Oil fired boiler for domestic hot water?

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toddo

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Greetings,
This post really has two topics so I'll post in both relevant forums and hope for the best.

I have a Well Mclain oil fired boiler for hot water baseboard heat. I had it installed by a pro about 12 years ago, did the balance of the plumbing in the house myself.

Have been heating heating domestic water with a 50 gal. electric tank heater. No problems with either system.

Have a few questions please, not quite sure why I waited to long to ask:
1) The boiler can handle the domestic along with the baseboard, skipping the need for electric, right?
2) The hot water from the boiler would run the the (then) non-powered electric tank for distribution, right?
4) Is this a good move from a cost and reliability standpoint? Something about running the boiler during warm weather is counter-intuitive to me. FWIW, I'm in central PA. Oil is cheap right now but nowhere to go but up again.
5) I set up a passive (no pump) recirculating system that works great - delivers hot water very quickly to the most distant taps very quickly. That would still function with the change to the tank supply, right?
6) If the switch from electric to boiler makes sense, can you point me to reference? I've searched and can't find much, one thread on this board...maybe not using the right search terms.
7) If I want to switch but am stuck (not too mechanical/technical here) can you guys help me out if I post photos of the set up?

Sorry for the long winded post...TIA for your expert guidance!

Todd
 

Tom Sawyer

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You could install an indirect like a superstor or an amtrol but it's going to cost you a couple grand which is going to take a whole lot of years to pay off. You did t say whether you use oil or gas but it doesn't make a lot of difference either. Me, I'd keep the electric tank.
 

Dana

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You could install an indirect like a superstor or an amtrol but it's going to cost you a couple grand which is going to take a whole lot of years to pay off. You did t say whether you use oil or gas but it doesn't make a lot of difference either. Me, I'd keep the electric tank.

In most of PA an electric tank has a lower operating cost than an indirect on an oversized boiler, even at this year's oil prices. The summertime "water heating only" efficiency of an oil-boiler + indirect is pathetic- less than 50% in most cases, unless coupled with a heat-purge controller, and even then it's not great. There used to be a Brookhaven Nat'l Labs boiler testing/modeling paper on the NORA oilheat website, but it's been moved (or maybe no longer available. Thomas Butcher was the author, and they tested about a dozen different boiler + hot water systems, some were tankless coils, others indirects, if you have the time and interest to dig.

If you want lower operating costs, when your electric tank is nearing end of life, you can see if the utilities are subsidizing heat pump water heaters. The much maligned GE Geospring is now much improved now that they're being built in Kentucky, about a grand at box-stores. A heat pump water heater will dehumidify your basement a bit during the summer, and will lower the basement temp a degree or so during the heating season, lowering the heat loss out of uninsulated foundations. (If your foundation isn't insulated, that's probably a better expenditure of funds than a heat pump water heater.)
 
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