From Chilled Showers to Modern Comfort
Today, washing your hands in cool water or showering using cold water makes many people cringe. Years ago, that was all they had, and people just lived with it as no one knew what hot water was or that it would become necessary in people’s lives. Throughout this article, The Jmor Connection, Inc will share the inventors of the different water heaters and how they have evolved from the Bunsen burner to the most commonly used today, a tankless water heater.
Adventures in Camping Without Hot Water
Whether you entered scouting as Cub Scout as I did, a Webelo, or went directly and joined as a boy scout, you quickly discovered that there is no such thing as hot water on camping trips and learning how to camp without hot water. These always make great stories to tell, reflecting after I became an Eagle Scout.
From Ruud's Invention to Modern HVAC Mastery
Benjamin Waddyd Maughan, an English painter in 1868, patented the first device to heat water using Bunsen burners. Since the painter’s device relied on natural gas and lacked the flu, operating was hazardous.
Twenty-one years later, Edwin Ruud devised an updated version that contained many safety features and was the first officially regarded home water heater.
Rudd bought the rights to his new invention and formed his company in 1897. Rudd, today is a respected name in the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation & Airconditioning) industry and is a subsidiary of Rheem.
Water Heater Manufacturers During WWII
Around the time of the industrial revolution, just after the great depression, many companies that manufactured water heaters were popping up all over.
Unfortunately, this massive production came to a dead stop after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Thus, many of these production facilities either re-engineered their factories to assist in producing items necessary for battle or to build boilers for naval ships.
The Evolution of Tankless and Indirect-Fired Water Heaters
In 1929, Stiebel-Elton invented the first electric tankless water heater; however, the gas models became more popular as they were more efficient. Even though the 1980s, tankless water heaters needed to be more efficient to make them a replacement for traditional hot water tanks.
Around 1980, Amtrol released its first indirect-fired water heater. A conventional hot water tank uses a dip tube or rod that permits the cold water entering the top to fill directly from the bottom of the tank. There is a gas control valve mounted on the side of the tank and a sensor to monitor the temperate of the water, similar to the thermostat on your heating or air-conditioning system.
Anytime the thermostat sensor observes the temperature of the water being cold, it opens the primary gas value. Air is then pulled in from the bottom of the tank to mix with the gas, the burner ignites at the bottom, and the exhaust fumes exit through the flue.
The burner remains active until the sensor reads that the water has reached the set temperature. Hot water is then available from the top of the tank to send through your hot water pipe to faucets, dishwashers, etc.
How Indirect-Fired Water Heaters Operate
An indirect-fired water heater has no fuel source; thus, there is no gas, oil, or electricity to heat the water directly. It works by being piped as another heating zone off your boiler, and when the aquastat senses the water is below the requested temperature, it closes the circuit on the thermostat relay connected to your boiler.
Once the relay is closed, the circular motor starts to pump hot water through the pipes, and the heat exchanger coil installed inside your hot water tank.
Efficiency, Space-Saving, and Maintenance Considerations
Tankless water heaters are the latest trend, but how do they work, and will I save that much money by having one installed? First tankless water heaters heat only the water going through the pipes as it is called for.
Tankless water heaters are also called on-demand water heaters as they only heat the water when water is sensed going through the pipes. Tankless water heaters cost more than traditional water heaters but take up about 1/3 of the space.
Be advised that there is maintenance on tankless water heaters that need care since a copper boiler inside produces a ton of heat, meaning significant amounts of scale will form on them. Thus they need to be flushed regularly to ensure they are operating, especially if you have hard water in your area about once every twelve months.
Units are typically just under 200,000, about the limit for which you need a special permit. If you don’t do the maintenance or have it performed regularly, it can get into your plumbing, and faucet screens may have to be cleaned due to scale buildup.
It gets worse if you have a shower, and many have thermostatic values in them; often, the whole shower faucet has to be pulled out to clean it.
Pros and Cons for Considering Tankless Water Heaters
Although tankless water heaters take up less room, they often take longer to deliver hot water. Many have reported that water temperatures could be more consistent when multiple taps are used simultaneously. Besides costing more money, they also do not have a standby pilot and cannot provide hot water when the power goes out.
Many plumbers and contractors told me you would have immense savings by having one installed. However, with the ongoing costs of a plumber visiting once a year to descale the unit and the frustration of inconsistent hot water, I choose to stay with a traditional hot water tank or a amtrol indirect fired heater tank.
Assessing the Suitability of On-Demand Instant Hot Water Tanks
Are on-demand instant hot water tanks functional or able to save anyone money? Yes, I have found that they work great for those that take short showers of less than seven minutes and live in an area that doesn’t have hard water and more than two devices calling for hot water simultaneously.
Portable Heaters for Home and Camping
Did you know you can now get hot water at home and on a camping trip? Yes, portable water heaters come with a heater and a pump as it needs pressurized water, and the heat is generated from propane fuel. Does this mean that people won’t longer be roughing it on camping trips?
Did you know that back in George Washington’s time, they had hot baths, but how did they get the water that way with no house heater? Well, they had two ways to get hot water for baths: either take cold water and heat it on a potbelly stove or heat it over a fireplace. Unfortunately, one had to be careful not to get burned as the water was either ice cold or hot, as you know what.
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