m Ransley wrote:

ready temp lie # 14
The Ready temp consumes 14 kwh a month ?
First in the midwest 14 kwh = 1.75 at .125 kwh
14 KWH equals apx 20 watts
My fishtank pump uses 20 watts. , just the pumps ive seen consume apx
100 watts
But that homeowner grade looking timer you have which BTW looks
exactly like my Intermatic timer consumes 3 watts at rest- standby. Any
transformers or relays in that unit? So I will guess your unit uses 4-5
watts at standby. point is a 15 watt pump is worthless , if that is
actualy what your unit uses, which I dont beleive it does.



Well, just to be fair to him, (Though I doubt that he deserves it.) if
it does use 5 watts at standby that's still less than 4 kwh per month.
But, without knowing the specifics of the installation he measured, the
local temperatures, and such, that won't disprove his claimed 14kwh/month.

The measuring device he says he used seems like its got adequate specs
for that kind of stuff:

http://www.professionalequipment.com...qx/default.htm

However, I'd bet my virginity against $2 that it'd take a helluva lot
more than his claimed 14kwh/month do the pumping job in *my* house,
where there are two stories of piping above the basement the hot water
heater's in, and the local temperatures have been hovering between about
+5 and +25 F for the last couple of weeks.

And, he never mentions the cost of having the hot water lines filled
with warm/hot water whenever the timer is *on*. The heat losses from
those pipes have to be paid for by the cost of whatever energy you buy
to heat your domestic hot water, don't they?

It'd be fun to try and compare the true costs of having "heated" water
available instantly at the furthest taps from the hot water heater using
his pump...against the cost of the water you'd waste waiting for hot
water to reach the taps without it. I used the term "heated" rather than
"hot" because if his pump was set to keep the lines fully filled with
water that was really almost as hot as it could get under full flow,
then the energy costs would skyrocket compared to his claims. And, you'd
have to waste water and time every time you wanted a glass of cold
water, because the cold water lines would also be filled with hot water
then, wouldn't they?


I think I'll put up with things the way they are, thank you, and in my
next life, when I build my dream house, I'll think about specifying
thermosyphon returns and insulation on the hot water lines.

Jeff (Who obviously has way too much time on his hands...)

--
Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"If you can keep smiling when things go wrong, you've thought of someone to place the blame on."