Best Of
Re: Near boiler piping
I think you should post pictures along with some of the comments you make. The lowest horizontal return pipe is the one I marked in red in this picture, so without pictures of what you are talking about, that is the pipe we are envisioning when you say "lowest point horizontally.".
KC_Jones
Re: Why would my pressure relief drip leg leak a little?
- Why are you operating at such a high pressure? I see no reason or benefit of running so high.
- The pressure relief valve is not installed correctly. It is installed horizontally and should be installed vertically. I'll bet some rust/debris has made it its way into the valve and it isn't sealing properly.
Re: ? actual difference between hot water heaters from supplyhouses and big box stores
Generally, the consumer stores specify a cheaper price from the manufacturer. The manufacturer often cuts back here and there to grant that price. You'll see an exclusive "HD" model number and maybe a plastic drain valve, a single anode, perhaps a less costly control.
Most obvious of this were Delta faucets. The Home Depot line was Chinese junk: Plastic spigots, plastic handles. The supply houses carried a higher line that was US-made plated brass at three times the price. Now it seems they are all pot-metal or plastic Chinese junk.
We agree with Intplm that Bradford White is our go-to for water heaters. They're also pretty costly. The gas ones we install usually see 12-15 years, but that's with very good water quality. We only buy from local supply houses. We call and the tank is usually delivered in an hour.
Re: Weil-McLain QB-180; was it really time?
> You know that entire burner set-up isn't brand new. Sure hope they didn't charge you for a brand new, out of the box, burner.
Agreed. It looks like a re-used burner with some new parts slapped on it. If you look carefully it's pretty beat up.
Re: New vaporstat
probably the vaporstat and its calibration. that design is kind of notorious for cutting out then never cutting in again intermittently if you have the main set too low on the non mercury switch version.
mattmia2
Re: Rinnai RUC80i water doesn't hit target temp at fixtures
The Rinnai is limited to 140F.
The only question that begs is how long is the piping from the HWH to the fixtures?
If you run the water at the fixture for five minutes………….what's the output temperature?
Additionally, is there any possibility that the unit was piped with a tempering valve to limit the temperature to the fixtures to 120F? These are noted to calcify with time and need to be removed and cleaned with citric acid or replaced entirely.
If none of the above, you need to determine if the Rinnai has an output of 140° at the HWH. This is best done with a infrared gun pointed at the copper feed from the HWH. You need a piece of black tape around the copper pipe or you will get erroneous readings from the reflection of the copper.
LRCCBJ
Re: ? actual difference between hot water heaters from supplyhouses and big box stores
All tanks fail from one thing or another. Not all places in the country can meet the low chloride numbers that stainless tanks are listing. But, how many actually check or know that? Do you know your chloride levels?
Chloride levels spike during winter months with all the deicers being used thees days, so you need to check levels throughout the year,
hot_rod
Re: Funny but not so funny
the people that run any big municipal water system have an idea of how much water they put in to the system vs how much gets billed to customers. I suspect the loss is in the 10%-20% range.
mattmia2