# termotanque y calefactor



## Julie_UM

¡Hola a todos!
No puedo ver los dibujos que uds. han posteado. 
¿Cual es el inglés para 1.termotanque y 2.calefactor?

1. http://www.lucaioli.com.ar/catalog/images/Catalogo/34759g.jpg

2. http://www.diney.com.ar/images/Calefactor.gif 
 o este, "halógeno": http://www.licuid.com/tienda/images/i9735N.jpg

THANKS!! =)


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## TimLA

Julie_UM said:


> ¡Hola a todos!
> No puedo ver los dibujos que uds. han posteado.
> ¿Cual es el inglés para 1.termotanque y 2.calefactor?
> 
> 1. http://www.lucaioli.com.ar/catalog/images/Catalogo/34759g.jpg
> 
> 2. http://www.diney.com.ar/images/Calefactor.gif
> o este, "halógeno": http://www.licuid.com/tienda/images/i9735N.jpg
> 
> THANKS!! =)


 
1. Hot water heater, hot water tank
2. Heater, space heater, portable heater, portable space heater
3. Halogen space heater

Un imagen vale mas que 1,000 palabras!


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## Julie_UM

ahaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!! 

Now you'll have to tell me what difference, if any, exists between just *heater* and *space heater*.

And also... what about *water heater*??? Is the same phrase used for both *"termotanque"* and "*calefón"*?? 
Or is "*termotanque*" a *hot water tank* and "*calefón*" a *hot water heater*??

It seems there are more specific words for these appliances in Spanish. 

Thanks!! =)


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## TimLA

Now you'll have to tell me what difference, if any, exists between just *heater* and *space heater*.
Probably none...your picture looks like a portable heater that you would be plugged into the wall.
They can be called many names, but "portable heater" is most likely the most common.
Here's nice wiki in Spanish.


And also... what about *water heater*??? Is the same phrase used for both *"termotanque"* and "*calefón"*?? 
Or is "*termotanque*" a *hot water tank* and "*calefón*" a *hot water heater*??
The picture you showed can be called "hot water heater" "water heater" hot water tank" "water tank" and probably many more that I can't remember right now. It's seems like the "calefón" and "termotanque" are synonyms in Spanish.


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## Julie_UM

*Termotanque* and *calefón* serve the same purpose but I'm not so sure whether they work in the same way... I know either can be electricity or gas-supplied, but how it works inside... that's what I couldn't tell...
Any plumbers / electricians here??

TimLA, I love your "chiste"!!! jajaja


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## x_Agatha_x

Un poco tarde pero puedo aclarar igual, termotanque es un water boiler, ya que el agua entra, se hierve como en una caldera y sale (por eso podemos mezclar con agua fria con las canillas), el calefón sería water heater, porque tiene una serpentina por donde pasa el agua y se calienta.
Hope it helps!


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## k-in-sc

Welcome to the forum!
Whether it boils the water or not, I think it would be misleading to call a "termotanque" a "boiler." It's a water heater. Boilers generally are for providing steam for industrial uses and for heating buildings.
At any rate, the wall-mounted "termotanques" are not used in this country.


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## vicdark

k,

Are the wall- mounted water heaters the same as these  electric/gas tankless water heaters found at Lowes?


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## sergio11

vicdark said:


> k,
> 
> Are the wall- mounted water heaters the same as these electric/gas tankless water heaters found at Lowes?


Exactly: a *"termotanque"* is the regular *water heater* that is found in 90% of American households. The *"calefón"* is the *tankless water heater*, which is not as common in this country, but is beginning to gain more acceptance these days. And yes, they are the ones Vicdark refers to. 

The "calefón" is a tankless water heater. At least that is the way it is in Buenos Aires; I don't know whether in other countries it means something else.


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## Adolfo Afogutu

sergio11 said:


> The "calefón" is not a space heater; it is a tankless water heater. At least that is the way it is in Buenos Aires; I don't know whether in other countries it means something else.


Sí, efectivamente, cambia según el país. En Uruguay, lo que que Julie muestra como termotanque se llama calefón (popular) o calentador (según algunas casas de electrodomésticos) y el 99% son eléctricos. Lo que muestra como calefón se llama calentador a gas.


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## k-in-sc

It's true that the tankless water heaters are getting more popular (and make a lot of sense, although they are inexplicably expensive), but they aren't mounted on the wall like in Argentina and Uruguay. They're tucked away out of sight. So that thing hanging on the kitchen wall, like the famous bidet, is a household fixture you almost never see here. The concept of turning the water heater on/up so you can take a shower is also completely foreign.


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## vicdark

I own a small apartment in Cochabamba, Bolivia, where in the kitchen there is one of those gas-fired, wall-mounted contraptions that every body calls *"calefón". *It comes on automatically every time a hot water faucet or shower is turned on.

The first time I saw it, the brand name (JUNKER) made me smile.


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## k-in-sc

Let's hope it's German :S
My DH described a water-heating system his family had that used what sounded like Sterno or a similar fuel. You had to put in enough blue alcohol stuff for however many minutes of hot water you expected to need and then light the heater.


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## 0scar

k-in-sc said:


> Let's hope it's German :S
> My DH described a water-heating system his family had that used what sounded like Sterno or a similar fuel. You had to put in enough blue alcohol stuff for however many minutes of hot water you expected to need and then light the heater.


 
Eran como el de la foto de más abajo, el cilíndrico:
http://www.enlozadosfont.com.ar/calefonestermoelectricos.html

Yo creía que solo existian en el museo pero veo que alguién todavía los fabrica, y además hay un "nuevo" modelo plano.


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## k-in-sc

Thanks 0scar! It's actually a pretty good idea, for a beach house or something. ...


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## sergio11

I am not sure how much of a good idea they are. There have been electrocution accidents in Argentina (I am talking about models from 50-60 years ago--maybe they are improved now), but these models in the pictures were not called "calefon" in those days, they were called "electric shower" ("lluvia eléctrica" or "ducha eléctrica").

By the way, what is DH? I am not familiar with the abbreviation.


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## 0scar

El tema es sobre los que funcionan con* alcohol* de quemar, podrían servir donde no hay servicio de electricidad o gas. 
Eran comunes en Argentina en la misma época que las cocinas usaban kerosén y las heladeras funcionaban con barras de hielo, antes de 1960.


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## rodelu2

k-in-sc said:


> Let's hope it's German :S
> My DH described a water-heating system his family had that used what sounded like Sterno or a similar fuel. You had to put in enough blue alcohol stuff for however many minutes of hot water you expected to need and then light the heater.


We had one of those in the house when I was a child, I can still remember the smell of the alcohol burning. It was called a "duchero" and the brand name was "Lluvia de Oro" (Golden Shower), amazing how language changes!. BTW, the Junkers water heaters were indeed made in Germany by the same company that made the WW2 Stuka dive bomber planes.


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## k-in-sc

Golden Shower, now that's funny!! 
DH = dear husband (or you can substitute any other adjective that starts with D )


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## BadgerBoiler

Hola from Minneapolis,


Perhaps some technical information would be of some use. 

Though my Spanish is rusty, if you will tolerate my English for a bit. 

"Boilers" in English speaking countries generally refer to "space heating" appliances.

The term "water heater" is generally reserved for "domestic hot water" appliances.

There are both low-mass "tankless or wall-hung" and high-mass "storage or tank-type" water heaters and boilers.

All of these boiler and water heater types are common in larger cities in the cold climates of North America though tank-type water heaters and high-mass "cast-iron" boilers are the most common and again mostly in large nothern cities in the US and Canada.


All boilers and water heaters are available in natural gas, propane or electric configurations. 

Where gas is used, the most efficient of these are the high efficiency condensing models, available in both high and low-mass water heaters and generally only available for space heating in a low-mass wall-hung configuration for residential applications. 

Then of course there are the combination or combi boilers and water heaters...sometimes it gets confusing even for the professional.

Attached is a picture of a German made 95% Viessmann condensing boiler coupled with an Belgian manufactured indirect domestic water heater.


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## Adolfo Afogutu

k-in-sc said:


> Golden Shower, now that's funny!!
> DH = dear husband (or you can substitute any other adjective that starts with D )


It's not a bad idea to take a shower after it.


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