So I mentioned this system in another thread and Zogger said I should post some pics and more info on it, so here it is.
I have a Englander wood stove that I modified to heat my domestic hot water. Started by building a 1 1/2" thick chamber on the left side. The stove is about 2' tall by 2'deep. So the chamber is about 2'x2' 1 1/2". Inside the chamber is a 60' coil of 1/2" copper tubing with the ends stubbed out the bottom. The tubing is piped into the crawl space and into a 50 gal low boy water heater that I use as a storage tank. The 50 gal low boy could be turned on with the flip of a breaker if it was ever needed but I use it just for a storage tank. There is a thermostat on the wall behind the stove that turns on a circulating pump that circulates the water thru the copper coil and thru the tank. It draws the water from the bottom of the tank, where the coolest water is , and dumps it into the top. When we use hot water it draws it off the top of the storage tank, where the hottest water is and runs it thru a BIG whole house Electric instant hot water heater that is set on 130 degrees. So we always get 130 degree hot water no matter what the temp is in the storage tank. Even in the summer with no fire in the stove and no preheated water. The instant hot pulls 80 amps when drawing cold water thru it and around 20 amps with 90 degree water going thru it. With just me and the wife at home now, the water in the storage tank will stay between 95 and 130 degrees, depending on when the last shower was taken and how hot the stove is running. The hottest I have ever had it was 169 degrees, must have been going dirty without a shower. If the water coming out of the bottom of the storage tank is above 110 degrees, we can turn off the BIG instant hot and just use the hot water that the stove is making. I have a small control panel mounted on the floor near the stove where I can flip a switch and turn the instant hot off or on, also has 2 temp gauges to monitor the temp of the water going in and coming out of the stove, and a pressure gauge to monitor water pressure. Thats about it. It works like a charm. I enjoy beating the power co out of the money.
I have a Englander wood stove that I modified to heat my domestic hot water. Started by building a 1 1/2" thick chamber on the left side. The stove is about 2' tall by 2'deep. So the chamber is about 2'x2' 1 1/2". Inside the chamber is a 60' coil of 1/2" copper tubing with the ends stubbed out the bottom. The tubing is piped into the crawl space and into a 50 gal low boy water heater that I use as a storage tank. The 50 gal low boy could be turned on with the flip of a breaker if it was ever needed but I use it just for a storage tank. There is a thermostat on the wall behind the stove that turns on a circulating pump that circulates the water thru the copper coil and thru the tank. It draws the water from the bottom of the tank, where the coolest water is , and dumps it into the top. When we use hot water it draws it off the top of the storage tank, where the hottest water is and runs it thru a BIG whole house Electric instant hot water heater that is set on 130 degrees. So we always get 130 degree hot water no matter what the temp is in the storage tank. Even in the summer with no fire in the stove and no preheated water. The instant hot pulls 80 amps when drawing cold water thru it and around 20 amps with 90 degree water going thru it. With just me and the wife at home now, the water in the storage tank will stay between 95 and 130 degrees, depending on when the last shower was taken and how hot the stove is running. The hottest I have ever had it was 169 degrees, must have been going dirty without a shower. If the water coming out of the bottom of the storage tank is above 110 degrees, we can turn off the BIG instant hot and just use the hot water that the stove is making. I have a small control panel mounted on the floor near the stove where I can flip a switch and turn the instant hot off or on, also has 2 temp gauges to monitor the temp of the water going in and coming out of the stove, and a pressure gauge to monitor water pressure. Thats about it. It works like a charm. I enjoy beating the power co out of the money.