What are my options?

huskyfan23ii

To preface, I will be hiring someone to do the work.



My water heater is at the end of its life. I'm not experiencing any issues, but it's time to be replaced. It is a Bradford White CombiCor (M-2-C-TW-50T10EN) 46 gallon 65,000 BTU.



I have a radiant in-floor heating system throughout my condo, which explains the "odd" specs of the unit.



My question is, what should I replace this with? I'm told that a direct replacement costs $3,000. If I'm going to be spending that much, I don't feel like conventional may be the best option. Is tankless a bad choice considering my heating system? What about hybrid?

I've had plumbers tell me that an on-demand system would work just fine. I find that hard to believe, however, once the heating system starts cycling water. It can do this for hours, which makes on-demand seem meaningless.



I have a couple pics of the setup. As you can see, much of the radiant system piping needs to be removed just to pull the old tank out.



Thanks!

nicholas bonham-carter

Hot water choices

What sort of boiler is feeding the radiant? What is your location?

An indirect hot water system may work for you as much of the piping has to be removed to get the old one out. And indirect would have a longer lifespan than a separate hot water heater, and the boiler which heats it is probably higher efficiency as well.

The cycling of the boiler for the radiant maybe an indication of over-sizing, in which case, the unused capacity could be making hot water. Use the find a contractor button here to search (by state) for someone who is really qualified in hydronics.--NBC

Paul48

nb-c

I believe their radiant is being fed by the water heater.

Tim Potter

CombiCor design

http://www.bradfordwhite.com/images/shared/pdfs/specsheets/553.pdf





Its a water heater with a built in heat exchanger - NOT an open system :



"Heat exchanger – UltraCoil®

Heat Transfer System—dielectrically isolated,

double wall type consisting of a highly conductive material with an NSF approved

Polyethylene (PEX) coating. "





Tim

Zman

How old is it?

How much mileage did you get out of this one?

I would suggest a mod/con combi unit. Triangle tube challenger comes to mind. What are you domestic water needs? What part of the country are you in?

Is it possible to replace the vent? ABS may be an issue.

Carl

Paul Pollets

Choices

You have what many have in Seattle townhomes...a specialty water heater with a separate coil for the radiant load. There's not many choices for replacement. The existing unit is power vented using ABS pipe...not recommended. Many of these systems are connected using non-barrier pex and some employ fan wall convectors, which was marketed by the builders as "radiant heat". With the limited room in the closet, replacing the unit with a wall hung condensing combo appliance, such as the Triangle Tube PE110 or the Vitodens 100 combo, will provide longer life expectancy than the Combicor, but must be vented using approved materials and not have non-barrier pex in the equation. The cost for a Combo appliance is significantly higher than the Combicor. I would not use a tankless water heater in this application.

Mark Eatherton

Hopefully...

BWC got all the kinks worked out of their Combicore heaters. I know that when first introduced, there was a BUTT LOAD of failures in the field.



Personally, I'd prefer to set a real heat source (wall hung boiler) and a reverse indirect for the production of DHW. Better longevity, and higher thermal efficiencies. Be prepared to spend more money for a good "system", but it will be worth it in the long run. A hybrid probably won't be able to generate water temperatures high enough for your needs. Everyone I've seen in the field is set to MAX temperature, which equates to around 160 degrees F. 115 to 120 is the typical max for an air source heat pump.



I would NOT consider a tankless. Some people will tell you anything just to get your signature on the bottom of a proposal...



If you are in the N.W., you should call Paul Pollets. He's not the least expensive. He's just the best. When he's done, he's DONE.



ME