GL: Water heating

[lrzeitlin at aol.com]

There are many ways to get hot water for bathing. While living in India 
we learned to bath in the Indian way using a minimal amount of water. 
Heat about 2 quarts of water on the stove. Soap yourself with the first 
quart, then use the second quart to rinse yourself. The technique works 
surprisingly well. When we cruised in a small sailboat we had a solar 
water heater. This consisted of a black rubber bag, sort of like a big 
enema bottle. Fill it with a couple of gallons of water. Leave it on 
the sailboat deck for a couple of hours. The water will be warm enough 
for a comfortable shower. The compression of the bag forces the water 
out through a spray nozzle. It is a system I recommend for boaters 
south of the Mason/Dixon line. On our last boat we got quite spoiled 
with an enclosed head/shower and a 6 gallon water heater. Plan B is 
simply to stay at a shore side motel from time to time and enjoy long 
soaking hot water baths.

Now about on-demand water heaters. We had an electric model in the UK. 
The water temperature was highly dependent on the water flow. There was 
only one combination of heat and water flow that was comfortable. You 
had to learn to love it. It took so much current that it required its 
own circuit breaker box. Not practical on a boat unless you have a huge 
generator. Right now we have a propane on-demand heater in our house. 
While it is adequate for general use, the water temperature varies if 
the laundry, dishwasher, and shower are in simultaneous use. You have 
to learn water discipline.

As far as costs go, there is not much saving over a well insulated hot 
water tank. No more than about 10% or so. The break even point is many 
years. This was confirmed by a recent Consumer Reports study. True, the 
on-demand heater will supply an unlimited amount of hot water if you 
keep the flow moderate but if you have sporadic needs for a lot of hot 
water, say several teen agers taking showers, a large tank heater is 
the way to go.

Larry Z