oil heater with summer winter hook up - questions

joemc1970

Hi,

I have an oil heater that is summer winter hook up.
My main question is, can i eliminate the summer water heater portion and install a hot water on demand system without compromising the winter function.

Eventually hoping to convert to a propane system but for now just wondering about thye hot water side.

bburd

Yes, you can install a separate water heater and decommission the domestic water heating portion of your heating system.

If you do, be sure the heating system is rewired to operate only on a call for heat from the room thermostat, rather than staying hot all the time to provide domestic hot water as it probably does now.

joemc1970

bburd said:

Yes, you can install a separate water heater and decommission the domestic water heating portion of your heating system.

If you do, be sure the heating system is rewired to operate only on a call for heat from the room thermostat, rather than staying hot all the time to provide domestic hot water as it probably does now.

Bburd, Thank you for the fast reply. Any idea where I may find information on doing this. Especially the wiring portion?

bburd

Please post some pictures of your existing boiler, especially the tap water heating portion (tankless coil?) and the aquastat, with cover removed. Then we will be better able to answer your question.

pedmec

they have on demand oil fired water heaters now?

STEVEusaPA

pedmec said:

they have on demand oil fired water heaters now?

I’d guess he’s using electric or a different fuel.

joemc1970

bburd said:

Please post some pictures of your existing boiler, especially the tap water heating portion (tankless coil?) and the aquastat, with cover removed. Then we will be better able to answer your question.

Thanks, out of state right now but can post up pics early next week.

joemc1970

pedmec said:

they have on demand oil fired water heaters now?

Planning to use propane for on demand hot water and eventually switching heater over also. No natural gas in my neighborhood.

EdTheHeaterMan

You may find that spending $$$ on a new Gas Boiler will not yield the lower operating cost you are looking for. But if your Oil Heater is operating as 60% efficiency then any new 80% or better efficiency equipment will cost less to run. I had a customer in Philadelphia that had an old steam boiler that originally burned coal. It was very inefficient. When I installed the new oil fired boiler and set it to run at 86% combustion efficiency, and properly sized to the radiators, the oil usage was 1/2 the cost of the old natural gas dinosaur that it replaced. Go figure, something old and inefficient replaced by something new and efficient cost less to operate. But changing from Gas to Oil is backwards, the price should go Up, not Down... right?

Your area may be different, but where I'm from, There are less BTU per dollar in LP Gas than Oil. So, apples for apples, boilers of similar efficiency that operate on LP Gas will cost more to operate that Oil fired boiler of similar efficiency.

rick in Alaska

Toyo makes an oil fired water heater that is sort of an on demand unit. I think it holds about 3 gallons and comes on immediately upon power up and heats that up. It is nice because you don't have a lot of water that is heated just sitting there chilling off, and being a direct vent unit, that also helps with heat loss.
It does a very good job of heating water fast, and is nice because it already has water that is heated, so there is no lag like with a true on demand water heater. They are about 140,000 btu's , and are also not cheap.
Rick

george_42

I once put a meter on my boiler with s/w hookup and found that in summer it took 1 gal of fuel to make hot water every day. At $6 a gal that is almost $200 per mont just for hot water