HTP Superstor Ultra

larry

Have people had good luck with the Superstor Ultra? Should there be any concerns about using this tank in an area with a municipal water supply that has about 9 grains of hardness? Will a yearly flushing effectively wash away any accululated hardness minerals? HTP refers to the heat exchanger as being made of "cupronickel". Is this some type of stainless steel based alloy?

ScottMP

I belive its

a combination of copper and nickol.

I have had great luck with the superstor product. Good price, good quality and light weight

I had one problem with a leaking tank about seven years ago. We install about 15/16 tanks a year

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larry

Thank you for the response. It's always good to hear people's experiences, both good and bad. Is the superstor ultra a widely used product?

Darin Cook_3

Larry

Nine grains of hardness is very hard water. You must really consider treating that. All of your plumbing fixtures will last much longer and provide better service. Keep in mind that a manufacturer will void the warranty on a product (such as a indirect water heater) if it fails due to conditions such as the one you have. The SuperStor Ultra is a good tank. I have been at the factory and seen how they are made. They are constructed out of stainless steel. You cannot go wrong with that tank.





Darin

larry

Darin,

Thanks for the heads up on our water quality. A plumber who lives in town discouraged me from considering a water softener when I asked him about it several years ago. He said it wasn't really needed. If our humidifier is any indication, there does seem to be a lot of mineral content to our water. Will hardness minerals attack our copper pipes as well? All of our faucet fixtures have ceramic valves, and so far not even a hint of trouble.

BTW - I took a look at the HTP warranty for the Superstor Ultra. No mention of maximum hardness, but they do say it's the owners responsibility to keep the unit clear of mineral buildups.

Darin Cook_3

Larry

I looked online at the HTP website on the products page. The warranty is for normal use and service. We had a product rep for Weil Mclain who made a career out of carrying a sledge hammer and smashing the boiler sections open and saying the sections were limed up, no warranty. I suppose you would be at the mercy of the HTP rep, if your tank failed and you had very hard water. Plumbing fixtures with ceramic cartridges seem to weather harsh conditions much better than standard washer types. You will see, after a while, a build-up of minerals at the outlet of your fixtures. Hope this helps.




Darin

Constantin

I think a SuperStor would fare a lot better...

...than a regular water heater. The ΔT is much lower across the HX, the HX is supsended in the water, its expansion/contraction may loosen scale, and any scale that drops to the tank bottom will not impede heat transfer in a IDWH the way it does in a regular gas unit. Plus, being built of cupro-nickel (nice stuff!), the SuperStor tank lends itself to periodic cleanings in homes where no softening equipment has been installed.

Simply buy 10 gallons of cheap white vinegar, drain the tank, fill it with a hot solution of water and vinegar, let sit for an hour or two, drain, and you're back in business. If you go for the super-premium end of the indirect water heater scale, consider the Viessmann Vitocell 300 series, which has a cleanout (!) built into the exterior wall. However, considering the time-value of money and the relative prices of a Vitocell 300 vs. a Superstor... you might still go with a superstor.

DaveGateway

What about

Triangle tube? For hard water I would stay away from any finned tube HX. A tank in tank design should be better. no?

kevin coppinger_4

try thr Contender...

it is the one I use the most and the 80 gallon is a lot of volume for the buck. It has a steel smooth HX. No fins! kpc

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hr

I agree Joe

the finned coil HX are bad news in hard water country, which is most of this country

I suspect most are operating way below their top efficiency due to scaled coils.

The Triangle or Weil tank in tank is my main choice. plenty of recovery, too, if you have the BTUs to drive them.

Keep in mind any type of HX that gets a layer or build up of scale will lose efficiency, be it a smooth coil, finned coil, or bare tank. My experience shows the finned coils plug up quicker and are tougher to clean completely.

Clean out holes are great, IF they get used and you have the correct spare gasket

hot rod

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larry

I sent an email to the fine folks at HTP regarding this question, and promptly received a very informative response. They are less concerned with grains of hardness and more concerned with the level of TDS (total disolved solids). They gave me the green light given our town's average TDS level of 209. They also emailed me instructions for how to clean the tank. Not as simple as having a cleanout port, but it can still be done.

I didn't think the superstor ultra had a finned heat exchanger. That must be how they get the massive values for the area of the HX. I can see how that will be problematic.

The triangle tube indirect seems like a great idea. The only thing that concerned me was the ability to cleanout the tank. If I remember, it doesn't have any drain on the bottom. What is the technique for removing scale deposits from this style of tank?

Constantin

Vinegar..

... I imagine. The water in Cologne, Germany is so hard, you can walk on it. Every two months, we'd have to take all the faucets, showerhaeds, etc. apart and soak them in a solution of vinegar to get the calcium carbonate out. The nice thing about vinegar is that it doesn't otherwise affect your drinking water.

For washing machines in the EU (which have a built-in water heater, no hot connection!) they offer powders like "Calgon" that basically soften the water enough to prevent scaling inside the washing machine (and in particular, on the electric heating element)