Help!! I need DHW

[NHFarmer]

Ok,I have been working on my Tarm install for way too long.I am finally ready to bring my 1000 gal storage tank up to temp.I have done 3 small burns and have my tank up to 104*.All went well,really cool to see the gassification in action.Now I have a Weil-Mclain 40 gal indirect tank,15 or so years old.I ran about 20' of 3/4 copper in my storage tank as a preheater.then in to my dhw tank.I ran a separate zone to the coil to heat the water.I raised the temp and am going thu a tempering valve like Nofossil uses.I am planning to heat dhw year round with the Tarm but maybe elactric in the summer.I have a family of 4 and I don't want to run out of hot water.All is well, as I open the valves to fill my tank,it is leaking like a sieve.Now I am out of money and I need hot water.I priced out a new indirect heater and found out they are not cheap!!.Bottom line is what do I do.Will a sidearm with a separate zone give me enough hot water?Any ideas would be great,in the meantme it will be Johnnie Walker for me.

 

[steam man]

Check out www.unclehenrys.com and the print version. I saw a few used indirects for sale. One was a 3 year old 40g amtrol boilermate for $300.00. My indirect is going and I am going to have o replace it also.

Mike

 

[NHFarmer]

Thanks,I will check it out

 

[Duetech]

As far as the side arm dhw is concerned I use one that I built and use my EKO 40 to heat heat my dhw year around. I have more dhw now than I ever did with my propane dhw. I do not use zones as I have an air/hot water type heat exchanger but from a cold start on my boiler I will have enough hot water to take a good shower in an hour and a half. Probably less but I have never been able to remember to test the water sooner. My primary and secondary pumps (Taco 007) kick in at 165 f and one the secondary kicks in my dhw tank (30-40 gal.? But 1st in line) and my htx-ger get hot water. I am currently working to put in an 850 gal storage tank. I use a tempering valve set at around 120 f (a guess) and at 1 1/2 hours boiler time I think it is working as the water never seems to get any hotter. We are a family of two to four depending on how many of the kids come back home for how long. We never run out of dhw. Cave2k

 

[Nofossil]

Bummer about your indirect tank!

Cheapest no-risk solution is an electric with a sidearm and the tempering valve that you already have. This is actually a really good solution anyway, even if it wasn't also the cheapest.

Any time you burn wood, the tank gets good and hot. Since you're preheating, it won't get cold enough for the electric to kick for a good long time. As a backup heat source for DHW, electric isn't bad.

 

[Vtgent49]

I agree with nofossil. A sidearm on an old electric will work well, when the tarm is burning. Mine is just part of my LR baseboard circuit, on the return side. During the winter there is a ton of very hot DHW. Shoulder season is harder, so I added solar, to keep the electric off.

Making it a seperate loop would make summer DHW burns feasable. I do still find that standing losses are surprisingly high, so a 180 degree tank with 80 gals will be too cool in 48 hours or so. I have insulated a lot, pipes, tank, sidearm, etc, and could do more, but at this point I'm just saving solar or wood heated therms, so....

Insulate the heck out of the whole sidearm setup, and have a very light check valve in the sidearm/tank loop to prevent reverse thermosyphon.

 

[WoodNotOil]

If you get your storage hot enough, you may have enough preheat surface area to draw DHW just from your storage tank. Bypass the indirect completely for now. I charge my 1000 gal storage to 170* on the weekend and have enough hot water for the whole week. That would give you some time to put in an electric w/ sidearm or whatever you choose to do. I have DHW coils in my Tarm, oil boiler, and storage tank with no seperate hotwater tank at all.

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

I'm pulling an electric tank from a house in the near future. It worked when we shut it off and installed the oil boiler.

It's yours if you want to haul it out.

Joe

 

[NHFarmer]

Joe,Thanks for the offer,I may take you up on it.I did talk with the Weil-Mclain rep and I think I am getting a new tank under warranty.They told me to bring in the old tank and they would give me a new one.I will beleive it when I have a new one in my hands.I will keep you posted

 

[NHFarmer]

Seems too good to be true but I have a new Weil Mclain 40 gal. dhw storage tank.I brought the old one in and they gave me a new one.So far so good,now all I have to do is plumb it in,heat up my storage tank and enjoy a nice hot wood fired shower.Thanks for all your input,I appreciate it.

 

[Willman]

I have a new Weil Mclain 40 gal

Any manufactures updates to the indirect to address the previous issue ? Any explanation as to why ?
Will

 

[NHFarmer]

looks to be the exact same tank.The old one was 10 years old.I figure if I get another 10 for zero dollars Im not complaining