DHW....need input.

[ssupercoolss]

there is no recession at my house, everything is starting to break at once forcing me to spend money i wish i had. i am in a situation where i need to do something about the hot water in my house. it has recently come to my attention i have very little hot water - short hot bursts if you will. it took me a little while to figure this out, showers are fine, but washing clothes in hot water is more like lukewarm, and who knows how hot the water is getting to the dishwasher. enough about that, heres my setup, tell me what you would do.

right now my hot water is provided via the coil in my oil boiler. from what i am being told, my hot water coil is scaling up, causing my issues. looks like it needs replaced. this will cost me over $200 for the coil.

my wood boiler is in series with the oil boiler.

should i abandon the hot water coil, and put in an electric hot water heater? this will require a new hot water heater, and about $200 worth of electrical work. i have a redicoulosly small main panel, and its full, that will have to be upgraded to a larger panel. dont have to fool with the service, just the panel.

can i do a side arm heater with an electric hot water heater? i am in the research stage of side arms.

if i do abandon my HW coil, i suppose i ought to go parallel with my oil boiler huh?

so....do i go electric and just shut the oil boiler off?

sorry this is long, i didnt even get into why i will be digging up my front in the near future.

 

[Duetech]

Yes you can do a side arm with an electric, gas or oil hot water heater, even a used one if it don't leak.

 

[Eric Johnson]

You don't need a parallel setup to go with a sidearm. Mine sits between the wood boiler and the gas boiler. Hot water from the wood side passes through the sidearm first, in other words, before heading into the gas boiler vessel. If you have an electric water heater with a sidearm and wood heat, you won't need the electrical hookup until you quit using the wood. That will buy you some time. And wiring it up ain't that hard--if you've got two free slots in your panel, which you don't. Anything you can do without?

You might shop around for a reconditioned coil. I've seen them for sale at some plumbing/heating supply shops. Check with a few heating guys--they might have one from an old boiler they'd like to unload for $50.

 

[ssupercoolss]

eric - i would go parallel with my boilers only if i abandon my HW coil. correct me if i am wrong, but no sense running hot water through my oil boiler if i am no longer using it for hot water. yes/no?

 

[leaddog]

If you are going to heat the DHW with wood why worry about elect. Just find a hot water tank and hook a sidearm to it. Problem solved. No sense using ANY fossel fuel.
leaddog

 

[ssupercoolss]

i wont be firing the wood boiler in august just so i can take a shower.

 

[Eric Johnson]

eric - i would go parallel with my boilers only if i abandon my HW coil. correct me if i am wrong, but no sense running hot water through my oil boiler if i am no longer using it for hot water. yes/no?

That's true, and parallel is a better way to go. But if cost is an issue, you can save money and time by not doing it and live with the minimal standby losses until you get the money to modify the plumbing. That stuff seems like it ought to be cheap, but it adds up pretty quick.