Here’s my first attempt at using a gas tankess HWH for a client. It’s a nice Paloma; seems to work fine and deliver enough – it’s just serving a master bath.
The unit needs to breathe outside air if installed in a closed room like a bathroom, but be protected from freezing. I had worked hard to get tight R-29 walls, so I didn’t want that outside air leaking into the room.
I talked with the supplier, and we came up with the installation scheme. I mounted the HWH on the exterior wall in a floor-to-ceiling cabinet, at the corner between the tub and vanity. I used a gable louver (on the lee side of the house) for the inlet air; the HWH mounts on brackets just on the inside of the louver; floating about 2″ off the drywall. In effect, the HWH is in a little closed pocket, within the insulated volume of the house, but open to about 100 sq. in. of outside air.
The HWH closet (3/4″ plywod) is sealed except for the gap around the access door; I may or may not weatherstrip it – I’m near Atlanta, in a place with no wind.
Forrest
Replies
The only thing I can say is did you check the local regulations about what they require?
Yep, the inspector signed off on it. He wanted to verify the inlet area-to-BTU ratio and chimney details, and was satisfied.
The chimney is single wall SS with the reddish poly gaskets; it's a condensing heat exchanger, so the exhaust is relatively cool.
Forrest
Glad it worked. "May the force be with you"
Why would you want to heat hot water? To get hotter water?
LOL -
In the southern tradition of "ink pen" and "hose pipe"
Help stamp out and abolish redundancy!
Forrest
They do make a hot water heater, its called a booster heater. Info. only.
Edited 3/9/2006 3:29 pm ET by Shacko
Shacko,
Dang! Ya got me!
I've installed many a circuit for these boosters, just never thought of it that way...
Cliff
Just curious--why would you not use a direct vent model? That way you could put the unit in a conditioned space, drawing combustable air from an outside source (without having to build a whole "room" for it)?
It IS a direct vent - the customer just chose one with a plain intake grill on the front of the unit. We couldn't find one with an intake "pipe".
My objective was to surround the unit with outside air while keeping it "inside" the conditioned envelope of the house, just not all the way so much.
Forrest
I only saw the one exhaust pipe...by direct vent I meant having an intake (combustable) and an exhaust, thus drawing fresh air from outside and pushing the exhaust out of the room....Therefore there is no need to worry about having it surrounded by outside air.
View Image
Both the exhaust and the intake go through the same hole in the wall...
Anyhow, I like the installation and all. It looks good. Tankless water (or the Munckin boilers) are the way to go IMHO. Nice job.
Man, that's cool - who's the manufacturer? I can't read the label -
Forrest
Noritz. I put one in my home...In a conditioned space (set in a closet). Nortiz customer service was very good on the phone.
My situation was a little different than yours in that I'm using the tankless for the entire home...so this model would be extreme overkill in your situation, but I would think there are smaller direct vent models (but I could be wrong).
Of course, a big drawback to using DV is that you have to "double" the vent pipe--and as you know they don't give away that stainless steel vent pipe for free...That being said, I love the tankless--and have already noticed a difference in heating bills (and no more screaming from the wife/kids that we "ran out of hot water).
Edited to correct spelling...sheesh.
Edited 3/8/2006 7:17 pm ET by Pnut