sidearm or indirect tank ?

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

woodsmaster

Minister of Fire
Jan 25, 2010
2,885
N.W. Ohio
I'm trying to decide on a sidearm or is it worth the money for a indirect tank? Questions, comments, words of wisdom.
 
Do you already have a tank that would work with the sidearm, or would you need to buy one? What is the price difference?

I don't see a huge amount of advantage to either the sidearm or the indirect if both are installed properly, so cost would probably be my primary driver.

One arguable advantage to the sidearm though is that if anything fails in an indirect you have to replace the entire unit, where with a sidearm you are only going to have to replace the part that failed...

Gooserider
 
I was thinking that I could hook a side arm to my existing 80 gal. elec. tank. Most indirect tanks I've seen are around $1,000 or more and sidearms are under $200.00
I plan on using a boiler to heat water year round.
 
woodsmaster said:
I was thinking that I could hook a side arm to my existing 80 gal. elec. tank. Most indirect tanks I've seen are around $1,000 or more and sidearms are under $200.00
I plan on using a boiler to heat water year round.

Sounds to me like a sidearm on the existing tank is the way to go... Just be sure to insulate the heck out of everything - see some of the other tank discussions where the author talks about putting the tank on a few inches of foam board, and wraps it heavily and found that it greatly reduced his losses...

I don't know of anything an indirect would do that would be worth an $800 premium over a sidearm...

Gooserider
 
Status
Not open for further replies.