Question on boilers that also supply hot water

Fred P

But I also have that dip tube problem which shortens my hot water capacity.

I only have a problem if somebody takes a long hot shower or if we try to take 3 showers in a row.. Usually 2 showers back to back is not a problem. If a coil can give me the same results as a HWH then its fine for me.. if it can give me 3 back to back showers thats even better!

Fred P

Im replacing my 50 year old steam boiler

this year and got a few estimates from heating professionals. One guy recommended a boiler with a heat coil to supply hot water to the rest of the house. Right now I have a 50 gal HWH and wanted to replace/relocate it at the same time as new boiler install.

I know the old boilers like mine used to do that but it wasnt sufficient (or efficient) so previous homeowners added the HWH.

According to him this would be more efficeint and provide me with an endless amount of hot water (no more cold showers).

I know todays boilers are more advanced and efficient but any opinions/suggestions on the hot water heating.. go with a seperate tank or have the boiler provide the hot water???

Is that similar to the tankless HWH's I see advertised in Home Depot???

John@Reliable_4

Home Depot? we don't talk about them here................

That said, it most likely is not the same. He might be talking about a tankless hot water heater that goes inside boiler and gets it's heat from boiler water. Allot of folks here don't like them ,but I install them all the time with no problems. Another plus is the boiler likes to be warm year round to avoid scale in boiler and a tankless will also solve this problem too. John@Reliable

jim_14

I think he said coils inside the boiler that heat the water as it passes thru them. I was just comparing it to the only other thing I saw as far as not having a hot water tank- the tankless water heater that mounts on the wall as shown in the HD catalogs.

Im not a big fan of HD anyway.

I like the idea of one unit in my basement that provides heat to the house and hot water to my faucets,shower, etc. Just looking for opinions here from other pro's.

thanks,

Jim

heatboy

I'm not sure about the endless..............

hot water statement. Have yet to see it. What size is the new boiler going to be? Putting a coil in the boiler will certainly provide you with hot water. It will take 100MBH to give you a continous 2 GPM of hot water. Adding a storage/holding tank to that tankless coil is a good idea. Knowing what the quality of your water is paramount. It may be a better option than your 50 gallon electric water heater. It may not be a better option than your 50 gallon electric water heater. Depends..........

hb

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jim_14

The current hot water heater is gas

> hot water statement. Have yet to see it. What

> size is the new boiler going to be? Putting a

> coil in the boiler will certainly provide you

> with hot water. It will take 100MBH to give you

> a continous 2 GPM of hot water. Adding a

> storage/holding tank to that tankless coil is a

> good idea. Knowing what the quality of your

> water is paramount. It may be a better option

> than your 50 gallon electric water heater. It

> may not be a better option than your 50 gallon

> electric water heater.

> Depends..........

>

> hb

>

> _A

> HREF="http://www.heatinghelp.com/getListed.cfm?id=

> 103&Step=30"_To Learn More About This Contractor,

> Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A

> Contractor"_/A_

jim_14

The current hot water heater is gas

not electric. Im not sure what GPM my current HWH is now, I know I have the one with the dip tube problem... missed out on the recall.. Im guessing the size will be 150,000 btu (not positive yet) steam boiler.

As far as quality of water - Im not sure I totally understand that question.. but im in NYC where our water quality is pretty good (no hard water, etc) or did you mean what the quality of water would be after passing thru my boiler...

Another concern of mine that just popped in my head, is that in my 1 pipe steam, the return water will obviously travel down 50 year old rusted galvanized steel pipes bringing with it dirt from radiators and other specs of dirt from the steam pushing thru the risers, right back into the boiler, I believe??

Will this "dirty" water then be recycled into the boiler and then into my hot water supply thru the house?? Or I am missing something/overreacting- will the return water be so little that it shouldnt be a factor??

Firedragon_4

I would use an external tankless with

an internal as a pre-heater. Lot's of hot water when that steam boiler is cooking in the winter. Use a good quality automatic mixing valve to prevent scalding and oh baby!

Check this site out for more info on tankless heaters:
www.tfi-everhot.com

jim_14

do you have an idea of

how many GPM my 50 gallon AO Smith (i believe is the name) is?

It a gas HWH not electric.

ScottMP

You run out

of hot water with a 50 gallon tank ?? You Must have daughters right ?

Once those small copper coils start to get deposits of minerals in them the output starts to drop. Unlimited hot water ? I don't think so.

Scott

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jim sokolovic

2 weeks ago...

Noel here at Slant/Fin had some good advice on how to run an indirect water heater off of a steam boiler. This gives all the benefits you desire, and no tankless coil is used. If you want to consider this, search for the old post: "I'd use the tapping" by Noel on 9-10-2003. In addition to his recommendation, you would have to add an aquastat to the water supply piping - to shut off the steam boiler before it approaches steaming temperature on calls for domestic water when there is no call for space heat.

todd s

hot water

just my 2cents but I like the idea of an indirect off the condensate, boilers that run year round last longer, I always compare it to parking your car for the summer and expecting it to run fine in the fall.

jim sokolovic

\"Hot Tech Topics\" related question...

In the subject story "Like to run a hot water zone off a steam boiler", Dan says to "use priority to not let the indirect water heater run when the steam zone calls", so that steam can be generated properly and the space heat can be satisfied first. I have always heard (on hot water systems) that the priority should be given to the domestic water, over the space heat. I understand why steam boilers can't provide any significant space heating if an added water zone is "stealing" some of the energy, but wouldn't it still be better to give the priority to the indirect water heater? This way, domestic water needs would always be met, the steam could be quickly generated after the domestic is satisfied, and the system would avoid always pumping extremely hot water to the indirect water heater after the space heat zone was satisfied. Anybody have thoughts on this?
Jim, if your posting on the "test results on my boiler" and this thread are the same job, it's way past the time to put that old horse out to pasture - your combination of problems is not fixable with anything other than new equipment (IMHO).

Unknown

$0.02

I agree with how Jim S. is thinking, but since the water heater is using condensate, and reducing the ability to make steam during that short time, I don't think I'd use priority at all. It naturally prioritizes the condensate zone.

The condensate load NEEDS to be smaller than the pick-up factor for the system, unless you decide to use a relay for priority. It'll drive the steam system balance wacky if you don't.

Noel