Socal Tom wrote:daveesl77 wrote:I think I have read all the posts in this thread, so please forgive me if this has been asked and answered...
This is really interesting using the Rv water heater for cabin heat and it makes perfect sense. Has anyone done this using an on-demand type heater? My thought is that if you had a secondary pump system, on a recirculating flow line, you would then use the thermostat to activate a relay which would in turn activate the pump. Water flowing then tells the heater to fire up. As you guys note on a tank type system, if you do a closed loop, then the feed water temp will keep rising. This would also happen with the on-demand, but I think much faster. With my little 5L, it raises the incoming water about 30-50 deg F at 3/4 heat/flow rate in 10 seconds. You could then put a high temp shut down in the circuit to cut out the burner ignition once the water got to say 150 degrees or so. It wouldn't be a pressurized system, just a free flowing pump dumping heated water back into a storage unit.
Circuit would be 1) Storage Tank - 2) secondary pump - 3) Heater core - 4) return to tank with high temp cut off on igniter, but not the pump. Thermostat turns off pump and igniter.
So, is this viable or am I missing something. I ask because I already have the on-demand and will happily add the heater system if it looks doable. Unfortunately, can't really test much on the cabin temp rise now, as it is 90 in Florida.
dave
I'm missing how this is really different from the current system? The HW heater heats the water based on the demand ( low temp). The pump and fans are activiated by the thermostat in the cabin. When the temp falls in the HW heater then it turns on and raises the temp back above the cutoff.
Tom
Socal Tom wrote:I think this method makes perfect sense if you already have a hot water heater. If you don't, or lack the space to add one another option would be a RV type furnace.
MtnDon wrote:My reason for avoiding a std RV furnace was mainly that to install one in the CT required having an exterior wall for the intake and exhaust. It was not convenient. If it turns out that we need more heat, like for Dec - Jan cold weather I would do a Propex. The Propex has superb efficiency and has a low current draw.
bdosborn wrote:
That seems odd that you didn't want an RV heater since the RV water heater has the same requirements?
MtnDon wrote:Q. How do you see incorporating this into a hot water system so you can still use hot water at a sink or shower and at the same time use the hot water with a space heater (radiator)? I understand how a separate loop and reservoir system would have almost no pressure or at worst very low pressure. I will admit I have not given much thought to this with an on demand heater. I like the system that ShadowCatcher, lrrowe and I have as it lets us use water for space heating and use water for a shower, both at the same time. I would like lower pressure though as that would open the door to a wider choice of radiators (from the PC cooling world).
I might consider using a different water pump if the noise from teh RV pump was too much
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