Many homes that heat with oil also use oil to heat their domestic hot water. This is the water that goes to your taps, showers, dishwashers and clothes-washing machines.
There are various ways to heat domestic hot water with oil. You can have a heating coil inside your furnace, an indirect-fired water heater connected to your furnace or a stand-alone oil-fired hot water heater. Today we are going to talk about the latter.
A stand-alone oil-fired water heater consists of a burner which heats water in the tank above. The exhaust from the burner runs through a pipe in the centre of the water heater which connects to the chimney. The location of the exhaust pipe helps keep the heat in the tank longer to heat the water quicker. This technology is time-tested and has not had major changes over the years.
Originally stone or glass-lined, most oil-fired water tanks today are made of steel. They come in sizes ranging from 30 to 50 gallons, depending on household needs. Most homes only require a 30 gallon tank.
Oil-fired water heaters are a popular way to heat hot water because they are less expensive than indirect-fired water heaters and have more capacity than a heating coil (30 gallons vs. 4 gallons). One of the biggest advantages of oil-fired water heaters is the higher recovery rate over electrically-heated, giving you and your family plenty of hot water when you need it most.
Oil-fired heaters also require little maintenance other than an annual vacuum cleaning and nozzle change to ensure they are running properly and have a productive lifespan. Typically, an oil-fired water heater will last between 8 to 10 years. When the water heater is reaching the end of its life span it will start to produce dirty or rusty water, a sign that the inner tank is rusting. When this happens, the whole unit will need to be replaced.
Oil-fired water heaters continue to be an effective and efficient way to heat your domestic hot water. At Scotia Fuels, our heating oil experts know everything about fuel oil and equipment. Want to know more about oil-fired heating equipment, service or installation? Please visit us at www.scotiafuels.com or call us at 902-453-2121. We are here for you.