Domestic Hot Water for Cookstoves

Looking to heat your domestic hot water system with your wood cook stove? In these videos, Obadiah’s Woodstoves explains your domestic hot water options and various types of heat exchangers and water coils. We have heated our domestic hot water this way for years, and it works if it sized accordingly.

Featured Video:

ABC Products - Concept 2 Max Hydro Cookstove

Obadiah's Sarah Chain visits the Progetto Fuoco 2020 Hearth Show in Verona, Italy and gives an update on the new changes and features available on the Concept 2 Hydro Wood Cookstove.

ABC Hydro Concept 2 Mini - The Basics

Woody from Obadiah's shows you the Hydro Concept 2 Mini, one of the best small-footprint cookstoves on the market.
The North Wood Cookstove - Review

Sarah from Obadiah's Woodstoves checks out the North Wood Cookstove and shows you the differences between the regular and hydro models

Hot Water With A Wood Cookstove Pt 1 - Water Reservoirs

Woody shows you water reservoirs: Water reservoirs can serve as a backup source of heated non-potable water in the event of an emergency or power failure by using the heat generated in the stove to heat water.
Hot Water With A Wood Cookstove Pt 2 - Water Coils and Jackets

Woody focuses on water coils and water jackets, showing you the variations and what their advantages are.

Hot Water With A Wood Cookstove Pt 3 - The Esse Ironheart

Woody discusses the Esse Ironheart and its unique advantage for heating water and transferring that heat across a home.
ABC Hydro Concept 2 - The Basics

Woody from Obadiah's shows you the Concept 2 Hydro, the excellent wood boiler cookstove hybrid from ABC.

The Esse Ironheart - Domestic Hot Water Installation

Woody Chain from Obadiah's shows you your options for installing domestic hot water on an Esse Ironheart. He explains the various ways you can do this using an optional factory installed boiler heat exchanger, and what it looks like.
The Flame View Cookstove - Reassembly, Part 1 - Firebox & Water Coils

Woody Chain re-assembles the fire box on a Flame View Cookstove and looks at how the water coil and boiler options install.

The Flame View Cookstove - Disassembly & Details, Part 3

Woody Chain takes his Flame View apart and has a look at the water heating options Margin Stoves has come up with.
The Flame View Cookstove - Reassembly, Part 5

Woody from Obadiah's talks about water reservoirs and how they are used, then shows you the rear water reservoir on a Flame View Cookstove and how it mounts to the stove, the wrong way and the correct way.

About Domestic Hot Water

Be aware: If this is not done properly, it will have severe consequences. Water Reservoirs on Wood Cook Stoves are NOT pressurized and cannot be connected to a domestic hot water system. They are fill and drain systems only, which means you fill it with a bucket and drain into a bucket. If you buy a wood cook stove with a water reservoir and it is connected to a water coil when there is a fire in the firebox, there must also be water in the water reservoir, or it will melt. Only the Kitchen Queen has a Water Reservoir that is passively heated and can sit there empty until needed without a problem.

NEVER DRINK WATER FROM A WATER RESERVOIR

Instead, use a tea pot and bring it to a boil first before drinking it. Water Reservoirs are a breeding place for bacteria, viruses, and fungi that will make you sick. The best way to do a domestic hot water system if you want a hot shower is to install a hot water tank (such as a Range Boiler) near the stove at the same level or above. You should hook the system up so it will thermospion properly without pumps or electricity.

The key to using this type system is understanding that you cannot install valves to turn off the flow of water, or you will have an explosion when the water boils. When there is fire in the firebox of your stove, some of the BTUs will be going into the hot water tank, so you must have two ways to read the temperatures in the tank. If you don’t have a way to read the water inside the tank, install a temperature gauge on the inlet side of the Thermoloop and on the hot side of the domestic hot water outlet on the tank. This will give you an idea of the temps of the water going in the tank and what is coming out. For example, if the water going into the tank on the Thermoloop side is running at 220 degrees and your hot water coming out is 190 degrees, it means you have 20 degrees to go before the pop off valve will release and all of your hot water goes down the drain.

It is a constant monitoring process to make sure you don’t blow your cork and lose the hot water by bleeding off the BTUs inside the tank when you use hot water at the tap, laundry, or shower. This system works if you’re on a ranch, homestead, or farm, and everyone is around during the day. If everyone is going different places all the time, it won’t work because no one can monitor the water temperature. If that’s the case, the system has to be automated with Auquastats, pumps, and a diversion system to bleed off BTUs into the something like a hot tub. These systems can get complicated quickly and the price can get expensive, so make sure you can run it with a battery back-up in case of a power failure.

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