More importantly, if the water heater is in habitable spaces then during the heating season, lost heat isn't wasted. It simply contributes to space heating. The opposite is true in summer, of course. If the water heater is in a closet, then one can arrange some clever venting to conduct the heat directly to the attic and outside during cooling season.
John
-- John De Armond See my website for my current email address
on 3/28/2008 11:16 AM Lee K said the following:
You know what he meant. Have nothing else to contribute?
on 3/28/2008 9:59 AM Bill said the following:
How about a coil of soft copper tubing attached to the rear of the woodstove before it goes into your storage tank ( a coil like on the back of a dehumidifer) which would transfer heat by convection rather than radiation?
I doubt that second issue. Depending on the insulation, of course, a hot water tank will hold heat for hours/days. While I don't doubt that standby losses are an issue, I don't think that under conditions of normal family use standby losses are greater than the energy it takes to heat the water in the first place.
Do you have any figures, citations, sites to back up that statement?
Do that and you start running into the potential for steam, which leads to needing to deal with the related hazards that can come of it being in an enclosed place... (Can you say boiler license, pressure vessel, regulator valve, state inspector, and "expensive"? Sure... I knew you could!)
Geez, I wonder how all those millions of oil, wood and coal-fired furnace water heating loops manage to operate without a special grant of privilege from Congress? Maybe some day some academic will do a study and figure out why Usenet seems to attract such a concentration of d*****ad-isms.
For a simple application like this, a simple water heater P-T relief valve is more than adequate. As far as the bureaucracies go, there is no involvement until a certain large firing rate. In Ga it is 1.5 million BTU per unit. TN's is a little lower - can't recall exactly - but still above 1 million BTU.
John
-- John De Armond See my website for my current email address
In Mass, it is pressure. Anything with a 15 psi relief valve is OK, no matter the size. At 15 psi and over you need a different license depending on size. Up to 299 hp you need a special or a 2nd class fireman, at 300 hp you need an engineer full time. etc. There is an exception for very small boilers but I forget the size.
In any case, it is not very difficult to make a loop that would be safe and not require input from any government agency.
ist,
info- Hide quoted text -
if there were a way to takew the flue exhaust gasses of woodstove thru the old flue of a gas hot water tank with no burner.........
All right, I did some more research. From what I could dig up, the "growth range" for Legionella bacteria is 20C to 50C (68F to 122F) and the "ideal growth range" is 35C to 46C (95F to 115F). That information is from here:
Here's a site that talks about chlorinating well water:
- Logan
if there were a way to takew the flue exhaust gasses of woodstove thru the old flue of a gas hot water tank with no burner.........
**************************************************************** Creosote would be a problem.
That last does happen. Which is why the recommendation on the temperature of storage hot water systems.
This reinforces a conclusion that I reached long ago. What this world needs is another world war or maybe a pandemic. That way people won't have time to worry about such trivial, almost nil risks.
I swear that some folks, when they get to heaven, will worry that their wings aren't large enough.
Johh, happily living on unchlorinated, untested, good-taasting well water.
-- John De Armond See my website for my current email address
I've read a book on steam boilers and know just enough about the subject to want to avoid creation of any steam. I've read about steam boilers exploding and being launched like a rocket up out of the house and landing on a neighbor's house, etc.
Also I would think that avoiding steam would depend on a pump circulating the water. I live in a rural area and we have frequent power outages. Sometime they last for 2 days.
I live in a snow area and my roof is at a 45 degree angle. Also 2 story house. So basically need a high lift to get up there. Quite easy to access the attic though.
T&P valve anywhere in hot water circuit should open if steam etc is created...........
ideally old tank would have its own T&P valve........
did you know the old side arm how water tanks common in the 60s used a copper tube coil in a gas burner for water heating. noi circuliating pump, must of been from natural convention..........
long time ago i was a little kid
googled side arm hot water tank and look what turned up
I've done this before and did notice a difference in energy usage and in recovery time.
Ken
:)
pot? kettle? :)
because by default, all water that isn't ice water contains heat, and could be considered some form of hot? one person's warm is another person's hot. :)
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.