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Re: Recommendation for highly reliable natural gas water heater?...
I went with HTP 11 years ago. I had had an AO Smith Sureshot Direct Vent (DV) since 2000 and it cracked in 2014 despite replacing the anode rod regularly and flushing once or twice a year.
I needed DV because we had eliminated the chimney. In 2014 the tank DV options from AOSmith and BW would have been a lot of extra work due to the the strict requirements for the height of the vent penetration.
After figuring that out the day after failure, I bought the cheapest electric water heater I could find at the big box and set it up temporarily powered via the nearby dryer receptacle.
I ruled out tankless because of 1) the complexity of integrating my recirc system 2) the need to upsize the gas line & meter or regulator based on calculation 3) fill time required for a spa tub.
THE HTP Phoenix 76-50 caught my eye because it was stainless, easily modified to work with recirc, was 76,000 BTU, Just under my load limit for existing piping, and the draft inducer - condensing venting requirements were flexible enough to use the existing penetration.
What I really appreciate with this is that, with almost twice the burner capacity of my old 50-gallon DV, it can run an endless shower and recover very quickly in all our usage circumstances. It is challenged by my wife filling the spa tub at full bore mid-winter, but she is aware of her options and it is her choice to fill fast and have slightly cooler water.
The only maintenance I've had to do besides flushing is rehabbing the condensate rock box which clogged after 10 years.
They sold this unit under the Westinghouse brand for a while in the big boxes, too, but I think they have scaled back. Have not checked lately.
Very happy with it!
Ahoy
Re: Lochinvar WBN080 lockout
if E01 is what I found online is correct. The manuals I looked up do not reference codes just symptoms. In one are it said it was water pressure, in another was ignition. Not helpful! Below would be based on if it is in fact water pressure.
If you keep getting the E01 error, what does your water pressure gauge read. Min of 12 needed normally. It could have a plugged sensing port. When servicing we would normally remove pressure sensor and flush out tube and make sure on press switch that it had a clear inlet hole.
Re: Lochinvar WBN080 lockout
Pin fitment or the the pressure the female part of the connector exerts on the male pin needs to be adequate. Also poor crimps or crimps that the wire has oxidized or corroded inside of the crimp are also suspects. A vendor like Digikey.com or Mouser.com may have the connectors and pins, matching it up correctly may prove time consuming, there are many connectors and often subtle differences.
Do any of the connectors show signs of discoloration due to heating (loose connection) ? In the event of a poor connection the boiler may shut down quickly so connector body heating may not be evident.
109A_5
Re: Lochinvar WBN080 lockout
With the WBN080 wiring documents I did not see a pressure sensor.
109A_5
Re: Lochinvar WBN080 lockout
I would call Lochinvar tech support tomorrow morning and ask them what the E01 code is for sure as It is not in manual. Odd.
Re: Possible to wire furnace fan to thermostat controlling a boiler?
Ed, had a few minutes and re wired everything.
r from furnace to rc tstat
G from furnace to g tstat
C from furnace to c tstat
R from boiler to rh tstat
W from boiler to w tstat
I can now turn on the fan and control boiler separately through my ecobee.
Thanks again for your help!!
Chris
cm6230
Re: EK System 2000 hot water suddenly too hot?
I think all of the bases have been covered here. Based on the quick transition to hotter water, I would suspect that either a) something partially blocked the plate heat exchanger (maybe a piece of the degraded anode rod), or b) the check valve is not working and the circulator failed (gravity flow on the domestic side will heat the tank if the check valve is not working). For reference, we've found that IR guns are notoriously inaccurate for these types of diagnostics.
I know that @Robertw previously gave contact information for Brian Kiernan and our office for further support as well. Interested in your findings.
Thank you,
Roger
Roger
Re: Venting into a chimney
In MA if I go out the side of the house I will need to include a sign on the side of the house, and hardwired C0-2 detectors on each floor of the house (costly add on)…. maybe its cheaper to drop the pipe down the chimney then.
Re: Venting into a chimney
"chimney" being rather vague… I'd get a reliable chimney sweep in to clean and evaluate the flue or flues and the structural condition of the chimney. It might need work. Might not. Might need a liner. Might not. Might be big enough. Might not…
Also you need to know exactly what the venting requirements for that boiler are.
Re: Venting into a chimney
Consensus doesn’t matter. The fact is that you cannot vent a condensing boiler into a masonry or metal chimney.
The manufacturer’s installation instructions give detailed info on how the appliance must be vented and it’s mandatory that they be followed.
Ironman