Yes I need a new water heater, but what type?

A typical residential water heater usually lasts 7-10 years.  Depending on usage ans water quality, yours may last longer or fail sooner.  At some point, your water heater will fail and the question often arises "Is there an alternative to the standard tank-type heater I already have?".  As a homeowner you now have a variety of water heaters to choose from, many of which will perform as well or better than your existing heater but will likely save you money immediately!


Conventional Water Heaters
Conventional water heaters are the most popular type. They hold water in a large tank--typically 20 to 80 gallons--heating cold water from the bottom and releasing hot water to the top. They automatically maintain water in the tank at a constant temperature set by you. Because they always maintain a reservoir of hot water, even when there is no demand, they're convenient, but they can waste energy.

There's another trade-off for that convenience, too. When conventional water heaters fail, they can empty their entire contents into the room, damaging carpets, appliances and personal items. In an apartment or condo, where one person's ceiling is another person's floor, the damage can spread to multiple households, multiplying the damage.

Tankless or Instantaneous Water Heaters

Tankless water only heat water when you turn on the hot side of a fixture.  There is no large tank to maintain temperature, therefor, savings are realized immediately by only heating the water you need by a "on-demand" basis. A Federal Tax Credit of 30% installed cost is available to qualifying units, a tremendous incentive to go green!

Tankless water heaters are sized to provide enough hot water for an entire home, and when properly sized they will provide an almost endless amount of hot water.  Annual maintenance is suggested based on water quality but, this is preventative and minimal in cost to have a professional perform if you choose not to do yourself.

Heat Pump Waters Heaters

Heat pump technology has been around for decades, recently it has been applied to heating water for domestic use.  Kind of like "reverse" air conditioning, a heat pump uses electricity extremely efficiently to heat the water, lowering the annual costs and giving a calculated return on investment.  This is a tank type heater that is best fit for a direct replacement of an existing electric water heater, but in some cases a great way to save on propane!  Federal Tax Credit available for these too!

Solar Water Heaters

Want free hot water?  An active solar thermal water heating system can be sized to effectively eliminate up to 90% of your water heating costs in your home or business.  Simple, low maintenance systems make use of the sun's energy collected by panels mounted on the roof (typical), outside wall or even at ground level and store that energy in an insulated tank in the mechanical room.  Coupled with a back-up water heater (usually tankless) and this is the ultimate green method of providing savings and utility to your home!  Federal Tax Credits of 30% with no cap are available for the entire installation providing for a relatively short pay-back period making solar thermal the most cost effective avenue to invest in green technology.

Sizing is Key
Correctly sizing any type water heater is essential to get an ample supply of hot water for your family while operating in the most energy-efficient and economical way. Aune Plumbing, LLC will gladly assist you in finding the best fit water heater for your needs.  Give me a call to get started on saving money today.

Eric Aune

Aune Plumbing, LLC

763-238-2385

POTATO 65

Potato can be roasted, fried and made as a gravy in so many ways! Every one likes to have this always as a side dish with the food! Especially the children always love to eat this! This is a very grand and delicious recipe to serve in a feast! The hung curd makes this potato 65 very special and tasty!

உருளைக்கிழங்கு 65

Ingredients:

Big potatoes-4
Chilli powder- 1 tbsp
Gram flour- 1 tbsp
Baking powder- 1 tsp
Enough oil to fry
Salt to taste
Onion-4
Slit green chillies-6
Fresh curd- 1 cup
Ajinomoto- 2 pinches
Garam masala powder- half sp
Curry leaves- a handful

Procedure:

Pour the curd on a thin white cloth and tie it tightly with a rubber band.
Hand it on the tap of the sink.
The water will drip in the sink and all the water will be drained out and we can get the fresh hung curd within half an hour.
Slice the onions finely.
Cut the potatoes in medium cubes and mix them with the powders and enough salt except the garam masala and ajinomoto.
Cook them in a micro oven in high for only 10 minutes.
Deep fry them in batches to golden brown.
Drain them in a kitchen paper towel.
Heat a kadai and pour 2 tbsp of oil.
Add the onions with the green chilles and curry leaves and fry them to golden brown.
Add the hung curd and fry it mixing well.
Sprinkle the garam masala and ajinomoto and mix well.
Add the cooked potato and cook them on medium fire for 10 minutes mixing in intervals.
Or it can be cooked again in the micro oven in High for 10 minutes.
The delicious potato 65 is now ready with its richness!

Monsoon Munches - Masal Vadae - spicy fried lentil and herbs patties...

MONSOON MUNCHES

MASAL VADAE

Three decades ago when my children were of school going age they eagerly looked forward to their father's return from the golf club. He always brought back a hot parcel of yummy snacks (bondas, bajjis, masala nuts, finger chips and many more) from the club after his game, which the children relished. The mini masal vadaes the size of a one rupee coin were my children's favourite. They greedily gobbled them up with coconut chutney or mint chutney which accompanied the vadaes in the parcel and a lot of tomato sauce from the refrigerator.
I had never tried preparing masal vadaes at home for a very long time , until Lakshmi arrived. She helped us in all our house hold chores and she prepared yummy 'Golf Club' masal vadaes as long as she stayed with us. Now a days Masal Vadaes have become a part of our party cooking. It is an addictive snack for a cloudy day.

INGREDIENTS
Bengal gram dal - 250 gms
Onion - 1 big (finely chopped)
Garlic - 5 pearls(Peeled)
Green chillies - 4
Fresh ginger - 2 inches( Cleaned and peeled)
Finely chopped fresh coriander leaves - 1/2 cup
Finely chopped mint leaves - 1/2 cup
Finely chopped dill leaves - 1/2 cup
Cinnamon - 2 inch stick
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Oil - for frying

METHOD
1. Soak bengal gram dal for one hour.
2. Chop onion and herbs and keep aside.
3. Grind 2 table spoons of the soaked dal with ginger, garlic, green chillies and cinnamon into a smooth paste.
4. Drain the remaining dal and add it to the paste and run the mixer for a minute to get a thick and coarse batter without adding water.
5. Mix the batter evenly with a spatula and run the mixer for a few more seconds if necessary. It is fine if some dal is still left uncrushed.
6. Scoop out the dal mixture in a bowl and mix in the chopped herbs and onion, salt and cumin seeds. (The batter can be stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator for two days, without adding salt. You can add the required amount of salt just before frying the vadaes.)
7. Heat oil in a kadai.
8. Make a small ball out of the batter and flatten it on your palm into a vadae, and slide it into the hot oil. Vadaes can be cooked in batches of six or eight depending on the size of the kadai.
9. Do not disturb until you see a colour change around the vadaes. Gently flip the vadaes and cook on the other side.
10. Cook until the vadaes become a golden reddish brown in colour on all sides.
11. Take them out using a perforated ladel and drain them on a paper towel.
Pop the crunchy munchy piping hot Masal Vadaes into your mouth as they are or after dipping them in mint or coconut chutney. Find yourself on cloud 9 on a gloomy cloudy day !