I want to upgrade the method used to provide water to my fish room. I currently have several 50-gallon drums which I keep filled with water, heated and ready to use as required, but I am limited as to the total gallons available to me at one time. Energy consumption is very wasteful if I keep the drums heated constantly, but if I leave them cold then it takes a day to warm them up so I don't have instant access in case of an emergency. They also take up a lot of space. I am on a well, and don't treat my incoming water in any way other than heating it; additionally, the incoming feed line for the whole house runs through an electronic de-scaler.
I am considering installing a small point-of-use tankless water heater that would then give me unlimited water at any time. Small units that are designed for a single wash-up sink seem ideal; they are very compact, operate only when heated water is actually being drawn, and are available in 120v versions so can use my existing wiring (I have a 10-gauge circuit already fed into the fish room). Ideally, I would like to find a unit with an integral adjustable thermostat that would allow me to set the temperature, but most of the units I can find have a minimum temp setting of 86F...way too warm for my purposes. The solution seems to be a separate, thermostatically-controlled pressure-balancing valve to mix hot and cold to create my desired temperature. This is more of a PITA, since I will need separate pipe runs for hot and cold running to the valve. To operate correctly these valves require specific water pressures and flow rates, and the heater must be sized properly to match. All of this is complicated by my domestic pressure-tank, which cycles up and down from 30 to 50 PSI...and of course, my well water temperature varies from season to season.
In my mind I am picturing a system that allows me to open a valve and have instant access to endless water at the perfect temperature. I can't be the first person to go down this particular rabbit-hole. Does anyone have any suggestions or comments? Either refinements to the system I am envisioning, or else ideas for a completely different method of achieving this goal?
I am considering installing a small point-of-use tankless water heater that would then give me unlimited water at any time. Small units that are designed for a single wash-up sink seem ideal; they are very compact, operate only when heated water is actually being drawn, and are available in 120v versions so can use my existing wiring (I have a 10-gauge circuit already fed into the fish room). Ideally, I would like to find a unit with an integral adjustable thermostat that would allow me to set the temperature, but most of the units I can find have a minimum temp setting of 86F...way too warm for my purposes. The solution seems to be a separate, thermostatically-controlled pressure-balancing valve to mix hot and cold to create my desired temperature. This is more of a PITA, since I will need separate pipe runs for hot and cold running to the valve. To operate correctly these valves require specific water pressures and flow rates, and the heater must be sized properly to match. All of this is complicated by my domestic pressure-tank, which cycles up and down from 30 to 50 PSI...and of course, my well water temperature varies from season to season.
In my mind I am picturing a system that allows me to open a valve and have instant access to endless water at the perfect temperature. I can't be the first person to go down this particular rabbit-hole. Does anyone have any suggestions or comments? Either refinements to the system I am envisioning, or else ideas for a completely different method of achieving this goal?