Indirect Water Heaters
Did anyone but me notice on the DIY programs yesyerday (Sunday, 7/15/07) that both Bob Vila AND This Old House were both peddling Indirect Water Heaters. They neglected any down side, like up-front $$$ or the need to keep your heating unit running in the summer. These put me off (as well as ‘experts I…
Did anyone but me notice on the DIY programs yesyerday (Sunday, 7/15/07) that both Bob Vila AND This Old House were both peddling Indirect Water Heaters. They neglected any down side, like up-front $$$ or the need to keep your heating unit running in the summer. These put me off (as well as ‘experts I have consulted), but, am I wrong?
I have a small direct vent field controls vented boiler with a standard 40 gallon hot water heater w a y combustion metal chimney connected to main two zone boiler.
Question? Is this closet size unit warming 1450 sq. feet come off a third zone connected to new water heater( stainless steel),handle this load.
If I wanted to put 20 feet of baseboard in the future as a 4th zone .
does this sound rediculous!
Any suggestions
I don’t like to quote prices online but there’s a lot to consider such as the size of tank you would need and how to connect the piping to the boiler.
Working with a 5 y.o. Burnham should be no problem.
MP, when you say twice the cost of a reg w/h, is that typical? If I have a 5-yr old Burnham steam boiler now without the coil setup, can it still be done for around that? I have to change my w/h soon and would love to have this option.
Picture a typical room with a radiator sitting in it somewhere.
A boiler heats water and sends it through the pipes up to the radiator.
The radiator warms the air in the room surrounding it.
————
Now take that radiator and put it in a tank full of water.
The boiler heats water and sends it through the radiator which in turn warms the *water* surrounding it in the tank.
You then draw from that tank of water as you need it for your sinks and showers and stuff.
The best thing about it is that the tank is completely sealed and coated with thick insulation.
It is a VERY efficient way to make and store hot water and it can be used with either a hot water or steam boiler.
The boiler only has to run when the water cools down and only to the temperature needed to warm the water, not to heat the home.
Sounds good?
It is.
Can someone explain what exactly an indirect water heater is and how it functions? Thanks.
Someone PLEASE explain to me where this idea comes from that using your boiler in the summer (to make hot water) is a bad thing.
Is it because of the antiquated tankless coil (immersion coil) system used years ago?
That’s over with. We’ve got to change our way of thinking.
Having an indirecr water heater added to your existing boiler and heating system is a very simple and very GREEN way to go.
Overwhelmingly, boilers burn fuel at a much more efficient rate than water heaters and to make hot water for an indirect water heater, the boiler has to run for just minutes per day.
In NYC, I often prefer indirect water heaters above all other options.
The upfront costs are about double what they are for a standard gas-fired water heater and a bit less than what you might expect to pay for a tankless (on-demand) unit.