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"Using electric hot water tank to heat small living space". terry 05-08-2008
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Posted by terry on May 8, 2008, 4:43 pm
Discussion recently someone claimed to have used a 40 US gallon
electric hot water tank to heat a small living space by piping its
output to a couple of radiators or hydro baseboards. It was AIUI a
converted single bedroom cabin?

Presumably the hot water heater (tank) would have two 3000 watt
elements. So 6000 watts would provide approx. 18,000 BTU or so of hot
water per hour.

That sounds quite usable, recalling older less efficient hot air
circulating oil fired furnaces for 3 bedroom plus full basement houses
of 2000+ sq. feet in this rather cold climate which were often rated
at around 45,000 BTU? As long as the water would circulate somehow?

Thanks for any comments?

Plumbing 468x60
Posted by Paul M. Eldridge on May 8, 2008, 5:13 pm
On Thu, 8 May 2008 13:43:04 -0700 (PDT), terry

>Discussion recently someone claimed to have used a 40 US gallon
>electric hot water tank to heat a small living space by piping its
>output to a couple of radiators or hydro baseboards. It was AIUI a
>converted single bedroom cabin?
>
>Presumably the hot water heater (tank) would have two 3000 watt
>elements. So 6000 watts would provide approx. 18,000 BTU or so of hot
>water per hour.
>
>That sounds quite usable, recalling older less efficient hot air
>circulating oil fired furnaces for 3 bedroom plus full basement houses
>of 2000+ sq. feet in this rather cold climate which were often rated
>at around 45,000 BTU? As long as the water would circulate somehow?
>
>Thanks for any comments?

Hi Terry,

Others will no doubt offer their own take, but I would recommend a
proper electric boiler and not a DHW tank; they're not that much more
expensive and they're built for the long haul. Note too that with the
exception of some high-capacity models, only the upper or lower
element is energized at any one time -- not both.

In any event, you might also consider electric hot water baseboard
units such as these:

http://www.cadetco.com/show_product.php?prodid=1010

No boiler, expansion tank, circulator pump(s), zone value(s), plumbing
lines and, most importantly, no worries about freeze-up in the event
of an extended power outage or if you close up camp for the winter.
Plus you can zone each room just as you do with regular electric
baseboard heaters. These units provide a nice, gentle heat and
they're *MUCH* safer than the standard variant. I highly recommend
them.

Cheers,
Paul

Posted by ransley on May 8, 2008, 7:52 pm
> Discussion recently someone claimed to have used a 40 US gallon
> electric hot water tank to heat a small living space by piping its
> output to a couple of radiators or hydro baseboards. It was AIUI a
> converted single bedroom cabin?
>
> Presumably the hot water heater (tank) would have two 3000 watt
> elements. So 6000 watts would provide approx. 18,000 BTU or so of hot
> water per hour.
>
> That sounds quite usable, recalling older less efficient hot air
> circulating oil fired furnaces for 3 bedroom plus full basement houses
> of 2000+ sq. feet in this rather cold climate which were often rated
> at around 45,000 BTU? As long as the water would circulate somehow?
>
> Thanks for any comments?

Are you in an area where electricity is as cheap per btu as fuels are.
Few places in the US are. A water heater can work but wont last as
long as proper equipment.

Posted by Edwin Pawlowski on May 8, 2008, 10:08 pm

> Discussion recently someone claimed to have used a 40 US gallon
> electric hot water tank to heat a small living space by piping its
> output to a couple of radiators or hydro baseboards. It was AIUI a
> converted single bedroom cabin?
>
> Presumably the hot water heater (tank) would have two 3000 watt
> elements. So 6000 watts would provide approx. 18,000 BTU or so of hot
> water per hour.

I "can" work, but is certainly not the best method. If you are using that
much electricity, why not just use electric baseboard and remove the need
for circulating water?



Posted by hallerb@aol.com on May 8, 2008, 11:25 pm

> > Presumably the hot water heater (tank) would have two 3000 watt
> > elements. So 6000 watts would provide approx. 18,000 BTU or so of hot
> > water per hour.

most hot water tanks only heat one element at a time.


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