DHW with a steamer

Timco

So I have a steamer of just over a mil btu, 1-pipe, heating an old building with 34 units. all small units. The DHW tank has a leak, about 300 gal, and I have a bid out to replace or move it. Now there is a 100 gal water heater that is circulated into the larger tank. I would like to use the steamer if possible, but do not have enough room to drain my condensate back so it would have to be hot water. Any thoughts on what this does to summertime conditions? No iso valve above the steamer. I may just be dreaming but it would be nice to loose a piece of equipment from that room and just use the steamer.



Tim

Charlie from wmass

You can install

a large indirect water heater or water heaters if the load calls for it. If you flood the boiler in the summer it will reduce the migrating vapor up into the system. Just make sure to use a bronze 3 piece circulator.

Charlie from wmass

Oh yeah you would need to ad an

Aquastat to run the boiler only up to 180 when the indirect is calling and the boiler is not being called to heat the building.

Timco

cut off point?

So if I am quoting a 350 gal tank, at what point is the boiler just too large to use for the DHW? Is this a reasonable suggestion to use the steamer and not a separate boiler for the domestic? 

Al Letellier_21

steam boiler domestic water

One million BTU"S is a BIG BOILER and in my book, way too expensive to run in sumeer for domestic....if the budget allows, I would look at a properly siized separate boiler and indirect. Have done this in the past on several jobs and the summer fuel savings were incredible.With that kind of a system,  you could use a cycling control on the steamer and really look like a hero......

Timco

thanks.

They just told me today they are going with a storage tank and keeping the water heater as the DWH source. I could not talk them into a small boiler or an indirect. Agreed on the boiler size. It is actually 1.5 mil....



Thanks for the thoughts....Tim