hot water heater

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SpaceFlight
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Electric stove and hot water heater

Postby SpaceFlight » 2005-09-04, 1:03

<<Yeah, I know--and even in houses with garages it can sometimes be found in other places. I was just speaking generally as to what's quite common here. Oh, yours uses electricity? I think natural gas ones tend to be more common here. What do your stoves use? Some use electricity here, and others use natural gas (like the one in my family's house). Also, some stoves are connected to the oven, while others are separate. The one in my family's house is a gas cooktop which looks like this:

But the one in my apartment on-campus is electric and is connected to the oven like this one:>>

Kirk,

My stove and hot water heater are both electric and my stove is connected to the oven.

<<In the US you don't turn water heaters on and off--most are always running, but if no one's using them they don't keep as much hot water heated, just enough to get going and then it heats more if you're using it. In Argentina I had to remember to go turn it off and on before and after my showers, which was a new experience for me.>>

I'm glad that we don't have to turn hot water heaters on and off here in the United States. It can be a big pain, especially in some houses where the water heater is far away from the shower.

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Postby Psi-Lord » 2005-09-04, 1:06

ZombiekE wrote:Water and electricity. It's a bit scary :D

As long as it's properly earthed, I'd say it's as dangerous as a liquidizer. :) At least I myself have never heard of any serious accidents with either showers or taps, and the former have been in use here for at least 50 years.
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SpaceFlight
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Cold showers

Postby SpaceFlight » 2005-09-04, 1:08

One of the things I really don't like is when I'm in the shower and the water is hot and then starts to get cold while I'm in the shower.

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Re: Cold showers

Postby ZombiekE » 2005-09-04, 1:26

SpaceFlight wrote:One of the things I really don't like is when I'm in the shower and the water is hot and then starts to get cold while I'm in the shower.


That's happened to me in some cheap hostel in Madrid.

I also had a cold shower (boiler turned off) in Malaga, as the rest were sleeping and I didn't want to annoy. The weather was too hot, so it wasn't that bad. I am more used to cold than most people in Malaga as Burgos is a cold city so I guess it helped me with the cold shower. Then they stared at me and asked how came I hadn't asked them to turn it on.
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Postby JackFrost » 2005-09-04, 1:54

@svenska84: My stove also use electricity too. ;)

When I grew up in Pennsylvania, my old house had their hot water heater in the basement next to the furance. And it also uses electricity.
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Postby kibo » 2005-09-04, 7:20

svenska84 wrote:Most water heaters I'm familiar with here keep water heated in a large upright cylindrical tank.


Yes, that is what I have too in my apartment. Though it's in the bathroom.

Here in apartments (I don't know about houses, there must be a 1000 ways to heat water there), there are usually two ways. In some buildings (in my town, in those who are considered more elite), hot water is provided by the company that provides central heating. I'm not sure if they have it 24/7, or only during certain part of the day, but it happens that it's not there when it's supposed to be. (judging by the constant complaints. :P)

The other way is what I have: an electric boiler. Mine is right above the bathtub. Since electricity is expensive, it's not turned on constantly, only during the night when the electricity is 4 times cheaper. (It has a mechanism to turn itself on when the 'cheaper electricity' comes) It accumulates water, make it hot and it stays there to be used during the following day. But since the other members of my household are irrational when it comes to spending water, it's mostly gone by 3 pm, so I have to turn it on in the afternoon too. :x

Mine is cyllinder, but it doesn't need to be. In fact, most modern ones are in the shape of a cuboid. It doesn't even have to be white.

In apartments where the kitchen is separated from the bathroom, I saw a separate mini-boiler for the kitchen sink.

When I was in Alicante, it was a completely another story. Both the hot water boiler and stove used gas, but the funny thing is I didn't know that till I was suddenly out of hot water during the shower (I hate cold water!!!). Since I didn't see any boiler around, I guessed that the hot water is provided externally, and that it must be out of order or something. But then I asked my flatmate about it, and I found out that it uses gas. I must say I was shocked at first, but I got used to that. :? (I didn't have much choice)

There were two gas container on the balcony: one for the hot water, one for the stove. They looked more or less like this: http://www.jaimesanchezmontes.com/Img0002.jpg
I just needed to take the empty container down to the pub near my building, and come back with a filled up one. :D (heavy!!)
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Postby ZombiekE » 2005-09-04, 16:19

Yes, it's a "bombona de butano" (butane pump). They're orange, just like these.

Image

The babysitter that took care of me when I was a baby had those at her home.

Their colour is so popular that if you dress in orange (like monks in The Tibet) they call you "el butanero".

Butaneros (butane pump suppliers) also have the fame of being the "unknown fathers" of many children. Rumour has it "¡Es hijo del butanero!" (he's the son of the butane supplier man). It's a national joke.

Those gas containers are the pumps that are causing great damage in case that rubbers and other things used to connect the pump to the stove break and let the gas out. Switching the lights on can blow up several stories. Of course there are periodical checks, but personally, I think electricity is the best option.
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Postby kibo » 2005-09-04, 17:17

ZombiekE wrote:Those gas containers are the pumps that are causing great damage in case that rubbers and other things used to connect the pump to the stove break and let the gas out. Switching the lights on can blow up several stories. Of course there are periodical checks, but personally, I think electricity is the best option.


Don't scare people!!! :P Good thing I didn't read this before I used it, I might've freaked out and made it worse. ;) (Ignorance is a blessing ;))

But nothing happened, and I am a magnet for disasters. And I can only hope that nothing will happen the next time.

Anyway, I would be more afraid to use Psi-Lord's electrical shower than gas boiled water. ;)
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Postby ZombiekE » 2005-09-04, 17:27

Yeah, those taps with electricity scare me :\

About the gas thing, don't worry, it's a matter of being careful with the checks and not letting the gas out (making sure the valve is closed and everything is connected alright). Accidents with gas are in the news every year. Personally, I think it's like having a bomb at home. That's why I prefer electricity, but I've stayed at friend's places where they use gas and sometimes we've said "¡huele a gas!" (it smells like gas!)

If you smell gas, open your windows, don't turn on any lights or use your lighter and leave home. It'll be fine after some time. I can't describe it's smell, but I've had to smell it several times.

Do you know if they use this kind of gas pumps in Ireland? If I get an Erasmus grant for 2006, I'd like to rent a flat that doesn't use gas pumps! :D
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Postby Psi-Lord » 2005-09-04, 19:47

Back at my grandfather's, the gas for the stove comes from gas containers such as these:

Image

They are definitely the most common source of stove gas for houses here. In the past, they were often placed right be the stove, but nowadays it's very common to have a separate place for them, often outside the house, to avoid any sort of accidents.

Image

Contrarily to Spain, the guys who sell them here often dress in blue, though it's actually up to the company (Ultragaz is the best known company for me). I've never heard of accidents that weren't caused by the users themselves, in situations as silly as this:

Image

Who the heck installs the gas container right by the electricity wiring (which is in an awful situation itself)? :P

In my building, the gas for cooking comes from containers like the biggest one in the following picture:

Image

They are placed in a special 'room' in the ground floor and connected to the gas plumbing of the building. Each flat has its own valve, and you just have to connect the stove to the gas point.
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