Terry Saye’s house in Bemus Point uses propane to heat water and for cooking. When he first moved in, he found himself purchasing nine 100-pound tanks of propane per year for these purposes. That seemed excessive, so Terry made a switch.
He replaced his 40-gallon water heater with an on-demand water heater AND created a rooftop solar system to pre-heat the water before it went to the on-demand unit. This new arrangement reduced his propane usage from 9 tanks a year to three.
In winter, the rooftop pre-heater must be drained and disabled. So, Terry came up with another way to pre-heat his water using his wood stove.
Copper pipe wrapped around the stovepipe heats up when the woodstove is in use drawing water from the tank, and returning it to the tank, preheating it before it is drawn off by the on-demand water heater.
Terry says he’d be happy to show you how he did it. Give him a call at 386-5006.
