Best Indirect Water Heater for the MONEY

fatty

dobber..i live with my wife in the san jose area..northern california...actually in the santa cvruz mountains at about 1700 feet..our weather is about the same as the flat landers...more rain in the winter..i am an m.d. and generaled my house in 1982..it was by criteria of those days relatively "super-insulated.."...infiltration barriers, foaming, heavy insulation, pella windows.....along with south - faciong passive solar application...

fatty

Best Indirect Water Heater for the MONEY

please advise on the "best for the money" 50 gal or so capacity indirect water heater to couple with my Buderus GB142/30 LP unit......THANX..les

Supply House Rick

Depends

If you already have a Buderus, why not match it with a Buderus indirect?

fatty

makes sense, rick...and i have looked at them....however, i was interested in knowing if there are good units that are lower priced....similar to value that many have mentioned of the triangle tube mod/con units...thanx..!! les

WV EGBERT_2

I second the Buderus

but the Smart tank in tank is good as well.

Just realize that the GB does not call for DHW with an aquastat. Use the sensor that comes with the GB.

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Robert O'Brien

The

best buy in indirects IMO is the Buderus S-120.It's a 32 gallon tank,not 50. You planning on using a mixing valve?

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fatty

robert..i am not sure about the need for the mixing valve....i am providing DHW for three people...my wife and me ...and a young adult who rents our cottage...will a 32 gal s-120 be adequate in your judgement??...or do i need more capacity.??..thanx !! les

jim burke

bang for the buck

I would have to say go with the buderus and match it with your system. Remember to install a mixing valve & st tank And all will be good . Currently running an st 120 tank with 4 adults using domestic water with no problem .
If that doesn't work try turbo max another good product as well.
Just remember you may want to go with solar thermal down the line .

fatty

guys..the st-120 ..according to my leg work...is about half the price of the st-200....if it can handle four people ..i might be in business....on the other hand..if it doesn't work with solar down the line that is a potentially important point, also..! les

WV EGBERT_2

mixing valve

absolutely needed. Plus it helps increase available hot water by storing tank at 140 but setting mixing valve down to 120

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WV EGBERT_2

next question

why the need for the GB 142/30 why not the GB142/24. Was a heat loss done?
How big is your house? You can save a few bucks there too, if a smaller boiler fits the bill.

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fatty

D.S....ihav been advised by two hydronics specialists to use the GB142/30..i have a six zone hydronic baseboard system and about 4000 SF ...well insulated/foamed/air infiltration barriers/passive solar etc.....20 year old system functioning ok on a central wood burning boiler i bought in conn (i live in the SF bay area..between san jose and the coast)....upgrading to a new boiler and DHW...as i approach my early 60's.....!!

WV EGBERT_2

Ask for the heat loss calculations

from your hydronic specialist.

a well insulated 4000 sq. ft house in Califonia, is very different than a similar house here in the Northeast. And I would not hesitate using a 24kw model in a 4000 sq.ft house if it matches the load of the home on those design days.

just my opnion.

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fatty

D.S...thanx for the good advice...! geez..and i thought 100K btu's was on the low end!!

Dobber

Heat Loss

I agree get a heat loss done. I'm in Southern Ontario. You could be under 90k. Also remember that you have zoning.Your zones will never call at the same time.

Good Luck
Dobber

fatty

dobber..thanx for the
"input"...the problem was copmplicated somewhat by the fact that i am considering adding 600-700 sf as a guest suite...as such, i thought it reasonable to go to the gb142/30....but..for better or worse...avoid the big gun...gb142/45...

Dobber

Location

What area are you located? Also, I'm assuming that you will be using the same (or better) building practices. I would still want a heat loss.

Dobber

Uni R_2

Smart 50

I'd say go with a Smart 50 and something like a Taco 5000 mixing valve set low. The Smart 50 doesn't have an anode rod to worry about down the line and has really good heat exchange surfaces to minimize return temperatures to help you condense through more of the indirect recovery cycles.

Every time you have a domestic call, you'll heat up everything from the indirect to the boiler's heat exchanger so a bigger tank will have fewer heating cycles stranding fewer BTUs in the piping each time (although it will have a higher surface loss so keep the oversizing reasonable). Every time you do a domestic call in the summer you'll strand BTUs so I would try and size so that you can take a shower or do a load of dishes and something else before it has to fire.

If you can use a timer to heat the water to higher temps (140°) right before the weekend or some other high use time you can take advantage of more efficient hot water production and still be condensing through most of the domestic cycles.

fatty

UniR..thanx for the analysis..makes sense...i assume the smart 50 is about 50 gal..do you think the s-120 therefore is too small to work efficiently..?? les

ScottMP

Bang for the Buck ?

I am a big Buderus FAn but I use the Super-Stor by HTP.

Stainless Steel tank ... Life time warranty ... nice jacket.. Light...

I hav'nt had a leaker yet.

Scott

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Jon.rcsales

Buderus Indirect

The GB-142-24 should be large enought to heat your house. Make sure you have a good heat loss done. The GB142-24 is 95% afue and might get you some tax rebate where as the 30 isn't. I would be careful on sizing your indirect. Do you have a large whirlpool tub or a custom shower with body sprays? you might larger storage if you do. Buderus indirects have lifetime warrenties too so I would go with them and they have a cleanout plate for cleaning and servicing...Just my opinion

hot_rod

consider a dual coil tank

in your area, solar could contribute a good % of your DHW.

Dual coil tank from Heat-Flo, SuperStor, Bock, and maybe a dozen others.

hr

Jon.rcsales

Buderus has solar now go to there website and check it out and they have dual coil indirects also....

kpc_29

Superstor Contender...

for the money it is great... not over priced. no frills. You can get it in a dual coil too.