ark@alice.UucP (Andrew Koenig) (09/11/85)
This spring, we installed an oil-fired water in our house. The results have been so favorable that I thought I would post some particulars for others who might be interested. Before the swap, we had an 80-gallon electric water heater. In exchange for a favorable electric rate of 6.5 cents/KWH, the (separate) electric meter connected to the water had a timer that turned off the electricity altogether between 4 PM and 11 PM. Despite the size of the water heater, there was not enough water in reserve for two leisurely showers, a load of dishes, and a couple of loads of laundry. When we installed central air conditioning, we needed to find enough electrical capacity to drive the air conditioner. The choice was to replace the water heater or upgrade the electrical service. Since we do not have a gas line and putting one in would involve tearing up the driveway and possibly losing a mature shade tree, we did not want to go that route. What we chose was to install an oil-fired water heater. The particular unit our supplier installed is made by a company called Bock, which I had not heard of before. The tank is only 30 gallons, but the burner burns a gallon of oil per hour while it is running; this provides enough heat to bring a full tank of cold water up to operating temperature in 15 minutes. This means, in turn, that the heater can supply 120 gallons of hot water per hour; since our shower head passes about three gallons per minute, and about half of that is hot water, there is no possibility of running out no matter how long you run the shower. Or anything else, for that matter. Since the new heater was installed, we have not ever come close to running out. The claim of 15 minutes to heat a cold tank seems to be pretty much true: usually by the time I've dried off, the water heater has finished reheating and shut itself off. Oh yes, what did it cost? The heater itself was about $900 installed. This seems expensive, but... The electric water heater was costing us between $35 and $40 a month at the discounted electric rate. We know this because it had a separate electric meter so we could see just how much it cost. The oil truck came by this morning for the first time since the first week of May; the bill was $72. Thus the oil heater cost $18 per month to operate, or just about half what the electric heater had cost, even with the discount. That is slightly more than a four-year payoff, definitely a good deal.