Last week my hot water heater sprung a leak out the top, so after a frantic day I have new tank in the house... However the old hot water heater still functions just fine. It got me thinking, is there a way to repurpose the burner to use in an open (no pressure) tank around the pond? It seems like natural gas would be a lot more efficient than electric heaters.
The two major problems I see right off would be getting a black-pipe line out where I need it (only about 30 feet from where the line enters the house), and I would need a different thermostat for the temperature range (ideally keep the water at 35F). Everything on the old hot water heater, including the electronic ignition, still works fine. I wouldn't want to keep the full height of the tank though (no place to hide it), but if I could keep 1/3 of the height, have one of the water pumps feed water in, and add an outlet pipe to drain the warmer water back into the pond, it could make for a really nice addition when we have those bone-chilling cold spells.
Any thoughts on this? Anyone seen it done before, or have suggestions on making it possible?
The two major problems I see right off would be getting a black-pipe line out where I need it (only about 30 feet from where the line enters the house), and I would need a different thermostat for the temperature range (ideally keep the water at 35F). Everything on the old hot water heater, including the electronic ignition, still works fine. I wouldn't want to keep the full height of the tank though (no place to hide it), but if I could keep 1/3 of the height, have one of the water pumps feed water in, and add an outlet pipe to drain the warmer water back into the pond, it could make for a really nice addition when we have those bone-chilling cold spells.
Any thoughts on this? Anyone seen it done before, or have suggestions on making it possible?
