Oil Fired Hot Water Heater Installation and Repair

Delivering hot water throughout the Lehigh Valley for over 60 years

For every home in the Lehigh Valley and its surrounding areas, there is an appliance to supply your domestic hot water for bathing, washing dishes and clothes, and for drinking. How your home supplies hot water can differ depending on your home’s hot water needs. For many homes who prefer or require the use of oil as your main fuel source, there are different appliances that can use oil to heat your domestic water. Burkholder’s has helped families with their hot water needs for over 50 years and has experience in the various water heating solutions.

How It Works
Depending on how much water you need to supply for your household will determine how large of a tank you will need. Most oil fired hot water tanks can store 20 or more gallons of hot water. Some of the basic components of a hot water include a cold water inlet and hot water outlet, a heat source, drain (for cleaning and maintenance), and a temperature/pressure relief valve. Cold water enters the tank through cold water inlet, gets heated through a direct or indirect heat source and is distributed through hot water outlet when needed. There are two methods to supplying oil fired heated water through your home: direct and indirect.

Direct Oil Fired Hot Water Heating
In a direct oil fired hot water heater, your oil reserve tank injects oil to the water heater’s combustion chamber at the bottom of the tank. A mixture of air and oil enters the chamber in a vaporized mist and is ignited by an electric spark. Once lit, it heats up a long vertical coil inside of the water tank and heats the water stored inside. Generally, most tanks hold enough water for an average-sized household, although some tanks can be as big so that even large families will never run out of hot water.

Indirect Oil Fired Hot Water Heating
Indirect water heaters work similarly to direct water heaters, but with one significant difference. Instead of having its own dedicated burner, the fuel is ignited externally through a boiler sitting just next to the water tank. A set of pipes, or heat exchanger and pushes heat into a heat exchanger coil inside of the water tank. Indirect-fired water heater can also be tankless, as in a water is heated as it passes through the system’s coils. Although this set up requires a boiler, this method is generally more fuel efficient than direct hot water heaters.

Tankless Hot Water Heating
In some homes where a moderate amount of hot water is needed, a large tank is not always necessary. Great for couples or households of 1-2 people, a tankless coil hot water heater can be mounted on the wall as it is so small. In this setup, there is no storage tank. A heating coil is weaved inside the unit and heats the water as it passes through to be distributed through the home. Instead of a traditional tank, the water is heated only when you call upon hot water. Most tankless water heaters run on electricity and do not require venting as it does not produce harmful waste gases. This setup can be huge long-term savings.

Benefits of Oil Fired Hot Water Heaters
Depending on your home’s hot water needs, we strongly recommend that you speak to Burkholder’s trained technician for a free estimate. They will help you decide what kind of water heating solution will be most beneficial for your home. Some benefits of using oil water heaters include:

  • Hotter water temperatures
  • High recovery rates (large volumes of water can be heated very quickly)
  • Extremely fuel efficient
  • Indirect models can lasts for 30 years or longer with routine maintenance
  • Certain models make it perfect for big families
  • Certain models, such as tankless coil

Oil-Fired Hot Water Heater Service & Maintenance

Looking beyond the climate of your home, this plan includes an annual cleaning and inspection for efficient and effective water heating. Burner and fuel pump components are included among the list of covered parts.