Need help with heated water inside the home...

[VAfarmer38]

Ok I have searched high and low but can't seem to find a viable solution to this. I recently fired my furnace up for the upcoming cooler days and nights and need some help. We only choose to heat our water during this time (fall/winter/early spring) and use our water heater during the warmer months. My wife is convinced that our water quality changes as soon as I start heating our water with the furnace. She states that it makes her hair different. I can't tell any difference personally but I'm a guy and I don't pay attention to that stuff. Thanks for any help.

 

[Nofossil]

Is the water coming from a different tank when you heat with the furnace? Any chance that it's softened in one case and not in the other?

 

[maple1]

How the water gets heated should have no effect.

If the paths the water takes are different - then you might have crud being introduced on the wood side somehow.

Any galvanized piping?

 

[warno]

Any chance of boiler water getting into the hot water for the house?

 

[DoubleB]

I've learned it's usually futile to try to disprove all possibilities when I know I can't imagine what all the possibilities are. Sometimes when I disprove a litany of potential causes, that only makes the listener think that I haven't thought hard enough yet. So instead I consider ideas like those above, and then declare that I can't do anything more until the source presents itself.

I could imagine, for example, that she might prefer water from the water heater, since it boils water on the heating elements which precipitates some calcium and magnesium ions out of the water; whereas she might not prefer water from the boiler heat exchanger, which I presume does not boil water nor remove ions from the water.

I would be quite surprised if the amount could be detectable. But, I've been surprised before.

 

[Nofossil]

In the final analysis, I'd expect that the correct answer is "Yes, Dear".

 

[VAfarmer38]

Ok, so it appears the water from the outside well goes directly in through the heat exchanger and then to the water pipes in the house. I'm having a friend come by tomorrow to get a water sample to test hardness and go from there. To answer the above questions:

*It doesn't appear that any of the water from the water jacket or the pipes running from coil back to furnace is getting into the house water.
*The water goes from the well into the house through black polyethylene pipe and yes, there are two or three galvanized elbow fittings.
*From the poly pipe it goes to pex pipe to the rest of the house. No more copper, no more galvanized pipes or fittings.
*I'm wondering if there's some sort of issue going on with the composition of the water and how quickly it's heated with the exchanger vs the water heater/tank
I wish there was a way I could bypass the exchanger and use the furnace to only heat the house and not the water but that isn't possible the way it was installed. I can do one way, not the other (use water heater without exchanger when furnace is not in use). In all honesty this is causing some strife in the house simply because I don't have a solution right now and the wife is serious about it being different. This is a strange one for me. Thanks for all the help.

 

[DoubleB]

Can you draw a diagram? It would be interesting to see what parts of the system are common from winter to summer, and which might be isolated in one of those seasons. For example, your previous post didn't mention where the water heater comes into play. Is that because it's isolated in the winter, or simply because it's not energized?

Also, do you have a water softener? Where located?

Diagram is key for me, if possible.

 

[warno]

I agree with ^^^^^^

How could you run the water heater in the summer withoutrunning the boiler but you can't in the winter?

No isolation valves or switches on the circ?

 

[VAfarmer38]

I'll try to snap a picture of the system and post it. I am looking into purchasing a water softener after I get the results from the water test. During the winter months I shut the power off to the hot water tank and use the exchanger from the boiler. There is no way to shut the water off to the heat exchanger and run the hot water tank while using the boiler if that makes sense. The exchanger is on the front side of the water tank, meaning it would have to go through the heat exchange regardless of how I choose to heat my water.

 

[DoubleB]

I think I see it in my mind. Sounds like you just need to add a bypass around your heat exchanger. Either bypass your domestic water around the heat exchanger, or bypass your boiler water around the heat exchanger. Either way stops the heating. Should be relatively simple in plumbing terms, or at least to hire out if plumbing's not your thing.

The bypass will make for a more proper fluid system, and is probably less expensive than the softener. However, if you're not strapped for cash, get the softener--it will make the wife happy year-round, not just her hair, but the clothes, dishes, etc. And probably would let you get away with leaving the rest of your system alone and keep heating your water with wood, saving you the money over time that you spent on the softener.

 

[maple1]

Sounds like the water path is the same all the time then? Just that in the summer when it goes through the HX, the HX isn't being heated by the boiler?

Which sounds odd. There being a noticeable difference in water quality, that is.

You can't just valve off the boiler supply water to the HX & run the heater the same way as in the summer? Or are there no isolation valves on the boiler supply? There should be, if not.

How old is your water heater? Ever drained/flushed it?

Is your boiler pressure good & constant all the time?

We're kind of in the dark without pics or good diagram.

 

[VAfarmer38]

Maple1, you're correct, there is no isolation valve to keep the water from being heated by the HX when I'm running the boiler. I didn't realize there would be an issue but she swears up and down it's different. I'm hoping to get some answers from the water test being done. I've had the unit for about 5 years and yes, it's been drained/flushed and chemicals are up to date. I have good pressure with the boiler. I have noticed a small bit of corrosion around some of the fittings. I mistakenly said there were no copper fittings, but there are some elbow joints in the pex plumbing that are copper and this is where I've noticed some buildup. I plan to do as DoubleB stated and attempt to bypass the HX and use the water heater while using the boiler to heat the home. I hope this will help the issue. I will keep everyone posted and again, I appreciate the help. I tried to snap some photos last night but the lighting in the root cellar isn't best and they weren't too good from the cell. Our house is about 120 years old.

I did check for leakage from the unit near the HX but my water level has not changed since starting the system up so I do not think the water from the boiler is contaminating the household water.

 

[maple1]

I guess I was overlooking that you had an OWB. Or I think you do?

I guess that might be common for those setups - running all the water thru all HXs in one loop.

Still find it hard to believe that heating by a HX might make a difference - and if there's a crossover leak you should see a change in boiler water level. But it's your house to keep peace in - ha.

 

[VAfarmer38]

I guess I was overlooking that you had an OWB. Or I think you do?

I guess that might be common for those setups - running all the water thru all HXs in one loop.

Still find it hard to believe that heating by a HX might make a difference - and if there's a crossover leak you should see a change in boiler water level. But it's your house to keep peace in - ha.

Yeah I may have forgotten to mention that we have an OWB. Water level is unchanged and trust me, this has been the center of some heated (no pun intended) discussions over the past several days. I plan to bypass the HX if I'm able to and will see if it makes a difference. This is definitely above my understanding. I guess I need to grow my hair longer so I can get a better grasp on it.