indirect water heater recommendation

hh409

Hello

My Amtrol indirect water heater model WH-7L gave out after 26 years.

While i can't complain i have heard mixed reviews about amtrol and was wondering if a HTP or IBC might be a better replacement choice ?

i found the contractors original installation receipt for the Amtrol and it said "lifetime" warranty ? don't know if those things came with a lifetime warranty back in 1999 ? is it possible ?

also i have heard "anode" rods mentioned in my research, i don't think the amtrol had one and would rather not choose a model that would require additional maintenance if it did have one ?

(also any opinion on sweating the pipes vs " pro-press")

Thanks for any suggestions.

clammy

As bad as some may say the amtrol boiler mate is or was you have clearly done quite well with yours . As for the lifetime warranty i've had customers who have had excellent luck w them even w terribly hard water and when they failed have gotten a warranty replacement tank of course they had to pay for the installation and removal and disposal of the old one but still cheaper then paying for a whole replacement indirect . If you have the original installers information then contact and have replaced under warranty . I doubt you will find many other indirect tanks that will for the money last as long as what you have gotten out of yours .If your water is terribly hard then the addition of a 3m scale inhibitor may be in order .Personally i always thought they where bunk but after installing a few on tanks w cleanouts i find that if replaced yearly they do what they state . Amtrols have no anode rods which cuts down on yearly maintenance and bills . i have found that a 2 time a year flushing of the tank is useful in helping flush out any build up . On another note as a good practice a domestic portable expansion tank should be installed on the cold water inlet to the tank and a quality portable mixing valve should be installed on the tank outlet to ensure of no scolding to users . As stated at 26 yearsold that is a great go for a indirect tank what ever brand . As for press or solder it seems only old timers are sweating stuff these days young guys are strictly press on go and when replacement comes it usually tossed and some on crimp stuff . Please hope they are using top brand press fitting veiga no import press yeah there cheaper but when they drip there done ,cut ream press and old in the recycle bin .That's the modern throw away society we all live in .

peace and good luck clammy

EzzyT

I will add that a stainless steel indirect tank might not be the best choice for depending on the quality of water. I’ve had plenty of situations where we installed a glass lined tank instead of stainless because of the over all water quality. With a glass lined tank it will have an anode rod which would need to be checked yearly or the other option is to replace it with an electric anode rod which I’ve had great success with. Thermostatic mixing valve and thermal expansion tank are items I highly recommend and most manufacturers require them to meet there specifications to be covered under warranty along with plumbing codes. As @clammy has said about pro press and soldering I agree but more and more old timers are moving over to pro press.

hot_rod

All things considered, I would go with a glass lined steel tank with a powered anode rod.

Press or sweat? Ford or Chevy? It is a personal preference really.