Diversion load water heater

4 Posts
Apr 7, 2011 06:54 pm
Diversion load water heater

I have a low voltage water heater element ALR-12/24-WHE to replace the existing heat element for my diversion load. My system is a 12 volt system. The diversion water heater is a Kenmore single element 240 volt ac unit. Is there any other settings I need to change on the water heater other then just changing the heat element?
 
462 Posts
Apr 8, 2011 11:30 am
Re: Diversion load water heater

Larry, is this tank used exclusively for the diversion load? Do you have a second HW tank for your main domestic hot water? Does this Kemore tank preheat water going into another tank? What is the diversion load coming from? Wind, Hydro, PV? How much power is going into the element? What is the power rating of the element, eg. how many Watts? How many gallons in the Kenmore?
 Main issue is with the safefy portion of the tank. Most electric tanks have a breaker that works off the temperature in the tank. If your new element is wired to this breaker and it turns off at some point, due to excessive hot water, you may cause damage if your system goes into diversion mode and the circuit to the element is off.
 Which is why knowing how much power is entering and how much water is being heated needs to be known. 
 Also check the rating of the contacts of this breaker.
 You could by pass this breaker and wire the element directly if you can calculate how hot the water will get. As long as it would stay below 160 you should be okay.   
 Hopefully there is a T & P relief valve on the tank along with a vaccuum relief for safety.
 
55 Posts
Apr 8, 2011 01:17 pm
Re: Diversion load water heater

Take a look at the solar heating solatr thermal post and look for my name. I had a post there about water elements.
 
4 Posts
Apr 8, 2011 02:04 pm
Re: Diversion load water heater

Larry, is this tank used exclusively for the diversion load? 
Yes.
Do you have a second HW tank for your main domestic hot water?
Yes.
Does this Kemore tank preheat water going into another tank? 
Yes.
What is the diversion load coming from? Wind, Hydro, PV?
Wind and PV.
How much power is going into the element?
My system is 850 watts.
How many gallons in the Kenmore?
40 gal.
Hopefully there is a T & P relief valve on the tank along with a vaccuum relief for safety.
Yes. There is an 85 gal. pressure tank inline before this diversion unit. And after the diversion unit is the solar hot water system storage tank. The diversion unit is to operate only form my Xantrex c-60 diversion load settings running on 12 volt dc current only. Originally, a 240 volt ac. Is there anything other then the element, that I have to change on the diversion unit to operate on dc only? Like the thermostat or is that ok?
 
462 Posts
Apr 8, 2011 03:50 pm
Re: Diversion load water heater

So 850 Watts input at 12 volts...around 70 amps....usually the t-stat for an electric hot water heater is used in conjuntion with a 30 amp breaker, (double 15 amp breaker in the fuse box.) I cannot say for sure what the ratings are for the existing kenmore t-stat contacts, so you'll have to double check that yourself.
 There are usually two 4500 or 3500 watt elements in an ordinary HW heater, but both do not normally operate at full throttle at the same time. 240 v at 30 amp..7200 Watts.....so there may be an issue using the installed t-stat.....probably best to wire the element directly with a dedicated breaker or switch rated at the 70 amps.
Also, if the t-stat shuts off the power supply while the diversion power is coming in, the power will have no where to go and may cause some problems......a dedicated breaker would be a better safety backup...
« Last Edit: Apr 8, 2011 03:56 pm by Tom Mayrand »
 
4 Posts
Apr 8, 2011 05:15 pm
Re: Diversion load water heater

There are usually two 4500 or 3500 watt elements in an ordinary HW heater.
The original element is 3800 watts. I do plan on having a dedicated breaker for this diversion unit. My system is still pretty small so I don't expect to get much hot water at first. But next year I will be adding more panels and hopefully, my system will reach a size of 2 kilowatts.     
 
4 Posts
Apr 8, 2011 05:30 pm
Re: Diversion load water heater

There are usually two 4500 or 3500 watt elements in an ordinary HW heater.
The original element is 3800 watts.
a dedicated breaker would be a better safety backup...
I do plan on having a dedicated breaker for this diversion unit. My system is still pretty small so I don't expect to get much hot water at first. But next year I will be adding more panels and hopefully, my system will reach a size of 2 kilowatts. Thank you very much for your help.
 
462 Posts
Apr 8, 2011 08:00 pm
Re: Diversion load water heater

No problem Larry. Any gain you can get is better than a loss, and hopefully your gains outnumber your losses.
 

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