Hot Water Source

Brad White_2

are gas or propane fired so unless you have at least propane (you say you have no natural gas) then you have to stick with oil.

The only other fuel alternative would be electricity if you have a good local rate OR if you can use a water-source heat pump with a water-cooled desuperheater to heat the water as part of a cooling process as another thought.

Regardless of the energy source, I would suggest some well-insulated storage volume. If you use oil, you can heat that water then allow the system to rest (rather than on-off cycling with lower volumes). If you use electricity, the storage can help by heating over time (less of an electrical demand at one time) but also can be used to charge the tank during off-peak rates if you live in a "creative power billing" area.

Matt_67

Hot Water Source

Hello, now with home heating oil costing what it does, is year round hot water from the boiler still a cost effective system?
Are any alternatives such as the on demand tankless heaters the way to go in today's world? The house has oil boiler heat and no gas supply.
Thanks for any input.
bruhl

Matt_67

Hot Water Source

Thanks Brad,
Looks like I will be asking my installer for "some well insulated storage volume" using my oil source.
What would I tell them that I want? A water heater that is oil fired or something that ties in and is still controlled by the boiler so it is only storage?
Sorry that I am not more familiar with this in order to phrase this question more knowledgeably.

bruhl

Chas_2

indirect fired water heater

ask for a indirect fired hot water heater ,they can piped into your existing boiler ,add a pump and a check valve on both supply and return from your boiler ,if your boiler is old or you have a system with a large volume of water say free standing or recessed cast iron raditors then it would pay to leave the triple aquastat relay that's on the boiler because it's low limit will help pervent flue gas condensate by cycling the systems pump and let the boiler come up to temp at bit, plus the boiler has been kept warm it's whole life it may not like it cold ,Indirect hot water heaters when properly installed work very well and usually have a very low stand by lose and are less prone to leak as quickly as a gas or oil fired unit and depending upon the manafacture some have manholes on them so they can be easily cleaned if need be ,buderus st150 tanks come mind ,i have install many of them and i have not had a complaint nor issue with them and compared to a tankless coil it is like the difference between a mule and a mustang ,ever one i installed on a oil fired system burned less fuel according to my former employer. peace and good luck clammy

Jim Franklin

Water Source

Brad and Clammy,
Thank you both so much for the information. In the near future I'll talk to contractor about an indirect fired hot water heater.
The boiler is a 6 year old Burnham used in MA, so it does get a workout. I'll see what can be done.
Best regards,
bruhl

Jim Franklin

Brad and Clammy, thank you both so much for the information. In the near future I'll talk to the contractor about an indirect fired hot water heater. The boiler is a 6 year old Burnham used in MA, so it does get a workout. I'll see what can be done.
Best regrds,
bruhl

Jim Franklin

water source

I realized that my original post didn't mention that the boiler I have is a 6 year old oil fired STEAM boiler. Is an indirect WH still suggested for a steam boiler?
The electric rate in the city is very high so I couldn't realisticaly go with anything like that.
Once again, thanks for any input.

bruhl