Hot Water Storage Tank

Jeremy_16

We have a Weil McLain Boiler with a tankless coil for hot water connected to a very old and small hot water storage tank in a 16 unit apartment building.



We would like to replace the hot water storage tank with a new more efficient and bigger tank. One contractor suggested a 119 Gallon Vaughn Stone lined tank. When we went to get another quote for the job, the next contractor suggested a 119 gallon superstor stainless steel tank. He said it was more expensive, but it would last longer and the warranty was 10 years vs 5 years on the Vaughn.



Any advice on what the best type of tank is? Stainless Steel vs. Stone Lined vs. something else I may not even know about?



Thank you!

CMadatMe

I think Your Being

A little mislead concerning the warranty. SuperStorr is 7 yrs, Vaughn is 5 yrs. Attached is the SuperStorr warranty. All commericial indirects have roughly the same warranty. The best tank and contractor is the one that sizes the tank based on boiler output and gpm requirement not based on tank type. A properly sized and installed tank should live out the warranty.

Jeremy_16

Storage Tanks

Thanks for the response, radiantwizard. You're right about the warranty. Thanks for pointing that out.



Assuming they both are correct for the boiler output and gpm requirements, is one tank preferred over the other?



It seems they are both lined with some sort of foam for insulation. I'm just looking to see if one retains heat better than the other, or if one is known to last longer than the other, or if they are both pretty much the same.



Assuming both tanks would work well in the building, should I just go with the cheaper quote? Thanks.

bob eck

indirect water heater.

burnham alliance is a vaughn tank and also look at triangle tube smart 120

both are good models. make sure that there is a domestic expansion tank installed on the cold water inlet pipe.

if your shower heads are at 2.5 gpm look at installing Alsons 1.6 gpm shower heads. The Alsons shower heads work great i have them in my house.

kcopp

Storage Tank not Indirect....

I have use a number of Vaughn Storage tanks... They are VERY heavy. Super stor ones are not. The Vaughn tanks do hold up well and some of their Sepco electric models have been know to last 30+ years. They are very price competitive... The stone lining is unique and does bring some thermal mass to hold heat.  hope this helps...kpc

CMadatMe

Contractor Preference

Indirects are a funny product. I think I've seen every tank made seem to last in some applications and fail prematurely in others. All Indirects loose basically 1/4 of 1 degree of water temp per hr and basically give the same gph plus or minus a few gallons. I would be more concerned with the contractors installation versus tanks. This isn't a residential application but commercial and a properly sized and installed tank is what should be your at your attention. This is what is going to get you the longevity you are asking for.