Marathon hot water heater

[hemlock]

Hello,
Towards the end of last summer (August), I installed a Marathon 50usg hot water heater, which replaced my indirect fired oil heater. So far - it has been working better than expected. Previous to switching, my oil bill was $135 per month with the indirect oil, just for DHW. With the installation of the Marathon, my electric bill rose by roughly $40-50 per month, for a total monthly saving of roughly $80 per month. Not a bad pay-back. Just thought I would post this should any one be considering replacing thier DHW tank. The Marathon heaters seem like a good investment. The initial cost is substantially more than a "conventional", but the payback and savings seem well worth it.

Happy new year.

 

[DBoon]

The Marathon seems to be a good heater - built to last. Time will tell, of course, but I don't like the "built to fail within x years" electric water heaters that are what are generally available nowadays.

I've not had an oil-fired hot water heater, but when I was considering a boiler upgrade I did a calculation that oil-fired hot water was more expensive than electric with oil at $2.75/gallon and electricity at 15 cents/kWh. That was assuming certain oil burning efficiencies which were probably on the somewhat forgiving side.

 

[DBoon]

By the way, you might want to consider a hot water heat pump as your next purchase to bring your costs down even more. It sounds like you are using a fair amount of hot water, and the payback time for you might be in the 3-4 year range. What is your electric rate?

 

[hemlock]

By the way, you might want to consider a hot water heat pump as your next purchase to bring your costs down even more. It sounds like you are using a fair amount of hot water, and the payback time for you might be in the 3-4 year range. What is your electric rate?

I had looked at the HPWH, but for my set-up, I have a feeling they may not be practical. My concern was with it cooling down my basement too much, and having to compensate for it by running the stove hotter. The electric rates here are 12 cents/KWH (I think, they raise them almost yearly). My plan for next year is to possibly install a solar pre-heater.
Oil in these parts is insane - around $.80/ litre ($3.20usg).

 

[btuser]

What kind of savings would you be getting from a conventional electric tank?

 

[hemlock]

What kind of savings would you be getting from a conventional electric tank?

I'm not sure, to be honest. While I was researching them, their efficiency rating was substantially greater than a conventional HWH, due to the superior insulation. The heat loss in a 24 hr period is supposed to be only 5* (if memory serves), as opposed to over double that for a conventional. There is also the "plastic" tank. They claim this is the last heater you will ever buy (except for elements).

 

[DBoon]

I don't think that most of the "savings" over a conventional hot water heater would come from reduced electricity usage, but from not having to replace it often and/or not have to worry about a puddle of water (or worse, a flood) in a basement due to a leaking tank.

If this Marathon tank is as good as it seems, it should last 2x as long as the "best" 12-year warranty conventional hot water heater, which will save me money over a long period of time.

These tanks are R-25 and a conventional might be about R-20 (best case). The marginal electric usage is probably about 20 kWh/month (or less). It's not going to make you rich, but it will add to the other savings. Of course, if the reduced electric use is all that matters, you could wrap your existing tank in more insulation.

 

[drizler]

I don't think that most of the "savings" over a conventional hot water heater would come from reduced electricity usage, but from not having to replace it often and/or not have to worry about a puddle of water (or worse, a flood) in a basement due to a leaking tank.

If this Marathon tank is as good as it seems, it should last 2x as long as the "best" 12-year warranty conventional hot water heater, which will save me money over a long period of time.

These tanks are R-25 and a conventional might be about R-20 (best case). The marginal electric usage is probably about 20 kWh/month (or less). It's not going to make you rich, but it will add to the other savings. Of course, if the reduced electric use is all that matters, you could wrap your existing tank in more insulation.

Also What about those one-way antisiphon valves to keep the warm and cold water from moving around by themselves? I know they make them for boiler type tanks.