oil fired water heater as boiler
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Eric Johnson
Mod Emeritus
I think that theoretically it can, but you'd need a heat exchanger and by the time you got the heat transferred, I doubt that it would work very well. Might keep your pipes from freezing up on a cold night, is probably about all you could expect.
Or, are you talking about using the WH as a dedicated unit? In that case, maybe. But bear in mind that a boiler is made of at least 1/4-inch boiler plate, while a water heater is made from rolled steel just a bit thicker than a beer can. In that case, it might work, but I doubt you'd get much service life (nor efficiency) out of it. JMO
Or, are you talking about using the WH as a dedicated unit? In that case, maybe. But bear in mind that a boiler is made of at least 1/4-inch boiler plate, while a water heater is made from rolled steel just a bit thicker than a beer can. In that case, it might work, but I doubt you'd get much service life (nor efficiency) out of it. JMO
I was thinking as a dedicated "boiler". The heating water would be in the tank. If anything wouldn't a WH deal with harsher factors than a boiler such as higher pressures, up to double that a boiler deals with, continually fresh oxygenated water. What can a boiler do that a WH can't? I must be missing something, are the BTU's typically much lower for a WH?
Paso
Member
I would say yes you sure can.
I have a 450 sq ft paint room off my main shop that has in floor piping that I heat with a 30 gallon electric water heater. Maintains 70 *
I also have a 40,000 btu webasto oil fired burner in my motor coach that heats domestic water in one loop ,kick heaters in another, and a engine heater in another loop.
Your oil fired water heater will work it might not be an effient use of the oil your burning but it will work.
In my above applications cost is not an concern I need Heat.
I have a 450 sq ft paint room off my main shop that has in floor piping that I heat with a 30 gallon electric water heater. Maintains 70 *
I also have a 40,000 btu webasto oil fired burner in my motor coach that heats domestic water in one loop ,kick heaters in another, and a engine heater in another loop.
Your oil fired water heater will work it might not be an effient use of the oil your burning but it will work.
In my above applications cost is not an concern I need Heat.
When we started construction of our house, we heated the basement slab ~1,200[] with a 40 gal propane HW heater. When we got cold snaps, it could not keep the basement at 67. But it worked fine during normal temps. It can be done, but it was not/is not ideal.
But I do agree that, if you are going to run a good wood-fired hydronic, you probably could save money on the fossil unit, since it shouldn't run much. Add in storage to the mix, and then definitly.
But I do agree that, if you are going to run a good wood-fired hydronic, you probably could save money on the fossil unit, since it shouldn't run much. Add in storage to the mix, and then definitly.
Fred61
Minister of Fire
Radiant Floor Company http://www.radiantcompany.com/ Specializes in heating systems with heat supplied by large domestic water heaters. I haven't brought up their site recently but I recall they displayed seversl water heaters fired with propane, oil and natural gas.
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