RE: [papercreters] On demand water heater

In a closed system you "recycle" the water from the tub through the heater until it's hot enough. Obviously, that requires some plumbing and a pump -- just like the store bought tubs.

And if you heat the water in the evening it'll be a lot cooler in the morning, but that depends on how well the blanket insulates and of course the outside temps.

I'd say that if you run hot water into a tub on a cold evening, it's too cold to enjoy by the time it's full.  And that's especially true if your water is very cold to start with.

I was up near the Gila Cliff Dwellings in December and found this tiny campground with hot springs next to the Gila river.    By evening everybody had left and I had the place to myself -- that was as cool as it gets.  My hair was frozen, but the water was so perfect. 

That's what I'd like to recreate, with medium hot water going in at one place like a spring or waterfall, but the HOT water coming out in another area.  When you first get into hot water it seems really hot, but once you get used to it, it's nice to be able to move to a warmer place, especially in freezing temps.

So I'd like to have solar to heat the water during the day, but when we actually use the "hot springs" (usually late night), we run the on demand heater to maintain or increase temps.  The million dollar question is how much propane that'll take (we're off the grid).

And then I figured we use the water for plants because I hate chemicals in water and the UV lights aren't cheap and would require pumps to run (more electricity wasted). So that'll take some planning, valves, etc.

I can almost taste it now!

Christine

At 02:40 PM 11/10/2010, you wrote:

 
I'm not sure what you mean by "closed system".

What I want to so is heat a tub of water or some sort of in ground watering hole. If I heat the water in the evening then cover it with an insulating blanket will it still be warm in the morning? I know there are a lot of factors involved in answering this.

I agree that this is a good discussion. I need all the help I can get with technical things, even the most elementary.

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To: papercreters@yahoogroups.com
From: christine@bayhouse.com
Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2010 14:22:43 -0700
Subject: Re: [papercreters] On demand water heater

 
Another very interesting and relevant discussion here.   We really need to do CHEAP solar water heating, but haven't had much time to look into it yet.

Regarding the on demand heaters, I had a small one (for under sink) for the shower at my previous place and if you're on city water with constant pressure, they're great.  However, we're  hauling our water and have a pressured system and that makes for greatly varying temperatures UNLESS you got the kind with a thermostat.  When the pump comes on and the pressure goes up, the water gets cooler and then as the pressure goes down again, it gets hot.  It was a bit annoying to constantly have to adjust while showering.

I've thought about using an on demand heater for "hot springs" in a closed system (maybe as backup to solar), but that's still in the dream stage.

Christine




At 01:28 PM 11/10/2010, you wrote:

 

I have an on-demand heater that I have used to fill a huge claw foot tub many times, and it does great. I was recently given a hot tub and was considering using that heater to fill it, at least once :)

The heater I have wasn't too expensive, about $150 on ebay. In the summer it needs less gas and more water flow, in the summer more gas and less water, but once you get it set for the incoming water's temperature, the output is consistent for as long as you want to let it flow. One 30# bottle gave me showers all summer, but I'm sure the hot tub will consume a few pounds in one filling.

The disadvantage is that it's not a closed system so to reheat the water you would need to use the hot tub's electric heaters or have a pump to recirculate it through the heater.

spaceman  All opinions expressed or implied are subject to change without notice upon receipt of new information.    http://Starship-Enterprises.Net

On 11/10/2010 9:31 AM, JUDITH WILLIAMS wrote:

Has anyone used an on demand water heater to heat a hot tub? Would this be wildly impractical? I would love to have an outdoor water feature where I could soak but am not up to figuring out solar or anything like that.

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