Remote Living > Water
Some (additional) water questions
jlsoaz:
--- Quote from: Mary B on March 02, 2018, 07:51:59 PM ---If you only need a small amount of boiled water use a drip coffee maker without adding coffee!
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Thanks, I'll keep an eye open, though I'm happy with the inductive water boiler I've got. I use it for tea and instant oatmeal and such.
It's not an essential matter, but ever since that conversation in the UK, I keep wondering if my kitchen was outfitted with a higher voltage plug suitable for what they use on kitchen counter tops to boil water in the UK, if I would be able to boil water a bit faster.
jlsoaz:
--- Quote from: Bruce S on March 02, 2018, 12:34:40 PM ---I've recently been looking into going tankless and have been doing some research , so maybe what I've come up with will help.
I'm going to keep our 20gal water heater, even though the gas to it will be turned off, it will still hold the water.
With the water in the tank coming up to room temp, this water will be 10 - 20 degrees F hotter than coming straight out of the city pipes. Even with our city water pipes being about 3feet under ground(our freeze line is only 18inches), I have been able to measure the incoming temps at 45F , To top off my hydroponics I normally have it sitting for no less than 24 hours to merely warm up. I use city water only if I cannot get anything out of the rain barrels.
To me that equates to having the tankless burn less fuel(gas) to heat the water even quicker, again saving me $$$.
An added plus is the ability to have a tank full of water as a standby for those times when water is hut off for busted water mains (again).
Hope this helps on that part.
The kettle, we use an induction burner to boil water, a whole lot cheaper than having 240Vac installed and has a great many other uses. ;). It's all about the efficiency of getting the heat to the water.
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Thanks for the points. Basically, I have to go to one or two additional solar installers and get a second opinion as to whether a tankless system can "play well" with a conventional solar hot water system.
In terms of geeky at-home energy equations, I don't criticize your interesting strategy of working around the need to heat up the water at least an interim amount, etc., but then, technically, isn't some of the heat energy coming from the energy you put into the air of your house? Regardless of whether it saves energy or not, it sounds like a solution that, in its way, is a smart solution that works, but in terms of understanding the dollar and BTU net in and net out, I do have to wonder if, overall, energy is actually saved.
My counter-top water-boiler sounds similar to yours. For a point of reference it is something like this (though I'm not 100% sure if mine is inductive or conductive).
https://www.amazon.com/Ovente-BPA-Free-Protection-Indicator-KG83B/dp/B00DEPGY7G/ref=sr_1_8?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1520184404&sr=1-8&keywords=water+boiler+kettle
Bruce S:
That kettle is neat, I like the blue LED lighting of it. the auto shut-off is a good safety feature.
Alas; ours is more like these. https://www.amazon.com/Gourmia-GIC-100-Multifunction-Countertop-Temperature/dp/B017HX1E0M/ref=sr_1_6?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1520260171&sr=1-6&keywords=induction+burner
Regarding the water using the extra air temp to bring it up to a higher temperature than incoming therefore using more energy?
I had thought of this as well, however , I don't think it'll be that way. Our basement air temp pretty much stays the same year-round due to the insulation and the whole below the freeze level thing.
I know there's probably a measurable extra usage, however , I've not seen any small or large blip in our Natural Gas usage, actually with the extra little things we've done around the house , we've used about 10% less than this time last year.
Hope this helps
Bruce S
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