indirect or separate

Rodney Summers

I have a building with 2 apartments 1 business and im going to replace the hot water boiler soon and the water heater is near its end too could anyone tell me what the benefits of having an indirect water heater feeding from the boiler compared to a standard separate water heater is? I currently run out of hot water fairly fast with 2 washers 2 dishwashers 3 kitchen sinks and 3 baths. the water heater right now is 50 gals with a 50.000btu burner.thanks in advance for any help. j.h.

Mike E_2

Definatly go with an indirect. It will be able to give you alot more hot water than your old HWH. If it is sized large enough, you could have endless hot water.

A standard gas fired water heater only has an EF of around .60 They loose alot of heat up the flue when they are not firing - which is the vast majority of the day. Compare that to a boiler which has an AFUE of 80% or higher.

I would also make sure to get a boiler that is in the mid to upper 80's minimum. The best would be to get a condensing/modulating boiler such as the Buderus GB142, HTP Munchkin, Weil-Mclain Ultra, Lochinvar Knight, as well as others. These are all in the mid 90's%

Joe Brix

upsize the indirect

Get a 60 or 80 gal indirect so you have reserve capacity.
Get the right size boiler for the heating load and let it run priority on the indirect. You'll have plenty of hot water and save fuel.

Constantin

Yup...

...and it's a lot simpler to insulate an indirect water heater further than it is to do the same for a regular hot water heater.

Plus, if the indirect water heater has a large internal heat exchanger and the proper pipe and control system, it'll make far more hot water with your boiler plant than most regular hot water heaters can dream of.

Rodney Summers

the boiler im planning on installing is a utica mgb200 with an output of 165 k. the building is 4200 sq all together and 104 years old no insulation just brick & plaster does the boiler size sound right for the building to start with? how many sizes up should i go for the indirect tank which will probably be 80 gals?

STEVE PAUL_3

indirect heater

Don't go up any amount! Use the same boiler, properly sized for the heating load that you need for the building. Have the idirect on a priority zone and start saving money and use lots of hot water.

Rodney Summers

how long do indirect tanks last compared to normal water heaters?

Joe Brix

a glass lined gas WH

8-10 years
Stainless steel indirect with normal amounts of chlorine
about 20 years.