Geyser heat pump water heater, first report

[EricV]

I just wanted to give my first impressions of my Geyser Heat Pump water heater.

I have a damp basement and need to run a dehumidifier 8 plus months a year. Well it broke down and needed to be replaced last summer.

That's when I started looking at a heat pump for my DHW for the part of the year I don't need heat and don't need to burn the Tarm. I have a Tarm gasser with storage and normally use it year round for DHW plus run the dehimidifier. The side affect of the heat pump is A/C and dumidification, up to 50 pints a day.

So I went ahead and got a Geyser heat pump from Tom in Maine (thanks Tom for the great service and allowing me to ask a bunch of questions).

The Geyser is unique in that it is a separate unit and you install it on your own tank. That is nice because when the tanks fails you don't need to replace the pump too. The pump has a much longer life expectancy than most water heater tanks.

I have a rather unique install and it took me some trial and error to set it all up but now it provides me plenty of hot water and my basement in dryer than ever.

I set it up on my indirect 36 gallon water heater that is heated by a new Buderus oil burner or the Tarm when burning wood. Plus I put a 50 gallon electric (electric is not installed, it was a cheap way to get an insulated new tank)

So I have 86 gallons of hot water heated by the heat pump.

I also have a watt meter hooked to it and I'll post some data when I have more to post.

So far it's working like a charm. The upside is they use a fraction of the electric that a electric water heater uses. It allows me to take a break from wood for the summer and my basement is cooler and fresher smelling then ever.

The down side is recovery can be slow so I anticipate on weekends when there may be a large draw for extra laundry etc. (I have a special needs son that requires lots of hot water) I may have to flip on the oil boiler to help out. But that's ok, it's a brand new Buderus I have running at 93.7% so it's not painful.

So my initial impression is I'm very pleased with the unit and especially with Tom in Maine for getting it to me when I decided to pull the trigger on it. And the 30% tax credit doesn't hurt either.

I'll post more as I go along.

Eric

here are a few pics. I've cleaned it up some since I took these but you get the idea

(broken link removed to http://picasaweb.google.com/gevannos/GeyserHeatPumpWaterHeater#)

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I have the same problem, I need to run a dehumidifier in summer and electric HW heater. Iv been reasearching those new dual de-humid and ac units which are about $200-500, He ones i looked at Are not Heat pumps and do not heat your hot water,just give you AC and dry the air.
WHat did yo pay for it if you dont mind my asking. Depending on what it cost it may not pay for me cuz im not putting much out right now for HW and DeHum.

 

[EricV]

The pump was $1200 plus I spent more on the tank etc. You'll get the 30% tax credit as well. If you have an existing electric water heater it's a simple hookup and you shouldn't need any more supplies as it comes with everything you need to hook it up.

Their website has a great video on how easy it is to install. It will take care of your basement and not cost much more than a humidifier. I'm very impressed.

here's the site.

(broken link removed)

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I cant figure why my electric bill dont go up in the summer when i turn on my electric water heater. I guess by turning off my stoker the fans and pusher motor not running is off setting the use in the water heater. My bill is the same year round although i only use the Electric water heater in the summer,for 5 people by the way.