My Nyletherm Thread

[velvetfoot]

My Nyletherm came by FedEx yesterday. It was nicely packed on a little pallet. I happened to be in HD yesterday before unpacking and bought a bunch of stuff for plumbing it up, assuming it's 3/4". Alas, it's not 3/4", so I'll be going back. Will keep the crimping tool of course. Put the unit on a dolly and moving it here and there. I think the fan should be blowing out into the room. Anyway, work in progress, and my first effort with PEX.

 

[semipro]

Thanks for posting. I'm interested in following this. If my GeoSpring dies I'll likely buy one of these.

 

[Where2]

My Nyletherm came by FedEx yesterday. It was nicely packed on a little pallet.

Watching this thread... I've been debating the Geyser/Nyletherm/E-Tech HPWH route since the sunshine state has actually made using DIY solar thermal a permitting nightmare. A HPWH looks like a $40 WH permit...

 

[velvetfoot]

Really? I don't they do that even in NY.

A first observation: The price of the doodads and geegaws to hook it up is not inconsequential. My plan is to tie into the hot outlet pipe right after the Electric WH, because I had put in a heat trap and figured it wouldn't hurt. That means brass fittings, and stuff like 3/4" brass tees, and other stuff add up.

There are plugged water in and out fittings on the other side of the unit where the marked fittings are. I'm going to ask Tom if it's okay to use them because it may be easier to route the pipe that way for me.

I plan to have the exhaust fan point out into the room and the intake facing the wall. I think a factor with these units is finding a place to put them.

I didn't look inside the case yet, but the unit looks pretty rugged.

 

[velvetfoot]

I installed the fittings and isolation valves. I put together as much stuff as I could do away from the tank to make it easier. No leaks. I love when that happens. Tom says its okay to use the alternate connections. I have to put in the pex pipe and wire it up. The wiring directions are less than complete wiring instructions-general schematics, yes. Time for another note to Tom. Here are some pictures of the non-leaking fittings (knock on wood).

 

[Where2]

Really? I don't think they do that even in NY.

A first observation: The price of the doodads and geegaws to hook it up is not inconsequential... That means brass fittings, and stuff like 3/4" brass tees, and other stuff add up.

There are plugged water in and out fittings on the other side of the unit where the marked fittings are. I'm going to ask Tom if it's okay to use them because it may be easier to route the pipe that way for me.

I plan to have the exhaust fan point out into the room and the intake facing the wall. I think a factor with these units is finding a place to put them.

Yes, really. The state certification process to certify the design and install my own PV system was another $250, above and beyond the ~$425 in local permits for actual inspections.

Yes, finding room to install a HPWH is a curious challenge. My DWH is nestled in the corner between my washer and dryer in a laundry alcove that is 5x7. To run a HPWH most efficiently, I'd really need to duct the output air into the bathroom on the other side of the wall. That simply adds complexity to the install process...

Nice to know the Nyletherm has multiple I/O port options.

 

[velvetfoot]

An electric water heater is just about noiseless-this won't be, so that's something to think about.

 

[Highbeam]

Very curious about the noise level. The noise is why i am stuck with resistance heating.

So did you go copper ring or ss clamp for the pex? I did some plumbing yesterday and noticed the ss rings are double the price of copper.

 

[velvetfoot]

I'm totally with you there on the noise. The resistance heater is silent. It is located in the unfinished basement though, and the ceiling has insulation so maybe the noise won't be that bad.

I went copper ring. That's something I noticed when I was looking at the two formats. I have yet to use it.

On another note, I woke this morning and realized that I hooked up to hot instead of cold, so I took a short hot water outage this morning and switched the fittings with no problems. I replaced the original image in an earlier post. Duh.

Still thinking through the electric. Will swing by HD after the diner this morning, and THIS time I have a list.

 

[Where2]

I recognize it won't be noiseless. Being right off the kitchen, and open to the entire downstairs to listen to, I'm always curious how loud new owners consider them to be?
To my advantage, I do have a timer. My current electric WH is run by a timer, and I would expand the schedule to cope with the slightly slower recovery time than my 1500W lower element currently provides.

I've tried to simulate the db level described in some of the technical documents. Realistically it's likely about as loud as my running dryer, I expect...

 

[velvetfoot]

I would think that in Florida you'd be at an advantage as far as the thing won't freeze-you could put it in a garage and maybe duct the exhaust into the house.

 

[Where2]

I would think that in Florida you'd be at an advantage as far as the thing won't freeze-you could put it in a garage and maybe duct the exhaust into the house.

Yes I admit the supplemental cooling would be an advantage. My laundry area location would actually extract heat from solar heat gain on the south facing side of the house, in addition to residual heat gain from running the electric dryer, from cooking and heat I gain from the refrigerator. Drawing air from within a garage and intentionally pumping it into the house sounds like something that would be frowned upon by code. The number of people injured or killed by CO (carbon monoxide) from vehicles parked in garages and left running, always amazes me. After a hurricane comes through the news media always has to "remind" the public not to run their generators in an enclosed garage...

It may simply be a case where I have to buy it and live with it for awhile, then decide to remote mount the unit in the garage... Having more A/C capacity and dehumidification in the garage is never bad in FL.

 

[velvetfoot]

sounds like something that would be frowned upon by code

True, for sure. Brain fart on my part.

 

[velvetfoot]

I finished hooking up the electric and plumbing. Not sure if it works yet. The bypass switch works and the fan is on, but no heat yet, then again, when I bypassed it, the Energy Detective did not show any big juice draw, so I hope it's just not cold enough. I left both thermostats on 125. The 'manual', which I have to say is poor, says something about putting the top one on 125 and the bottom on 120. I risk the wrath of Mrs. Velvetfoot if it's too cold, so I'm going to leave it where it was at for now.

For electric, I fished a wire down through the foam to the upper thermostat area and tied into a wire that goes to the lower thermostat that I removed from its terminal block on the upper thermostat. I ran four wires (L1, L2, G, and T-the wire I talked about) over to a box on the wall, and from there over to the Nyletherm.

I might drill a hole in the side panel to relocate the condensate hose to have a pump on the side for tidiness.

I does make noise, but I'd have to listen real hard to hear it upstairs. If you had a man cave downstairs, then that's another story. However...it would discourage interlopers and there is such thing as headphones.

Those four connections were the first PEX connections I ever made, and I have to say, I love it (as long as it holds together).

I'll put a couple more pictures up and will write when (if) it starts working.

 

[velvetfoot]

Well, something's not right. No red light, and the bypass switch works, which is good. When power is applied, the fan runs for a while and then stops. I noticed on the energy monitor a 4kw load came on, and I figure it's the upper element, but I can't be certain. Fiddling with the lower thermostat didn't make the Nyletherm come on, but I don't know if it the element came on. I'll try again with the monitor or a clamp on ammeter, read the troubleshooting page, and search some threads before contacting Tom.

 

[velvetfoot]

I think I'm getting closer to the right track. The Bypass switch didn't work after all-element did not come on. Turns out I had L1 and L2 switched. The compressor is on now. The humidity in the basement seems to be going down, the pipe seems to be of a higher temperature-have to insulate. No condensate though.

 

[velvetfoot]

I think previous observations might have been placebo effect. It's using watts though.

 

[woodgeek]

how would swapping L1 and L2 affect things?

 

[velvetfoot]

The terminals on the Nyletherm. The thermostat is supposed to switch the Nyletherm.

The thing just seems to run and run at something like 900 watts. If this is the way it's supposed to work, I'm not sure it's a money saver. Except if it dehumidifies. The air coming out is cooler. I'll let it run overnight and insulate the lines tomorrow. Maybe check the wiring again.

 

[velvetfoot]

The compressor shut off and there was some condensate, so thinks might be working.

 

[velvetfoot]

Seems to be working! Collecting some condensate. Runs for a while after taking a shower, but not incredibly long. Have the lower thermostat at 125 and the upper a skootch below that, per Tom's recommendation. Insulated the pex lines with the good stuff. When the house is quiet, you can hear it run from the first floor but it's not bad at all. Hard to tell what the dehumidification effect will be, but we don't use that much hot water. My dehumidification needs are not great though-as long as the cold water pipes don't drip water and it doesn't get too stinky.

 

[velvetfoot]

Oh, and thanks to Tom for all his help!

 

[velvetfoot]

The dishwaher was turned on right before a shower. A few minutes after the shower was over, the energy meter seemed to indicate the upper element came on. I set the upper thermostat down more and will see how that goes.

 

[Where2]

I set the upper thermostat down more and will see how that goes.

From what I have been able to determine, my whirlpool "energy smart" water heater fires the upper element until the top of the tank is within 10°F of the set point, then drives the lower element to input the remaining heat. You might consider that as a reference point to work with.

 

[john193]

Just installed my geospring today. Flipped the breaker to the "off" position on the oil boiler. One thing I noticed is the hot water temperature is now more consistent. With the oil boiler, you'd have to turn it up after a few minutes to match the temp you initially set it to.