Typhoon My furnace from the 1970's and hot water heater are dying. Gas forced hot water furnace. I'm thinking a direct hot water system instead of a tank or the tankless ones. Opinions? House is an 1800' split level ranch with 2 zones
Toulon Typhoon I want the brand of hot water heater you have. It's lasted for 40 years? Are you kidding? I got 10 years out of mine before needing to replace it. Like yours, gas forced... Again, you're incredibly fortunate to get that kind of usage from a water heater. Please, let me know what brand it was. Next time I replace my Rheem, which was not the original brand, I want what you had.
DC300 I’m slightly confused as to what you are saying you have/want. You presently have a boiler system, as in the gas burner heats the water and pushes it through baseboards? Are you currently running an indirect water heater? As far as suggestions, this could get lengthy, but let’s start with what’s there now.
Typhoon DC300 Separate old school gas fired hot water heater which needs a $600 part so I don't have to relight the pilot every day. Our furnace is the original one when the house was built in the 1970's. It's Gas. Forced hot water through baseboard radiators.
backinit My house has a tankless boiler (oil fired) and aside from having to clean out the domestic water coil this year it's been great. I have seen a big push in this climate with heat pumps, but that doesn't address hot water needs for you. If I was going to to it again, I would go tankless water heat for sure.
Rickochet Typhoon Separate old school gas fired hot water heater which needs a $600 part so I don't have to relight the pilot every day. Our furnace is the original one when the house was built in the 1970's. It's Gas. Forced hot water through baseboard radiators. Too many variables to give you a simple answer. I am not an HVAC tech although I do watch HGTV a lot. 😜 I do see a lot of new high tech stuff available. Although tankless water heaters are can be less costly to operate than are much more expensive to install. A gas one might require a larger gas line run to your house and a larger triple lined stainless flue. An electric one can require three 40 am 240volt lines and breakers. Some of the newer gas fired boilers run hot water to a single manifold that has individual PEX lines run to each rad so you can adjust the flow at the manifold to custom zone your heat. Something else to check into is a unit that has a gas fired boiler and also provides hot water. I would call a reputable HVAC/plumber experienced in these types of systems to look at your house and give you some ideas.
DC300 I have been around the plumbing/ hvac industry as a rep for almost 10 years and have a pretty solid understanding of it all. There is no simple answer, it’s really about what fits your desire. If you are going tankless, you better have decent water and not live where the extreme water usage limits have been put in place, they suck with low flow water fixtures. I myself, went to tankless in my last house and I really didn’t like it. I’d go with a tank style every time. They are cheap, easy and the myth that the tankless units are more efficient is complete horse crap. They provide endless hot water, not instant, not consistent, not using less gas. They fire off at 199k btus and use all of that energy until you shut it off, a tank style uses 40k btus, heats it passively and provides plenty of water, though yes it always keeps it warm. I have met many people who found tankless cost them more in gas consumption because of the endless water supply and people were happy to use it. Tankless also takes a lot more maintenance to keep the heat exchanger clear. Especially in a time when everything is moving to low flow fixtures ( tankless doesn’t heat unless it’s getting .5gpm flow), Im a fan of sticking with a tank. If you want to go green, grab the hybrid electric style tank, over 100% efficient in relation to energy input. On the boiler, much of the same applies, but there are a ton of great high efficiency options to work with. The key is how much you want to spend and if venting is something you want to change.
ZWExton DC300 As an expert, is there an age at which you'd replace a gas hot water heater (traditional tank style) even if there are no obvious issues with performance? Mine is in the f*ing attic, which is nice for hot and water in the summer (as it probably doesn't have to work much!) but in a precarious spot in the event of a leak/rupture - I'd never know until there was considerable damage to my home. It's probably 12yrs old now...
candukid DC300 grab the hybrid electric style tank, over 100% efficient in relation to energy input. How can this be? have they dicovered the holy grail? How can you get more energy out than you put in?
sdandrea1 No HVAC tech here, but I am a fan of the tried and true gas fired tank water heaters. Old tech, but reliable.
johnnydoom ZWExton I'm not an expert, but mine leaked in the attic and all of the water was caught in the drain pan and went out the drain pipe. No damage. It was a slow leak, which I imagine is the most likely failure. It was close to 20 years old, which I've heard is longer life than average. Make sure the drain pan is in good repair and that the drain pipe is not clogged.
DC300 ZWExton Thats a typical “it depends” answer, but 10 years is a good run for them. Most companies warranty for 5 years for good reason. If you have good water it’s much less of an issue. Generally the tanks fail at the seams due to rust or they burn through if their is too much debris left in the bottom, it makes it harder for the heat to transfer so it’s fire vs metal, over the long run, that’s a recipe for failure. If you like to run the risk, make sure your pan is good and the hose flows water, keep an eye on it and you will probably be ok for a few more years. If it were mine, I’d just bite the bullet now and replace it. It’s a $4-500 item, not worth the risk to me.
ZWExton johnnydoom Make sure the drain pan is in good repair and that the drain pipe is not clogged. How does one test the quality of the drain line?
johnnydoom Not sure about the best way, but I've poured a few cups of water into mine and watched to see if it looked like it was draining well out of the hole in the bottom of the pan. Sort of like watching a smaller version of the bathtub drain from above. I've read that some drain to the outside and if so, those might get insects building nests or something. Mine appears to be plumbed into the house drain line.
meagain Have seen these and they are amazing: https://www.rheem.com/innovations/innovation_residential/marathon/ Only 5 degree heat loss in 24 hours.
Typhoon Toulon The hot water heater is a separate tank...my current one was put in 2012 and now it needs a gas valve. My home heating system is gas, forced hot water. That gas furnace is the original one when the house was built in the 1970's
DC300 candukid Heat pumps. They are taking temperature out of the ambient air and transferring it to the water to warm it. Think of the backside of an air conditioner, it’s basically the same concept of pulling heat or cold from the air and directing it the other way, therefore in relation to the input, it’s possible to get more heat out than the electric input because it’s able to passively heat the water while it stands in the tank. It’s not purely that efficient if you are using it as an electric element style ( for HUGE demands of water that requires quick reheating of the tank). So yeah, they kinda found the miracle of physics.
Rickochet Typhoon The hot water heater is a separate tank...my current one was put in 2012 and now it needs a gas valve. Try turning the temperature setting down on the water heater. I read that too high a setting can make them kick out. A few months ago my 2011 gas water heater started going out at night. After some research I turned the temp down and it hasn't gone out in months and I have plenty of hot water. There was some kind of glitch with a particular batch of Honeywell gas valves.
Typhoon Rickochet EXACTLY!! Great catch!! I read that as well and instead of having it on the "A" setting I just have it on the setting below that reads " hot" and it hasn't gone out. Wife complained the first day but I played stupid since it hasn't shut off.
Rickochet Typhoon EXACTLY!! Great catch!! I read that as well and instead of having it on the "A" setting I just have it on the setting below that reads " hot" and it hasn't gone out. Wife complained the first day but I played stupid since it hasn't shut off. I think that is about where mine is set. We have plenty of hot water for just the two of us and we use a lot of water. I am reluctant to change the setting since it works fine where it is set. I never pursued the topic to see if there was some kind of recall from Honeywell.