Best Of
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
Re: Seeking your thoughts regarding a boiler/system upgrade for a small 1980s ranch.
I had a 1000 sq ft ranch that was like a seive and 50,000 btu with 90 feet of baseboard it what it needed. Yours is certainly better insulated and better windows so 40,000 is probably a decent guess.
That being said there is no need to install a larger boiler than the radiation will need.
If it was me, I would use a standard CI boiler and either keep your water tank or install an indirect off the boiler.
If you have an outside chimney which I suspect you probably need a stainless steel liner. A good chimney sweep can do this. You might call one and get a #.
Look up the cost of a new 40,000-50,000 btu CI boiler on line and multiply the cost x4 and you will be in the ballpark.
Peerless or Weil McLain are good choices. Supply House.com has the #s
The biggest obstacle is a good contractor, unfortunately many of them suck.
When your ready post your location or check "find a contractor" on this site. We may know someone who can help.
Re: The "equalizer" is mis-named. It does nothing to equalize anything.
" Why utilize a Hartford Loop at all? Can’t the return line simply be brought into the boiler at a point below the 2-inch mark? Technically, the answer is “yes,” and prior to the implementation of the Hartford Loop, this was a fairly common practice. However, when installers did this, any pressure within the boiler itself would result in water being pushed out of the boiler and directly to the return. Even with the installation of check valves to help eliminate this condition, they often failed in the open position, ending with the same results. So the concept of a pipe to equalize the pressure was realized and implemented, and resulted in water staying in the boiler. "
109A_5