# Hot Water Heating In The Fireplace



## NJ Rich (Dec 14, 2005)

We have a fireplace without an insert. It is not in a room where it can provide warmth for more than the adjoining room. We are not going to install an insert at this time. That said lets move on to what I want to do with the existing fireplace.

Has anyone made a pipe system in their fireplace to heat water? I saw something in an outdoor magazine but I think many of you may have better ideas. We would use this hot water as we would use hot tap water not for a hot water heating system.

#1 An "on demand hot water system" that heats water as it runs though the pipes and moves water only when a faucet is opened. I worry about water pressure build-up with this system. :shrug:

#2 A system that heats and stores water in a tank is another option I need info about. Having a insulated hot water tank to hold the heated water is already part of that plan. 

Please give me some good ideas from something you are doing. I have some thoughts of my own but this is the place to ask for practical information. 
Thanks, NJ Rich


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## halfpint (Jan 24, 2005)

We lived in a house once where the fireplace grate was a piece of pipe about 3" diameter in a u shape that had a small fan on it that blew hot air into the room when you had a fire. It worked great to heat up a room, especially when we added an inexpensive glass front to the fireplace.

A similar system might work with water, however I would think the water would need to be moving constantly or you would build up steam within the pipe in the fireplace which would probably cause problems. If you put this type system on a hot water tank, you would probably need a recirculation system to keep the water moving when there is no water being used.

Dawn


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## damoc (Jul 14, 2007)

i have put a couple of coils of copper pipe in an old stove to make a hot water heater the main trick is to have a thermowhatsadohicky flow set up
IE the water naturally circulates due to hot water rising or cool water falling
so you must have one end of the copper pipe at the bottom of your hot water
tank and one end at the top also the tank must be close to the heater
and the pipe used should be fairly large say start at 1/2 inch but larger the better.the tank canot be below the heat source otherwise you need to use a circulation pump which complicates things.this is the reason they use tanks on the roofs of houses with solar.

this will heat water very effectively so you will need a large storage tank
and safety valves or you could end up with a boiler explosion


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## Cheryl in SD (Apr 22, 2005)

I visited a home that had old radiator style heaters in each room. The water ran through the fireplace to heat and provided warmth to the rest of the house. I don't know if it also provided water for use.


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