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Double Dip Tubed!

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MechTech_2
MechTech_2 Member Posts: 84
in THE MAIN WALL
Yes, I can officially say I got double dip tubed! After 8 hours of trouble shooting a lack of DHW, I threw my arms up in the air, and asked the tech to disconnect the piping at the hot water supply nipple on the indirect, est Voila! Two dip tubes, I'm still in shock.

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  • Ron Jr._3
    Ron Jr._3 Member Posts: 603
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    Was it a Phase 3 ?

    They send an extra dip tube with the tanks we install . Not sure why ......... 
  • billtwocase
    billtwocase Member Posts: 2,385
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    that is for

    optional horizontal installations. It should also have the brackets bolted to the tank, or at least they used to
  • Ron Jr._3
    Ron Jr._3 Member Posts: 603
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    These are the newer Smart tanks

    The ones with the supply and return on the same side . I don't think they make the HL style anymore ?



    We pulled the dip tube out of the cold side of a new tank and it looked exactly like the extra they ship . This is funny because someone I work with put the extra tube in the hot side . We're still trying to figure out why !
  • MechTech_2
    MechTech_2 Member Posts: 84
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    Shock

    It was a last ditch effort to find the problem, and I nearly feel over when I saw the dip tube. 
  • billtwocase
    billtwocase Member Posts: 2,385
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    you would know Ron

    I dropped them tanks years ago. I guess the only other reason is that the plastic tubes don't last long, so it is a spare. The "O" ring was always a joke. Did nothing
  • billtwocase
    billtwocase Member Posts: 2,385
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    Mech

    did it make a difference when the tube was removed? There obviously shouldn't be a dip tube in the hot supply, but i did have some of those that just didn't produce
  • MechTech_2
    MechTech_2 Member Posts: 84
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    Fixed!

    The client was only getting a few minutes of hot water, then luke warm, then progressively colder. Once we removed the tube on the supply side, the tank performed to spec. The tech thought I had lost my mind to check the supply, but I had exhausted every option.
  • bill_105
    bill_105 Member Posts: 429
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    Classic!

    This has to go down as to one of the greatest finds ever. I would have never looked in the hot side. I've already told the story to someone. Imagine that!
  • bob eck
    bob eck Member Posts: 930
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    Double dip tubed

    If the indirect how water heater was a triangle tube and there was a dip tube in the hot water supply pipe it was put in the wrong connection. The reason that there would be two dip tubes in this unit is so this model can be used with a domestic hot water recirculation pump like a grundfos comfort pump where there is a return line from the bathroom gets run back to the IDWH. From what I know the extra dip tube is a special order extra part. Looks like someone did not read the instruction book because the dip tube for domestic hot water recirculation gets installed in a different tapping on this IDWH.
  • Steve_210
    Steve_210 Member Posts: 646
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    If it's any consolation

    Same thing happened to me on a weil McLain plus 100.

    My guy somehow tought the extra dip tube should go on the hot side

    At least it was an easy fix.
  • Ron Jr._3
    Ron Jr._3 Member Posts: 603
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    We stopped using them too

    I do love the design . Fastest recovery of all the indirect brands we use . But they do not hold up to water with high clorides , which we have in abundance .
  • icesailor
    icesailor Member Posts: 7,265
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    Double Dipped:

    If that indirect is the same as the Weil McLain tank, the second dip tube was/is to meet Massachusetts regs about a drain for the tank. Because it is a tank within a tank, you MUST drain the outside the boiler side of the tank first, before you drain the domestic water part of the buoyancy of the domestic tank will cause serious uncompensated damage to the tank. You can drain the boiler side but not the tank side. The extra dip tube is so that you can suck the water out of the tank through a dip tube. There is a separate nipple for it. I have houses that I drain that have systems filled with anti-freeze. I must leave the water domestic water in the tank for the winter. Without the dip tube installed, there is no way to suck the water out of the tank unless you have a vacuum relief valve on the cold and you can replace it with a boiler drain.

    I've never had a problem with freeze damage to the tank.

    The last tank I do, I found the dip tube in a closet on the floor.

    Read the install instructions. If there is a part about "Special Massachusetts Install Instructions", you will find it. One needs to read ALL the manufacturers installations. It's amazing how smart you can become with useless information.
  • billtwocase
    billtwocase Member Posts: 2,385
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    I've always

    used a 3/4 brass "T" on the cold water inlet to suck the water out. The cold inlet is on the branch, removable vacuum breaker on top. The hot can not have a dip tube if installed vertically. 
  • Ron Jr._3
    Ron Jr._3 Member Posts: 603
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    Didn't know that !

    Thanks Ice . I read the instructions online . They do ship a 3/4 brass tee and drain valve with the tanks though . It's been hit and miss draining the tanks through that setup . I think due to the seal between the dip tube and nipple it sits in sometimes it's not water-tight . Or the tube is cracked somewhere . We pull the relief valve from the AUX tapping and pump it out from there .
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