Can the gas element be taken out of a old Gas water heater, and be replaced be a small firebox. I came up with the idea of reusing an old water heater to heat my old spa. I would put a heat sensor on the top of the water heater, that would know when there was heat, and it would turn on the pump to heat the spa. I have a small outdoor wood space heater,that I would pour cement around to make a base for the water heater to stand on. The base would be the fire box, with a steel door that I could adjust the air intake. Will it work??? The water heater would still have the safty pressure valuve on it. (Hmmm)

-- Steve Hoach (Hoach2@HOTMAIL.COM), November 12, 2001

Answers

How many gallons can that heater heat at a time? It will run pretty continuously, can it stand that stress? Our spa is 500 gallons (for 8 folks) so it would take a lot to maintain any heat for that size...maybe yours is a smaller version?

-- Anne (HealthyTouch101@wildmail.com), November 12, 2001.

The spa is a smaller one, and It has a cover on it. The water heater would have a small fire box, and I figure it might take two to three hours to heat it up. When the fire burns out the pump will shut off, but the spa should stay hot for some time with the cover on.

-- Steve Hoach (Hoach2@hotmail.com), November 12, 2001.

Hey Steve, what would run the circulating pump? Electric?

-- Anne (HealthyTouch101@wildmail.com), November 12, 2001.

My wife got a kick out of your question, about what would run the pump. She said no way was she going to sit on a bike conected to a pump. I guess it will have to be an electric pump for sure. Hmmm What I need to know about are the problems that I will run into doing something like this. That is what I need some input on.

-- Steve Hoach (Hoach2@hotmail.com), November 12, 2001.

Have friends that have an outside hot tub that they use. It is heated by a wood fire. Don't know where they got that but sure if you looked at one of the web sites that sell hot tubs they would be able to help you with it. The friends took an old HUGE wine barrel. The kind that the wineries use to store the wine for years, cut it in half and use that as the tub. IT is wonderful !!! Haven't been able to find a barrellately as the wineries have done away with a lot of them now. But don't know much about your idea working. Good Luck !!

-- Helena (windyacs@npacc.net), November 13, 2001.

Be very, very careful with water heaters !!!! They are a pressure vessel, meaning that unless you have the proper pressure relief valves on it you've made yourself a bomb! Besides, the area where you'd put a wood fire isn't designed for that type of heat. I saw someone try to do a similar thing with an oilfired boiler. They took out the burner and used wood.. all they accomplished was screwing up the boiler and freezing their pipes. The flue passages are not safe for the carbon that builds up from a wood fire. Please be careful.

-- Ken in Maine (kenjan@nh.adelphia.net), November 13, 2001.