We had a guest quarters at our old place which we just put an lpg gas instantaneous on, a bottle lasted a long time.
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We had a guest quarters at our old place which we just put an lpg gas instantaneous on, a bottle lasted a long time.
We run an LPG cooktop so that my be worth looking into as well.
K
When we bought our home it had instant LPG hot water, very expensive to run. I managed to purchase a nearly new Quantum heat pump HWS for about 1/3 of the new price. This runs off a normal power point with a time clock so I can dial in the most economical time to run it. Being noisy it isn't allowed to run after 10pm. It uses around 3kWh a day to heat the water in winter.
In summer we have a set of flat plate collectors that are shaded in winter (we have lots of surrounding trees) and a small solar panel fitted just above the collectors runs a 12V circulating pump. During the day if it's sunny enough the water temp rises above thermostat temperature in the tank so it doesn't run the heat pump at all. A cheap 12V temperature controller switches off the circulating pump at a temperature that's safe for the tank, around 65C. It only comes into play a few days each summer when the day reaches 40C or more for 2-3 days in a row.
The Quantum heat pump system has given us grief only once. The compressor stopped working and it tripped the thermo overload switch on the compressor. Repair costs looked to be way in excess of what we paid for it. So I repeatedly switched it on, waited for it to cut in, then ran over to it and belaboured the compressor casing with a 2lb lump hammer. Eventually the compressor cleared whatever was jamming it and it hasn't given a single problem since.
In the future I'd like to replace the flat plate collectors with evacuated tubes but I suspect they'll take a long time to pay for themselves, seeing how little the heat pump costs to run (around $250 a year).
Hi VernQuote:
Originally Posted by Vern
Just noticed another brand of heat pumps on the place I got mine from. Product Index – Welcome to Tivok Australia
Interested to see the have an evac tube as well. I was told new bigger units were coming but these are the first I have seen of this size. Thought you might be interested to look at them. The three phase options, pool and spa heaters and multiple sizing make them look interesting for my hydronic heating and hot water use.
I might be interested in 10 years of so when my current ones need replacing.