Radiant heat as a sole source.

[jhenderson]

What employer? And what does that have to do with anything? Loss from maintaing water temp 24 -7 instead of firing the heater only when needed more like it. Maintainence? A 5 gal pail of water and vinegar and 20 minutes of my time. I’ll be sure to factor that into my expenses.

 

[Wayne M.]

Guys, thanks for the quick pointers! I learned a lot. We have other points to negotiate on this, but regarding the heat system, I think I can move forward!

 

[Shiner]

o

What employer? And what does that have to do with anything? Loss from maintaing water temp 24 -7 instead of firing the heater only when needed more like it. Maintainence? A 5 gal pail of water and vinegar and 20 minutes of my time. I’ll be sure to factor that into my expenses.

Maybe I misunderstood the sentence "I bathe after work...….". I was merely stating that 40% sounds really impressive if you are talking about $100's or $1000's, not so much if $1's and $10's in this world of $10 latte's. Yes, vinegar is the solution used, as well as a pump, couple of hoses and a bucket......and a quart of beer while waiting. I merely pointed out the maintenance because they are higher maintenance and if a part happens to fail, your local Wal-Mart isn't going to have the part. I know that some manufacturers require a water softener and or water filtration prior to unit to keep their warranty intact. Todays tank style water heaters are efficient as well, just not an endless supply, however they will supply every faucet that is turned on. On bigger NG units, meters may have to be upsized, at additional cost, as most NG meters are only good for 250K btu/hr.. Even on LP, these larger units could require upsize in piping. Like I said, I use both and they both have pros and cons. Electric tanks that are on time switches are very efficient. I time those to heat when electric rates are the lowest and the "storage" keeps hot water available for later. Pick your poison. Enjoy your tankless. For the record, nothing beats the hot water output of an outdoor boiler.

 

[jhenderson]

40% = $100s when propane is $5 a gallon.

 

[BIGNASTY]

For the record, nothing beats the hot water output of an outdoor boiler.

I was staying out of this to see where it lead, We run a Heatmaster G200 outside boiler.
https://www.heatmasterss.com/g200/

Last Winter was longer that expected with almost NO FALL we burnt 5 Cords of wood total between the end of Sept. till the 1st of May when I shut it down, this includes UNLIMITED HOT WATER as the 50 gal elect hot water heater is plumbed into the system. The boiler heated the 2000 sqft home & a 25' x 36' garage that I ran a heat register into to keep it warm. The house has double pane Low E Pella windows from what I've seen ( I didn't build it) is Super Insulated at a daytime temp of 70* & night time of 65*. The rest of the year our home is ALL electric our highest electric bill has been $150.00 a month at times running the A/C for days when the temp & humidity requires, we like to have the windows open as much as possible. For backup Ive bought rebuild kits for the 2 Taco pumps to have on hand JUST IN CASE
https://altheatsupply.com/wood-furn...-flanges/taco-009-bf5-j-circulating-pump.html

Yearly maintenance is to test the quality of the system water and the rust & scale inhibitor I think it ran about $150.00

As of now we are only running the system on 1 pump the other is intended for the shop when built, the added expense to run with the addition of the shop heat will be 110 volt pump and 110 volt heat exchanger fan.

My wood is free either from our own properties wood lots or more commonly from downed trees that interrupted the Park Count Power company power Grid. Cost of this was a decent wood splitter, various logging tools and SWEAT EQUITY ( I don't need to hit the gym after a day working the wood)

 

[jhenderson]

My buddy runs his year round for domestic hot water. In the summer he simply throws in a bale of mulch hay. It provides enough BTUs for all his needs. Outdoor boilers have become quite controversial around here with towns either outlawing them or demanding such large setbacks from property lines that they’ve become too much trouble. It stems from two intertwined factors. 1st, the stack on a boiler is far shorter than a household chimney. That sets the smoke loose closer to the ground which makes it very noticeable under certain weather conditions. 2 nd, some ——- burn anything flammable in them. This includes plastic, waste oil, and trash. The smoke from their actions reminds me of a dump fire. Nothing one jerk ruining things for everyone.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Here the Boilers within city limits generally won't allow them because of smoke, some townships are the same only they have acreage requirements. Living in the un-Incorporated part of the county has the advantage that NOBODY GIVES A XXXX.

The newer types of Boilers are not only FAR MORE EFFICIENT they produce almost no smoke once they are fired up and running with the gasification re-burn feature, the Boilers have a bad reputation from past experiences.

It seems to me that running it solely for domestic hot water is hardly a viable option JMO, the electric water heater is not that big a user of electricity per K-watt cost. We have added a water heater insulation blanket to further enhance its heat retention. This may change when we install our Off Grid Solar/Wind power system this summer.

 

[jhenderson]

It’s only efficient considering they have no other source for domestic hot water. You also have to take into consideration the fact that they mow about 5,000, 50lb bales a year. Between broken and old dusty bales from the previous year it’s more efficient to burn one a day than dispose of them in the mulch pile.

 

[Wiredawg]

I live in the sunny south San Antonio TX. In 2009 I did a major total renovation and expansion project on my home and built my 60ft x 60ft shop. I spec'd tankless propane HWH, but builder offered me solar over electric with 80 gal storage/ backup electric HWH. Had good local power co and federal rebates. Installed panels and SHW system on shop, and use HW recirculating system for near instant HW at furthest spicket.

Works great, lots of companies want to sell them, but no one wants to work in them. Even original installer wouldn't service it. Finally, I had to learn the technology, troubleshooting, maintenance, and operation monitoring. I did it after it crapped the bed, replaced wifi/system controller, two pumps, and replaced the glycol coolant.

So do I recommend them? NO!, unless you want to maintain it. Works for us plenty of HW for long showers, which I have no guilt. Grey water goes through aerobic sewer system and waters the lawn.

Cheers,

Ron

 

[Wayne M.]

Thanks, Ron.