Question for the Regular Plumbing Contributors: Sizing an Indirect Water Heater?

I am in the beginning stages of adding an indirect water tank to our gas fired, steam system (residential) and I am looking for guidance on sizing the water tank. I have researched manufacturers and talked with individuals and I like the Triangle Tube Smart series (but am open to other recommendations). Our needs are residential HW for a two family (3 stories) with 3 showers, one washing machine and one dishwasher. Our boiler currently supplies the entire home’s heat and HW and has a coil to heat the hot water (no separate water heater). **Most importantly, I want to ensure constant hot water as our garden level is an apartment and I want to avoid running out of hot water, so I would rather over size the water heater than size it to meet minimal supply needs.** Boiler Specifics: Weil Mclain: ID sticker has two columns with two different model numbers and the corresponding information for each model (neither check-box is checked which would indicate my boiler). One model is EG/PEG-50 and EG/PEG-55\. I am assuming that mine is the one that ends in 55 as the bar code number on the bottom of the sticker is 550201400 (beginning with 55). The system currently vents into the existing chimney which was newly lined. For model number 55 the input BTU/hr is 200,000 and the DOE heating capacity is 167,000 BTU/hr For the other model, number 50 the input BTU/hr is 175,000 and the DOE heating capacity is 145,000 BTU/hr Thanks in advance for any help!

nalusurf

in Plumbing 9 years and 6 months ago

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nalusurf | 9 years and 6 months ago

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MP, eman, Gennady- the trifecta! Thank you all, just the folks I was hoping to hear from. Appreciate all of your suggestions.

Master Plvmber | 9 years and 6 months ago

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I agree with Gennady. That’s actually the better plan.

ellenlourie | 9 years and 6 months ago

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If you already have domestic hot water coil in the boiler, you can consider to add just a domestic hot water storage tank with mixing valve instead of indirect tank with same result.

eman134 | 9 years and 6 months ago

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As Mp said..Smart 50…you could also consider a Buderus SST 250 65…pricier but gives you a continuous flow rate of 264 vs triangle tube 185

Master Plvmber | 9 years and 6 months ago

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Have you looked at the spec sheets for the Triangle Tube water heaters? It looks like your boiler is best suited for the Smart 50. On the other hand, that assumption you’re making about the model number and bar code number, known to Weil-McLain as the CP number, is valid. It’s probably not. Those are codes meant to mean nothing to consumers but contain manufacturing dates and warranty info for the reps. Yes, it contains the product type but I’ve never seen the two numbers contain a match.