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Hot water heater ideas

Started by Firewoodjoe, February 21, 2014, 08:19:31 PM

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Firewoodjoe

Ok I have a owb and it only heats my house. Soon to be garage (when its finished) and my shower water. I have a builder coming Monday to finish my basment and I'm going to get the water hooked up to the stove lines. Question is what type of exchanger do you have? And id like to hook my current electric hot water heater in line for back up incase the fire goes out. Any thoughts on that?

DaleK

 

  This is mine, pretty standard around here. Pipe from bottom of electric heater to top, jacketed within a bigger pipe that has the line from the OWB feeding in at the bottom and out at the top (on right, orange line running in and out). As the water is heated within the jacket it constantly rises into the top of the heater and circulates its self. I turn the breaker off for the elements when the OWB is hot but you don't have to, the elements won't come on much or you could turn the thermostat down a bit on them.
Hud-Son Oscar 330
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Echo chainsaws and a whole bunch of tractors

DaleK

Mine came preassembled but if you can measure, cut and solder half decently you could do it yourself in about an hour and probably $50-60 in parts.
Hud-Son Oscar 330
Wallenstein FX110
Echo chainsaws and a whole bunch of tractors

chevytaHOE5674

I have a plate style water to water heat exchanger that heats the water on its way into the hot water tank. Still use the electric water heater in the summer. Works real good and have all the hot water I could want.

Firewoodjoe

Chevytahoe that's kind of what I was thinking. Is your hot water heater on all the time. And do any of you burn all summer also?

thecfarm

I use mine to heat the hot water. Not saying it's a great money saver. I burn a lot of branches,limbs in the summer. May have to fill it,3-4-5 times,but it works. But I also have a 54 inch wood box too.One day I was cleaning up around here here and drove by the OWB to the burn pile with some branches,limbs that I was picking up and trimming of the trees. So I thought it was kinda weird that I was going to burn it,but get nothing out of it,so I stopped with a load and found it worked out ok. My wood pile looks real bad all summer.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Firewoodjoe

Yeah woods not an issue for me. Logger and I sell firewood. Well I'm thinking a plate heater (I can buy it local) and run it through that into my hot water heater as a tank and it would kick on if needed.

bobby s

When I installed my o.w.b. , I installed a 60 gallon Superstore heater  to work along with my existing electric water heater.
Cold water enters the Superstore. It's heated by the coil which is connected to the owb lines. The electric water heater(40 gallons) is connected to the outgoing line from the Superstore (in series if you will) and basically acts as a storage tank while the owb is being used. The hot water is then distributed throughout the house from the electric tank.
When I shut the owb down in the spring, I turn the breaker back on and use electric h.w. for the summer. I've never run out of h.w.

upsnake

Joe Check out my pictures album on here. I have pretty much exactly what you are talking about (propane heater but all the same).

In the Pic the OWB water is going right to left in the red pex.
The domestic water is going left to right in the copper.
I have the ball valves set up so the green handle one allows or stops the flow of cold water from the house. The blue one to the right of the green controls the flow through the plate.
Then the two bottom blue ones of course are just shut offs for the tank.

If i want to run in summer mode, I open the green and close the blue. (that way i am not running water through the plate if i don't need to)
And if winter mode i close green open blue.

I put unions on the copper up top by the plate so i can take it apart if i need to.

Last year i just ran the owb in the summer.






r.man

Upsnake, do you turn your propane off when the OWB is fired?
Life is too short or my list is too long, not sure which. Dec 2014

upsnake

I keep the pilot lit, mostly just to keep spiders an other bugs from making a home in the orifice and causing me to have to tear things apart to clean them.

The tank keeps the water hot enough after the one pass through the plate that I need to have the burner turned up to keep things hot.

LAZERDAN

A plate exchanger is the ticket.  I put the hot water  from the burner line where it enters the basement , to a plate exchanger then took the feed to the water heater and ran it through the exchanger and back into the intake of the  water heater.  then I built a sidearm but not the factory one, I used regular pipe and put in a shell exchanger ( thoes germans are clever) verticaly. So the exaust water from the plate goes to the shell and on to the furnace. the plate warms the incoming water and the shell recirculates the water in the tank.  not the cheapest but have never had cold water even when the fire is almost out. believe me with six teens its like a hotel around here, They always comment about the great hot water. I just smile inside, I got somethin right           Lazerdan                And also: I just remembered thankyou very much.  If your fire does get low or out, It can happen in an emergency, I use water in the boiler not anti freese. The shell echanger works both ways if the stove gets cold the water heater will take over, because of its thermstat and also heat the woodstove water so it does not freeze.  Bonus thought 

Corley5

I had issues with a brazed plate exchanger plugging with lime scale.  My parents had the same issue with a soldered copper tube exchanger but it took much longer.  Now I've got a stainless tube and shell exchanger that comes a part for cleaning.
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

Firewoodjoe

I put hard water additive in my stove. Or do u mean on the drinking water side?

Corley5

Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

Firewoodjoe

I see. Yeah hard water will always cause something. I just picked up a 40 gal electric hot water heater. My boss has plate heaters and likes them. Heats a indoor swimming pool also. I'll try something:) thanks for the replys. HomeDe don't even carry tankless it's a special order. Go figure. I'm surprised he didn't say "it's not my department" lol

LAZERDAN

Sorry your right .  I forgot to mention ss exchanger and before the plate exchanger  a water filter on the stove side, but have never found anything on the screen    Lazerdan

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