Hurricane Electric hot water heater

[dastardlydan]

  Was thinking of doing some dumping to make hot water.

This would be a pre heater just keep the tank in the house

from working so hard.

Don't have room to put it in the house

so would it work if it is laying on its side in the crawl

space.

I know how hot water heaters work top enement first and botton

element to hold the temp.

  What do you all think

Dan

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[vawtman]

Hi Dan

 Sure you probably could but im sure nobody here would recommend it.

 Could you dig a pit for it?Maybe

[Nando]

There are reasons why the water heaters are upright.

The cold pipe goes all the way down to the bottom.

The hot water goes to about the upper part of the tank to get the hotter water.

the consumable electrode ( corrosion protection) is placed in a way where the generated currents neutralize the greater majority of the wet surface of the tank.

The Heater locations to optimize the best heater arrangement for faster hotter water available.

SOLUTION: UP RIGHT AND WELL INSULATED to reduce the heat losses and in a crawling space, nothing is right.

Nando

[GaryGary]

Hi,

You could strip the outer case and insulation off your new tank, paint it black, put a box around it with a glazed top, and put it out in the sun -- you would then have a solar batch water heater

http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/WaterHeating/water_heating.htm#Batch

If you live in a warm climate, it will provide hot water year round.

Gary

[TomW]

Gary;

That is exactly what we do here. Insulated box with a discarded black electric water heater tank in it and a window on top preheats the water heater incoming cold.

These days it is usually warm enough to shower with out of the preheater [33 C (91 F) today] but we just use it to feed the water heater and let it finish getting it up to "hot".

I figure there is substantial savings in starting with water thats well above the well water temperature.

Mine happens to be laying on its side but it has an outlet on the side I use facing up to get the warmest water off the top and the cold incoming is plumbed in on an inlet on the opposite side [down] and other end so mixing of cold and hot is minimal.

Just how we do it. Works fairly well for the minimal cost and no cost of operation.

Cheers.

TomW

[dastardlydan]

  TonW:

glade to hear that , I will do the same.

It's just a preheater any BTU'S you can add

will cut down on energy uses.

Thank Dan