We currently have a leaking electric hot water heater. We are leaning toward replacing it with a fuel oil hot water heater. We are in Vermont and heat with fuel oil.
Should we avoid a fuel oil HWH? What are good brands? Websites say that fuel oil is cheaper and more efficient, but the cost of fuel oil is going up (are we going to war with Iraq or not?!?).
We are a family of six, two bathrooms (one with jetted tub), soon to have a dishwasher, clothes washer only uses cold water. What would be a good size? Supposedly a smaller fuel oil HWH replaces an electric HWH.
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This much I can tell you.......I once rented an apt. in a two family house with an oil fired hot water heater. I found it virtually impossible to run that thing out of hot water! OOHH those loooong showers!
Eric
Yeah, I've heard that too. The electric we have now is a 60 gallon, but we cannot take a shower longer than 15 minutes.
Bradford White offers oil fired, residential DWH and are of high quality. They have a 32 and 50 gal versions.
Many moons ago, I asked a similar question. I got a great response from Patchogue Phil which I saved for future reference (see below)... If you're current oil fired furnace has a hot water coil, you can tie in a hot water tank as described below. Not sure if this will fit your situation... (This has the added benefit of keeping the furnace running year-round).
Adding Capacity to Hot Water Coil
PatchoguePhil - 05:27pm Jul 3, 2001 EST (#2 of 6)
Keep the coil, add a bronze circulator pump to the coil going into an inexpensive electric hot water heater with the heating elements disconnected. Use the water heater's thermostat to control the cirulator. Circulator takes heated water from the coil, sends it into one end of the water heater, out the other end of the water heater and back into the other end of the coil. Basically extends the capacity of the boilers coil.
Boiler high temp can be set lower to a very efficient temp (140* to 160*) instead of the usual 180*-plus. Water heater thermostat set to 10 to 20 degrees below the boiler temp.
Pump the hot water from the coil to the bottom of the (now) storage tank, with a tee fitting between the tanks drain valve and the tank. Take the water from the top of the tank COLD port (with dip tube cut short) and pipe to inlet of the boiler coil.
Hot water to the faucets comes from tank's HOT port. "Feed" water now goes into the tank bottom with the drain and coil output (add another TEE) or feed it with a TEE to the boiler coil's inlet side as normal.
JMHO
Phil
Furnace is forced air, no boiler.
There are a lot of oil fired water heaters out there. Oil fired tanks tend to be more expensive then gas and several hundred dollars more than electric. However, they will last longer than both hands down. Expect 10 yr service with electric or gas and expect 20 yr service with oil. Start searching brands and compare cost. Start with your furnace brand if you like it. Independence from the utility is nice. War is bad.
I don't know much about hot water heaters, but why do you want to heat HOT water? You need a COLD water heater.