Heating my 250 gallon system off my boiler

[madmike10000]

Hello everybody. I wanted to share a build I did in case anyone wanted to do the same. With the rising cost of electricity I decided to heat my 250 gallon system with my boiler.

For this setup I have a new 180 gallon main display and 150 gallon sump in my basement. I have 2 return lines going upstairs. 1 line goes through a 55kbtu titanium heat exchanger.

The boiler side I added a zone for this purpose with its own circulation pump and a mixing valve to dial back the temp going into the heat exchanger. Controlling the pump is my INKBIRD controller with a rib relay to turn on the boiler when a call for heat goes on.

This method heats my tank quicker and it saves me about $75 a month in electricity. If you do this yourself. Use caution I’m a licensed plumber and hvac tech, if you don’t feel comfortable adding zones, soldering and general electrical this might not be for you. If anyone has questions please ask.

 

[lapin]

Great idea. As long as no tank water goes thru copper your good to go

 

[homer1475]

Purely out of curiosity, and playing devils advocate.......

You say your saving $75 a month in electricity, but how much propane/natural gas are you using to fire the boiler, how much electricity is used to run the boiler, and is it really offsetting the cost of the electricity?

 

[ReefStable]

I've been doing the same with my coral farm for a little over a year now! Been working great!

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[madmike10000]

Purely out of curiosity, and playing devils advocate.......

You say your saving $75 a month in electricity, but how much propane/natural gas are you using to fire the boiler, how much electricity is used to run the boiler, and is it really offsetting the cost of the electricity?

The boilers already running for heat and temps are only going to 120 max. Boiler seems to run for about 5 minutes on every heat cycle if it’s not on a demand when the aquarium calls. Electric bill went down a good 75$ from last month running this setup. The electricity from the circ and fan motor are nothing compared to the 1500w electric heating I had going, plus it heats it up in 15min compared to an hour or 2 with the electric that’s on .5 degree swing. Gas consumption seems to be negligible. I can see it being more in summer when I’m not heating my house

 

[homer1475]

Thanks for explaining it!

I was genuinely curious.

 

[madmike10000]

Thanks for explaining it!

I was genuinely curious.

No problem I wish I knew the numbers and can tell you exactly how much you save with the cost of gas included my I just don’t know. I do know when you switch from electric water heater to high efficiency gas you save money. How much I guess depends on how much your electric cost. I’m in ct and electric is insane here.