Conversion from Direct to Indirect DHW heating...better pressure?

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broadbill

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Hi-

Our house was built in 2004 and has a Direct Tankless/Coil Oil Boiler that supplies both Domestic Hot Water (DHW) as well as runs the hydronic baseboard heating system.

We've seen the typical issues with this type of setup (low DHW pressure, temp control issues). The low pressure is the bigger issue for us and we are looking at alternative setups.

I spoke with the plumber who did our routine boiler maintenance and he recommended going to an indirect heating system for our DHW which would mean installing a water tank and another heating zone on our hydronic system.

I'm under the impression that indirect heating systems are more fuel efficient so that is a definite advantage for us. However, what is less clear is if we'll have better DHW pressure after the conversion.

Any predictions about the pressure on the new system? You would expect that it should be better considering it is the cold water pressure that would be pushing the hot water out of the tank (and our cold water pressure is definitely better than our hot water pressure with our current system).

Thanks!
 
Hi-

Our house was built in 2004 and has a Direct Tankless/Coil Oil Boiler that supplies both Domestic Hot Water (DHW) as well as runs the hydronic baseboard heating system.

We've seen the typical issues with this type of setup (low DHW pressure, temp control issues). The low pressure is the bigger issue for us and we are looking at alternative setups.

I spoke with the plumber who did our routine boiler maintenance and he recommended going to an indirect heating system for our DHW which would mean installing a water tank and another heating zone on our hydronic system.

I'm under the impression that indirect heating systems are more fuel efficient so that is a definite advantage for us. However, what is less clear is if we'll have better DHW pressure after the conversion.

Any predictions about the pressure on the new system? You would expect that it should be better considering it is the cold water pressure that would be pushing the hot water out of the tank (and our cold water pressure is definitely better than our hot water pressure with our current system).

Thanks!

I would think that your pressure would be good, like you say it will be just in and out of the tank. I would guess the coil in your boiler is getting plugged up some . Any time you heat water the lime and other minerals drop and start plugging up. If you are going to use that coil in the boiler to heat the water tank, you might have to clean it out. Paul
 

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