"almost" done with oil

[Jocko1]

Greetings,

After installing my pellet stove my baseboard heat did not kick on all month. Considering the month we had in NY, that's amazing. The only thing I use my boiler for is to heat an indirect hot water tank. I would love to end this. Any advice on how to heat hot water another way?

 

[boo boo]

Many people on here have installed an electric water heater after they started burning pellets

 

[Mt Bob]

Does depend on how much you use.If you did the numbers,a smaller electric water heater,insulation wrapped,and on a timer may be the way to go.Dad (back in MD) had to replace his oil burner,and got tired of it running in the summer,at the price of oil,now.He did the electric swap,has been very happy.

 

[Arti]

Gas on demand is also another choice. They also make Electric on demand Water heaters.
These are very efficient and take up very little space as they hang on a wall.

 

[Jocko1]

No access to natural gas and propane is out of the question due to prices.

 

[Harvey Schneider]

They also make Electric on demand Water heaters.
These are very efficient and take up very little space as they hang on a wall.

When I looked into these last summer, I was shocked at the cost to install one. One of the biggest expenses was the cost of electrical wire to feed the heater. In my case it would also have required an upgrade of the distribution box to provide more space. I decided that I could not recover the cost of installation in the ten years that I am likely to stay in this house.
Tankless electric may make sense in new construction where the location of services can be better controlled and there is no cost of the materials being discarded (you invested in them and now are not going to use their full life). As a retrofit they may be too costly to make sense.
Part way measures include changing the system to an indirect tank and adding an automatic draft damper. I estimate that DHW was costing about $350 a year with a tankless coil in the oil fired boiler. I don't have enough data to know what the cost is after modifications to the system.
Another consideration is that the marketability of your home may be adversely affected if you don't have some sort of conventional heating plant in it and functional. In my case, I still need the oil fired system to heat the upstairs. I use the baseboards on the first floor only when I am going to be away because I don't trust the dog sitter to keep the stove running.

 

[moey]

Gas on demand is also another choice. They also make Electric on demand Water heaters.
These are very efficient and take up very little space as they hang on a wall.

I considered one huge electric draw I would have needed to upgrade my 200amp service. Standby losses in a electric tank are so low now unless you have space considerations I could not get the math to ever work out on my side. They also do not have very good reviews seems everyone has some issue long term with the heat exchanger regardless of brand for the electric ones.

 

[chken]

Greetings,

After installing my pellet stove my baseboard heat did not kick on all month. Considering the month we had in NY, that's amazing. The only thing I use my boiler for is to heat an indirect hot water tank. I would love to end this. Any advice on how to heat hot water another way?

Quite a few threads here on Heat Pump Water Heaters. You can add a heat pump like a Geyser or a Nylestherm, like some here have, or go to Lowes and get a GE Geospring like others have done, like myself.

I figured that in the summer, my Buderus was still using 1 gallon a day, to heat up the indirect DHW. When you figure out the cost of 1 gallon of oil every day of the year, that's a big number. The Geospring's yellow tag rating is about $200 for 10.4c/kwh. Based upon my electric rate, I figured it would be about $300 a year. And, it's pretty much about that, $25 a month. That's almost $1000 a year less than burning oil for an indirect DHW.

Lowes has the GE Geospring for $1000, sometimes $900. Many states and their utilities offer rebates from $300 to $1000. Either way, the install is easy for a DIYer, and the cost savings are a no-brainer. I plumbed in serial and used my indirect DHW as hot water storage, so instead of 50 gallons of hot water, I have 90.

 

[Jocko1]

Quite a few threads here on Heat Pump Water Heaters. You can add a heat pump like a Geyser or a Nylestherm, like some here have, or go to Lowes and get a GE Geospring like others have done, like myself.

I figured that in the summer, my Buderus was still using 1 gallon a day, to heat up the indirect DHW. When you figure out the cost of 1 gallon of oil every day of the year, that's a big number. The Geospring's yellow tag rating is about $200 for 10.4c/kwh. Based upon my electric rate, I figured it would be about $300 a year. And, it's pretty much about that, $25 a month. That's almost $1000 a year less than burning oil for an indirect DHW.

Lowes has the GE Geospring for $1000, sometimes $900. Many states and their utilities offer rebates from $300 to $1000. Either way, the install is easy for a DIYer, and the cost savings are a no-brainer. I plumbed in serial and used my indirect DHW as hot water storage, so instead of 50 gallons of hot water, I have 90.

I researched the GE geospring, and found a ton of negative reviews, that's what's holding me up from going that route. It's since concept since my below grade basement stays in the 50's during winter. If I can get it cheap it may be worth the risk.

 

[moey]

I researched the GE geospring, and found a ton of negative reviews, that's what's holding me up from going that route. It's since concept since my below grade basement stays in the 50's during winter. If I can get it cheap it may be worth the risk.

Most the negative reviews are from the early models they were basically made in China and had a lot of problems with them. The current models are supposedly pretty good. A few members have them hopefully they can chime in.

 

[AddictiveStew]

We purchased this guy: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Marathon...Heater-MR50245/100209103?N=5yc1vZc1u1Z1z0ubbt and cut off our oil DHW altogether. Been very happy with it. It is VERY efficient and since it isn't made of metal it can't rust! Barely noticed the increase in electricity.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

30-40 Gallon Electrics can be had for About $239. Any moderately DIY person can install one. I use a 30 in the summer for a family of 5 and it provides and the hot water we need.
Oil fired hot water would be my very LAST choice. I estimate about $20 a month on my electric bill for hot water. Or whatever my boiler uses as my bill does not budge when i shut down the boiler and start up the WH.

 

[chken]

I researched the GE geospring, and found a ton of negative reviews, that's what's holding me up from going that route. It's since concept since my below grade basement stays in the 50's during winter. If I can get it cheap it may be worth the risk.

There are plenty of others, AO Smith, Rheem, etc, if you are not keen on the Geospring. However, like someone else said, the negative reviews may be primarily of the older generation. The current generation are simpler, with fewer parts to break, and is made in Kentucky.

 

[chken]

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/nyletherm-1-heat-pump-water-heaters.126790/#post-1704556

That's a current thread on heat pumps that will work with existing water tanks. So, you use your existing water heater, but add the heat pump, for electricity saving, and dehumidification cooling.

 

[bandsdean]

I have an on demand Rinnai RU98i-LP and love it. I too had an oil boiler (hot water baseboard heat and a domestic hot water tank) that had to be heated year round for hot water. After a cracked heat exchanger, I replaced the boiler with one that only did the baseboard heat and got the Rinnai for my domestic hot water. Very cheap to run probably about $150.00 per year and with the pellet stove running, I hardly use the baseboard heat.

 

[Dr.Faustus]

i switched to a 40 gal electric water heater. nothing special. was a relatively easy install. Added a breaker, correct wire and the plumbing in about 2 hours. Had a pro electrician friend look it over and give the ok to turn on. Better in my neck of the woods to have cheap throw away water heaters because the water is so full of iron it craps them up fast.

got rid of oil completely. scrapped the boiler and oil tank. This winter my house was 75-80 and i was saving money while more than 1 of my neighbors were dumping diesel in their tanks every other day because they cant take the hit of a tank of oil all at once.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

People around here are scrapping their oil fired heating stoves and WHs in big numbers. In part it seems that more long term stability in the NG future due to widespread fracking. Moderate NG prices & uncertainty of oil prices ect. Most common new fuel source is NG.