch by the door so if I need hot water I can turn it on. a day timer in my program will shut it down at 10:00 pm that day if it is on. ( On By request only).

Thanks again, Kind regards  Keith

Reply:

Hello,

Great information on your device in association with solar hot water backup. We are on a well system and a tank less water heater requires too much maintenance. Your device works as advertised for us.

John D. / Prescott AZ

Hello, I wish I had found this device sooner. I live in Houston so much of the year hot water is essentially free. However, after my first winter with this gizmo hooked up to a Wemo switch for 7 day programmable hot water control, I am on target to reduce my annual natural gas use from an average to 175-200 ccf/year to 35 ccf per year! Lest someone think I am struggling thru the winter with tepid hot water, my hot water is actually way hotter than it was!  Since it heats to a higher temperature when I need it, rather than continuously heating to a lower temp all day, I get great hot water using way less fuel.

Thank you! /  Janet Houston Tx

Jeff,

Thank you so much! Your device implements a great idea. I had been looking for this kind of device since I didn’t want to replace my boiler yet and have been turning the boiler down by hand. And thank you for shipping the same day on a Saturday.

Thomas

Plan on using Z-wave to control. This is so fantastic. Its for my 2nd home and I can now turn on the hot water when I get on the plane, and if I forget to set it back, I can do it when I get home! Thanks for the innovative product. Greg

I bought gas water heater timer from you back in September and I love it. I’m doing an article for the March issue of Security Sales & Integration magazine (http://www.securitysales.com/) on “Getting bitten by the home automation bug” and mention your product. Thanks Bob / NJ

Several years ago I bought the original American Pacific Gas Hot Water Heater Timer. The device has worked flawlessly but unfortunately, my hot water heater hasn’t and required replacement. My new hot water heater has a newer model 3 controller that was not supported by the original American Pacific product so I’ve now purchased a new one and wanted to provide some information on my experience with the product. My business is the programming of residential and commercial building automation systems. My focus is on systems that save energy; which is what drew me to the American Pacific product for my own home. While the Gas Water Heater Timer can be controlled using the electric lamp timer that is included with the product, I control mine with a Crestron automation processor that, in addition to the gas hot water heater, integrates and controls the lighting, heating, security, and audio/video in my home. The gas hot water heater, using the American Pacific Gas Hot Water Heater Timer, is controlled 2 ways in my house: 1) Based on time of day. The automation system turns off the hot water heater each evening at our bedtime and turns it back on each morning a short time before we get up. The exact times vary depending on whether it is a workday or not. 2) Based on occupancy of the house. While we don’t have anything so valuable to truly justify an alarm system I installed one as it is a great way of monitoring occupancy of the house. In addition, the alarm sensors are monitored by the automation system to trigger other events, such as turning on/off lights in specific locations of the house when motion sensors are tripped and turning on pathway lights at night if the fire alarm goes off so my family can safely exit the house. In the case of the hot water heater, the automation system triggers the American Pacific timer to turn off the gas hot water heater whenever the alarm is armed in away mode; signaling that the house is unoccupied. When someone arrives home and disarms the alarm system then the gas hot water heater is turned back on. In my home we use an alarm system to handle this but it could be done using motion sensors tied to an automation controller or possibly even a nest thermostat that has a built in motion sensor and monitors occupancy of the home. Hopefully these examples will give others ideas on how they can optimize the energy consumption of their own home. The American Pacific Gas Hot Water Heater Timer has performed flawlessly and technical support from American Pacific has been first rate when I was pushing the limits and integrating the product in ways that were not originally envisioned. The device, with the supplied timer, is simple to install. In addition, because of their simple design of simply switching 110v power, you can integrate control modules from a variety of automation companies to create a more sophisticated control interface. Jay Idaho

Thank you so much for providing an exceptional product (Gas Water Heater Timer).  I have lived with nighttime pipe noise for a long time.  I have spent thousands of dollars to quiet the pipe noise.  Your timer has provided me with a noise free environment.  I simply set the water heater switch to go off at 9:00 PM, and come back on at 7:00 AM.  Those off hours stops any expansion/contraction pipe noise, and allow me to sleep.

Al /  Orange County, Calif

Click on the link below to read a professional review of the Gas Water Heater Timer by Steve Jenkins :

http://stevejenkins.com/blog/2014/06/product-review-save-money-with-a-gas-water-heater-timer/

Just wanted to thank you for the document for adjusting the temp setting.  Everything is perfect now and it’s been about a week since I installed it.  Using the timer with a Belkin WeMo switch so the timer kicks on every morning and afternoon while I’m home, but if I leave during those periods while I’m home, IFTTT senses my absence and automatically turns off the timer. Cool & simple product.  Thanks for the support.

Trever

Jeff, Thanks again for the chat the other day. Just wanted to let you know that I had the re-circulation pump moved to the out flowing hot water heater and I just ordered a second timer. Thank you again! Jered

This review is from a consumer that has a 17 year old water heater. Savings will vary, but the Gas Water Heater Timer does work: Received the timer today and it is installed! I am guaranteed to save 21.7% on my water heating gas each month just by turning the heater off while I’m asleep on a time schedule. Then in conjunction with my new Ecobee thermostat which I will be receiving soon, it will be able to turn off the water heater (my Wemo via IFTTT) when I’m not at home (Usually 7+ hours each weekday) which should at the very least save another 21% give or take each month. So my total savings should be at least 42% each month (probably more). Thank You for making this product and providing such great customer service and responses! I really appreciate it! Once I get my Ecobee set up I am going to try and do a video review of your device once I get a chance. When/if I do I will be sure to send you a link to it. Very happy with your product so far!

Thanks again! —Liam

This is a great product and it is so great when something just works when you install it. All the pieces of the unit were precise and quality. Thank you for the time you spent on this unit. – Jon

email: sales@gaswaterheatertimer.com www.gaswaterheatertimer.com From: Donald Super, I’ll be ordering a second one for our house in Tahoe as soon as I get a look at the control again! 🙂

Hi, I just purchased the new gas water heater timer for the Honeywell type system. The instructions says to contact you for instructions in case I need to make temperature changes to contact you. i am putting the installation instructions in my home owners manual notebook and would like to go ahead and get those instructions so I have them. The installation instructions were very clear and installation was very easy. Thank you. email as a word document or PDF file if possible. Best Regards, Sandy

I just looked at my bill. Saved a solid $30 past 2 months. Thanks! Kenneth Sent: Saturday, January 03, 2015 7:34 PM

Building a new house with the new style valves. Hate to leave mine behind since has worked so well, but looking forward to having a timer for my new water heater. Ken

Thank You! I bought a timer from you for my parents approximately a year ago. This one is for a friend at church. If all goes well with my business plan within the next several months, I may be referring more business to you. Thank You, Kim  From Georgia

I use gas primarily for hot water and cooking and have to pay for propane to get trucked in. I was filling my 500 gallon tank close to every other month until I found this unit and went to every six months. From there I found a 1,000 gallon tank and now only have to fill once a year in August when propane is cheap. The unit is very simple and even my wife and kids understand how it works and what they need to do to override the timer if they decide to shower in the middle of the day (or night). I’ve got solar panels and some other energy producing and saving devices but yours is by far the best bank for the buck.” Aaron in Idaho Falls, Idaho.

Hi Jeff, We are the ones who had the water heater vent cracking and popping from expansion and contraction. Since the vent was in the walls in the middle of our 2-story home, the noise was disturbing, especially in 2 of our bedrooms. In addition to that problem, we had issues with our 75-gallon water heater not firing when it should, so we often did not have hot water, unless we forced the heater on manually. You were very helpful and spent time on the phone with me to figure out the issues and resolutions. We bought your water heater timer unit, which, by the way, we thought was very reasonable. I easily installed it in 5 minutes. With your unit, we have programmed it to turn off in the night, thus stopping the noise when people are sleeping, and in addition it saves energy by not having it fire up when hot water is not needed. Also, the timer is programmed for a higher temperature than we usually set the heater but that has caused it to fire when it should and therefore, we now have hot water all the time throughout the day. We have a win-win situation with the timer and are very pleased with it. Barbara, California

I purchased the style # 2 timer less than a year ago and love the operation of the device and the money I am saving on my gas bill each month! Unfortunately my water heater had to be replaced and now I need to have a style # 1 timer because the new water heater has a different control valve. After having the original timer work flawlessly and reduce my utility costs significantly I am ordering another timer to put on my new water heater! Thank you for designing such a useful and easy to use product. – Dave Georgetown, Texas

Very fast and friendly service. Would happily buy from again. – William E Sobel

Outstanding! Jeff was almost immediately available by phone on a Sunday morning. I’m happy to report that installing the Timer was as easy as advertised and is working perfectly. We’re looking for ward to seeing a reduction in the cost of our N Gas bill! – Carol-Ann Rudy

I have two gas water heaters in my house and Jeff suggested I put one on the water heater that is used the least. The only appliances on gas are these two water heaters. From 9/2011 to 8/2012 I went through 240 gallons of propane .(lots of $$$) So far I’m on track to use around 170 gallons. Thanks Jeff. – Thomas Sullivan posted on Gas Water Heater Timer’s timeline

As seen in: April/May 2012 COMMONWEALTH MAGAZINE A journal for real estate professionals published by the Virginia Association of REALTORS www.VARealtor.com ANDREW KANTOR   In hot water? American Pacific’s timer is the only one to work with gas-powered hot water heaters. Let’s say you’re in a small boat on the water. It springs a bunch of leaks — most small, but one that’s pretty big. Which do you try to fix first? The big one, of course. So let’s talk about one big way of saving energy in a home — good for your (and your clients’) wallet and good for the environment. Yes, there are a lot of little holes you can plug: Switch to LED or CFL bulbs. Turn your computer off at night. Unplug appliances when you’re not using them, and so on. But those are the small leaks. A better use of your time is to attack what may be the single biggest energy waster in a house: the hot water heater. Use it or lose it. Unless a home has an on-demand hot water system (which is a great idea, by the way), it uses a traditional setup, where a 30 to 50 gallon tank of water is heated to about 130 degrees, then pumped to the shower, washing machine, or what have you. When the water in the tank gets below that 115 degrees, the heater kicks in. The temperature can drop for two reasons: 1) you use hot water and 2) the hot water in the tank cools off over time. So at 2:00 AM, while you’re (hopefully) fast asleep, the hot water tank may have cooled off enough that the heater kicks in. In fact, depending on how well insulated the tank is, it might have to reheat that tank of water several times during the night, just in case you use it. And that’s a huge waste of energy and cash. You might be able to knock a noticeable amount off your utility bill — we’re talking $10 or $20 a month — by making sure the water heater doesn’t go on when it’s not being used. If you keep typical hours, you can probably shut the hot water from about 10:00 PM till, say, 6:00 AM. (You’ll still have 30 to 50 gallons of hot water at 10:01, of course. It just won’t make any more till morning.) That way, you’ll have enough hot water for a bedtime shower, but the system won’t bother heating and reheating the water all night long. In fact, depending on your schedule, you might find other stretches of time when you won’t need hot water — and thus don’t need to pay for it. There are a few ways to do this, depending on what kind of water heater you have. If your water heater is powered by propane or natural gas, your choice is limited. In fact, it’s apparently limited to a single product: The $89.95 Gas Water Heater Timer from American Pacific (gaswaterheatertimer.com). You don’t need a plumber to install it — you do not need to be messing with gas piping — it will pay for itself in less than a year. Whatever kind of timer you get, program it to turn the switch off at, say, 10:00 every weeknight, and turn it on about an hour before you wake up. You’ll always have hot water when you need it, but your water heater won’t be wasting energy keeping the water hot all night long.

Last month I called you with questions regarding which version of the gas water heater timer that I should purchase for my vacation home in Ocean City, MD. Per your instructions, I sent a picture of the faceplate via text message. On Tuesday, I finally was able to install the product. Normally when I install something new like a ceiling fan or a light bulb for that matter, I start off fully clothed in a pleasant mood, and invariably I end up half undressed, hot, and aggravated. The installation of the gas water heater timer was a very pleasant surprise. It was a breeze. It took all of 3 minutes. I do have to say that the installation is something I had to experience to realize how easy it was. I looked at the diagrams and your clear instructions, but had no idea how easy it would be until I started the process. The device worked without a hitch. I hooked it up to a WEMO wifi outlet that I can remotely control. Please feel free to reference me to any and all, regarding your fine product and attentive service when I initially called with questions.. Thanks for a great product, – Stephen Wienner, Mt. Vernon

Eco friendly, easy to install and a good fast payback, I’ve been looking for a replacement for the 1st generation one I bought cheap at Greg’s True Value that died after 15 years. Gas hot water heaters only. – Joel Puczylowski posted on Gas Water Heater Timer’s timeline

Dear Sir, In February 2012 I purchased a Gas Water Heater Timer from your company for my gas water heater since the gas bill was very high during December/January. I live in Arizona’s Central Highland at 5500 feet elevation. Prescott is known as mile high city. Although the installation is simple I hired a plumber to avoid any possible mistake during installation. The Gas Water Heater Timer works flawlessly and has saved on my gas bill. I programmed the timer to come on at 7:00 a.m. To 2:00 p.m. In the evening the water heater fires at 4:00 p.m. To 10:00 p.m. Thank you for an excellent product and a friendly and efficient customer service. I recommended your product to family and friends. Please do not hesitate to use my appreciation in any manner you decide on. Sincerely, Cameron

Hello Jeff, I am much appreciative of the engineering and quality of materials used for your device. The clamps are very effective and the metal thread inserts show you meant your product to be quality. I try to advocate your product as much as I can, because it really is something I have thought of and wanted for many years. It takes a certain type of person to appreciate what your produce does, unfortunately I don’t run into enough people with the right mental approach about their hot water supply dollars. I sincerely hope your product has brought you financial success, because when a product works and lasts- the developer certainly deserves to be rewarded. Thanks again for your product and customer service. Jack

Hi Jeff… All is well… Wendy and I just returned from Montana last night… great trip! We left my Mom’s on Sunday at O-dark thirty and traveled through Yellowstone and Teton National Forest… had flown over it-but never driven through it-what a spectacular drive! We landed in our own bed last night… Yeah!!!! Total travel was over 2800 miles. Had been tracking our savings and, before Jerry came to live with us… it averaged $28.00 and change per month. Will do some tracking more recently and advise of updated savings. Our best regards, Wendy and Dan

Dear Mr. Davis, In reply to your inquiry into my purchase and subsequent installation of your water heater device, following are my comments- I stumbled onto this product on the internet as I have three hot water heaters on my property and needed to keep the gas from continuous flow. The delivery of the product was timely but as I’m not very handy, I asked my neighbor to do the actual install. He said that it was a snap and even I could have easily performed the task. I only purchased one of the units as a trial before comitting to purchase two more. As I just recently installed the unit, I don’t know what effect it will have on my bills, but it is working very well so I’m sure that it is in fact a money saver. So far, I have been extremely pleased with the product and will most probably purchase two more. Thank you for your great service. Regards, Tony F, Scottsdale, AZ

Early last year (2010)I installed this device on my gas water heater… in about 3 minutes-it was simple. Since then, I have been monitoring my monthly gas usage from P.G.&E. (Pacific Grafe & Extortion!) My average usage for the next 3 months dropped about 22%, about $14.00 each month at the rate paid per therm. If you haven’t tried a timer on your water heater, you should, it will save you money. – Dan, Chico California

Thanks Jeff, I’m really looking forward to it I’m replacing a timer that I used for about 25 years. It finally died. It paid for itself in 3 months. Hoping for the same but figure it will actually be about 6 month ROI. Thanks again John, Byron Center, MI

First. Thanks for the fast shipping. I installed your product in 15 mins. One thing you may want to consider advertising. I have a hybrid Solar Water Heater installation. On my Solar Water Heating control unit there is a back-up(auxiliary) heater setting that outputs 110v. Instead of using the timer on your unit, I plugged the short plug into my solar controller. When the solar control sees a demand for the back-up(auxiliary) heating, the Solar Controller turns on your product which, then turns on the gas burner. Your product performs this without any modification. I am greatly pleased with the quality and simplicity of your product. Thanks. William

1. What prompted your purchase of our Smart Device? Investigate integration with a home automation system. Save money.
2. Did you receive your Smart Device in a timely manner? Yes
3. Ease of installation… how long did it take? 5 minutes
4. Were there any technical problems… if so, were they promptly resolved? No Problem
5. How happy are you today with your purchase? So far, very happy.
6. How would you rate the overall efficiency and effectiveness of your SmartDevice-1 to 10? This will really have to wait until I can see the impact on my gas bill.
7. Would you recommend the Smart Device to your friends and family? Already have.
8. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Nice design.

– Jay / Hailey Idaho

1. What prompted your purchase of our Smart Device? 1) Eliminate vent noise through the night. 2) save energy consumption.
2. Did you receive your Smart Device in a timely manner? Yes. Only one day
3. Ease of installation… how long did it take? 10 minutes
4. Were there any technical problems… if so, were they promptly resolved? No Problems
5. How happy are you today with your purchase? Very
6. How would you rate the overall efficiency and effectiveness of your SmartDevice-1 to 10? 10
7. Would you recommend the Smart Device to your friends and family? Yes
8. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Nice design.

– Frank Los Altos, Calif

1. What prompted your purchase of our Smart Device? Want to save propane.
2. Did you receive your Smart Device in a timely manner? Yes
3. Ease of installation… how long did it take? 5 minutes
4. Were there any technical problems… if so, were they promptly resolved? None
5. How happy are you today with your purchase? None.
6. How would you rate the overall efficiency and effectiveness of your SmartDevice-1 to 10? 9
7. Would you recommend the Smart Device to your friends and family? Yes. Already have

– Miriam, Wales Utah

1. What prompted your purchase of our Smart Device? Internet search on saving money for a gas water heater to lower gas bill
2. Did you receive your Smart Device in a timely manner? Yes
3. Ease of installation… how long did it take? 15 minutes
4. Were there any technical problems… if so, were they promptly resolved? No
5. How happy are you today with your purchase? Very
6. How would you rate the overall efficiency and effectiveness of your SmartDevice-1 to 10? 10
7. Would you recommend the Smart Device to your friends and family? I already have
8. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I am not sure why I had to pay tax on this item when I live out of state?

– Mario, Goodyear Arizona

1. What prompted your purchase of our Smart Device? Able to save in LP use
2. Did you receive your Smart Device in a timely manner? Yes
3. Ease of installation… how long did it take? A couple of minutes
4. Were there any technical problems… if so, were they promptly resolved? None
5. How happy are you today with your purchase? Yes, very pleased. Works great and easy to install. Was worried I would not be able to reach outlet, but plenty of cord.
6. How would you rate the overall efficiency and effectiveness of your SmartDevice-1 to 10? 9
7. Would you recommend the Smart Device to your friends and family? Yes, I have been talking about it to co-workers
8. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Would like a timer to set up multiple days of week use. Can any timer be plugged into your device?

– Shawn, Princeton Minnessota

1. What prompted your purchase of our Smart Device? We need to save money and this 50 gallon water heater is only used to wash hands.
2. Did you receive your Smart Device in a timely manner? Yes
3. Ease of installation… how long did it take? Couple minutes
4. Were there any technical problems… if so, were they promptly resolved? No problems. Just needed an extension cord.
5. How happy are you today with your purchase? Very. We will see over the next couple months to see how much we save.
6. How would you rate the overall efficiency and effectiveness of your SmartDevice-1 to 10? 9. Only thing that can make it better is a 7 day timer.
7. Would you recommend the Smart Device to your friends and family? Yes
8. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: May even use at our house

– Scafco Corporation, Spokane Washington

1. What prompted your purchase of our Smart Device? Possibly saving on gas bill.
2. Did you receive your Smart Device in a timely manner? Yes
3. Ease of installation… how long did it take? 45 minutes
4. Were there any technical problems… if so, were they promptly resolved? No
5. How happy are you today with your purchase? Very.
6. How would you rate the overall efficiency and effectiveness of your SmartDevice-1 to 10? 8
7. Would you recommend the Smart Device to your friends and family? Yes.
8. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Possibly a battery back up. We lose our power frequently.

– Thomas, Nicolaus California