# no water heater/summer winter hookup ?



## pahomeowner (Sep 30, 2005)

I was looking at a house but I hesitate to buy it because it didn't have a water heater.  It had oil heat and something called a summer winter hookup where supposedly the oil heater heated the water for the house but I don't really understand how.  does anyone have this?  the house was vacant so there were no occupants to ask about this.  I'd hate to buy it and then have to mess with putting in a water heater when it's not even set up to have one.  with no tank that I could see, how could it heat enough water at a time? I don't get it.  anyone familiar with this set up?


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## mangan_nina (Nov 13, 2006)

I would also like to know - I am moving to Pennsylvania in February.


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## wienerwater (Nov 13, 2006)

It's a water coil inside the boiler/heater, so your boiler/heater must run year round for hot water.I think I would look into a hot water tank, should be simple to install, just a few connections to replace or install.


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## akradar (Nov 14, 2006)

That's how my house is set up.  We do have a hot water heater but it's not hooked up to electric or gas, meaning it's just there for hot water storage, and circulates through the boiler in a loop until we need it.  It does seem to use a lot of oil to heat water and keep it that way, but I think mostly the furnace could use a cleaning to run better.  One thing to remember though, if you do go that route and use an "unpowered" tank is to remove the anode rod and plug the hole.  You could just pull the anode, cut it off and rethread the bolt end back where it came from.  If it's not going to be used sacrificially, then it's just gonna rust and make your hot water smell pretty bad.  Something called sulphur hydroxide I think they said it was.


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## glennjanie (Nov 14, 2006)

Hello PA:
A demand water heater is the most economical because it only heats the water when its in use. It doesn't keep a tank of water hot all the time which uses a lot of energy. This would work well with the oil fired boiler in that it takes no floor space, doesn't fire up unless water is flowing and doesn't store hot water while you sleep or are off at work; and you can shower as long as you want.
Glenn


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## akradar (Nov 14, 2006)

glennjanie said:


> Hello PA:
> A demand water heater is the most economical because it only heats the water when its in use. It doesn't keep a tank of water hot all the time which uses a lot of energy. This would work well with the oil fired boiler in that it takes no floor space, doesn't fire up unless water is flowing and doesn't store hot water while you sleep or are off at work; and you can shower as long as you want.
> Glenn


I second all the above, and had my "druthers" would go that route meself...


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## wienerwater (Nov 14, 2006)

Not trying to stray too far from the main topic, but here is a great link, if interested, regarding demand water heating. 

http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/water_heating/index.cfm/mytopic=12820

There are many great opinions and ideas on this and many subjects, but one also has to keep in mind their personal needs and uses, as well as enrgy costs in thier locations etc. Example, in my location, electricity is pretty cheap, so it's not uncommon to use elctric water tank and/or electric furnaces, since it's cheaper then natural gas even.Operating costs, initial installation costs and return on the investment should be factored in, as well as usage needs.
Just my 2 cents.


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## vip2020 (Nov 22, 2008)

I sleep without the heater on. I sleep on the la z boy rocking chair that folds out into a bed. It's not the leather ones but the cloth weave--it's very warm to sleep there. I cover the rocking chair with a microfleece blanket then I cover myself with a microfleece blanket and a comforter blanket. It's extremely warm. Just something to consider if you want to save money from bills.


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## Mick (Dec 12, 2008)

So is there a way to disable the water heater part of the summer winter hookup? I'm considering a tankless water heater but don;t know what my ioptions are coming from the summer winter setup.

We got a pellet stove for heat, so we're just burning oil to heat water, and I don't want to waste the oil keeping the water warm if we're heating it with the other system...

Thanks for any input.


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## glennjanie (Dec 13, 2008)

Hello Mick:
You could take the hot water coil out of the oil burner and put it into the pellet stove. It would just borrow a little heat from the pellet stove which will be burning anyway. Of course, that leaves you still needing a tankless water heater for summer use but you can save a ton of money in the winter months.
Glenn


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