Hot water question.

[gerritm]

The correct way to pipe it is.
Cold into the cold water inlet of the first tank.
Hot outlet from the first tank into the cold inlet of the second tank.
Hot outlet from the second tank should feed the house hot water main.
Turn the first tank down to about 50% of the thermostat setting to preheat the water.
Turn the thermostat on the second tank up to about 65% setting. You will have all the hot water you will ever need this way. Assuming that the electric elements are working and wired correctly. If they are hooked up this way then look for a problem with the dip tubes.

You have a dip tube in the cold inlets of each tank that directs the cold/cooler water to the bottom of the tank and pushes the warm out of the top of the tank. They may have taken them out or when the plumber soldered the connections, heated them up and they burned off and fell in the tank. The water heaters will not work without them. If you take apart the cold side and look in the inlet you will see the white plastic tube and you can pull it out with a pair of needle hose pliers, or it will come out with the pipe nipple, it should be about 3 feet long.

I am a plumber with 30 years of experience and have found this is the best and most efficient way to hook up 2 hot water heaters.

 

[runninhotracing]

Buck you may want to have the plumber change the mixing valve on the shower, also have the 2 - 80 gallon tank set-up and works great other then shower was either cold or scalding before the holidayz and the plumber changed the mixing valve and no more B!otchin from the kidz:biggrinjester:










ITS A SKATER NATION !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:26:

 

[Chris]

The melted-off tube is not an uncommon problem- especially if the builder's sub is using alot of apprentices.

I wouldn't want the tube left in the tank. And they can be very hard to retrieve. If you drain the tank and pull off the valve, you can shine in with a bright flashlight- look down thru the top to see if it's down in there. Then have them bring you new tanks.

While you're looking, make sure you have unions above the tank that have the little green plastic insulators in them. Also, if you have to get in there, have them plumb in a 1" pvc check-ball valve on the outfeed line. It will cut down on the heat being wicked out and up your pipes- and will save you some energy $$ over the next couple decades.

 

[gerritm]

The melted-off tube is not an uncommon problem- especially if the builder's sub is using alot of apprentices.

I wouldn't want the tube left in the tank. And they can be very hard to retrieve. If you drain the tank and pull off the valve, you can shine in with a bright flashlight- look down thru the top to see if it's down in there. Then have them bring you new tanks.

While you're looking, make sure you have unions above the tank that have the little green plastic insulators in them. Also, if you have to get in there, have them plumb in a 1" pvc check-ball valve on the outfeed line. It will cut down on the heat being wicked out and up your pipes- and will save you some energy $$ over the next couple decades.

I wouldn't worry too much about the tube. It usually won't bother anything. Just falls to the bottom of the tank.The dielectric unions are only needed if you are going from copper to iron, dissimilar metals. The unions cause more problems sometimes than they solve. Most new heaters have factory nipples with a dielectric coating inside. If the nipples are kind of a silver/chrome color with a white coating inside, you really don't need the unions. They will be fine.
If they are regular galvanized pipe nipples then use the dielectric unions. They may have red insulators on them depending on the brand. If the tubes are broken or melted off, sometimes Home Depot will carry replacements, if not let me know and there is a way to make a replacment.

 

[Chris]

Like Buck said, the house is only 3 months old. If someone f'ed up, I'd want them to make it right. I agree it probably wouldn't hurt, but why take a chance?

 

[phragle]

at 3 months I would be calling the guys that put it in and saying its f'd up. afterall, if you had wanted it jacked up you could have done it yourself...

 

[buck]

I think you are right about calling him. I just know he's gonna think I'm an idiot though. I'll leave that last statement alone so you guys can take some stabs...

Buck

 

[Chris]

Let us know what the problem turns out to be.

 

[phragle]

I think you are right about calling him. I just know he's gonna think I'm an idiot though. I'll leave that last statement alone so you guys can take some stabs...

Buck

if he put it in and set it up, your not an idiot if it doesn't work (well that is unless you can't tell the hot water knob from the cold one)

 

[Chris]

Waiting 3 months with funky hot water does call into question...

 

[Griff]

I imagine you will find some more issues that will need resolved. It always happens with new construction. The plumber who did my house forgot to plumb the water to the washer and a small leak under the dishwasher ruined 200 sq feet of laminate flooring that he had to pay for.

 

[Mark]

If the house is 3 months old, it's under warranty from the builder.

All kinds of crap get into the pipes during construction. Also, the greasy stuff (can't remember the term / name) the plumber uses on the copper (flux maybe?) before soddering usually gets stuck in the screens of most faucets, etc. at first. This easily cloggs or restricts flow. I've seen that on every home I've built, but it's been a while....

PS - Get rid of the two 50's and go with an 80 gallon or go tankless.

Good Luck!

 

[Buoy]

Like Buck said, the house is only 3 months old. If someone f'ed up, I'd want them to make it right. I agree it probably wouldn't hurt, but why take a chance?

at 3 months I would be calling the guys that put it in and saying its f'd up. afterall, if you had wanted it jacked up you could have done it yourself...

These were also the first two thoughts that came to my mind.

 

[Buoy]

I imagine you will find some more issues that will need resolved. It always happens with new construction. The plumber who did my house forgot to plumb the water to the washer and a small leak under the dishwasher ruined 200 sq feet of laminate flooring that he had to pay for.

The house is never perfect.

When I was about 20, I had to go out and adjust the shutter on the venturi of a direct vent fireplace in a new home that I installed with standing pilot.
Pulled the fake ceramic logs out of the FP, and carefully set them down on the newspaper that I'd spread out to protect the white living room carpet.
Got done adjusting, put it all back together, everything looks great.
Pick up the newspaper, and realize that there was a hot spot on one of the logs where the standing pilot had been hitting it. Melted a spot the size of a quarter in the carpet.
She got all new carpet in that room in 3 mos. old home.

 

[PARADOX]

Sounds like a preassure equlization problem. Kinda what Chris said.
Sometime you use one heater, hot... sometime form the other that may be cool but higher preassure. You need a better plumber. :rofl:
You might able to installa crossover copper pipe, to use both the same time. Longer duration of hot water source, but the output preassure has to be the same. It almost sounds like you only using one heater. :huh:

 

[waterboy222]

I would also pull one of the tanks and stick a tankless in it's place. Tankless will give you an endless supply of warm water into your tank which will mix into the hot and most likely will rarely have to cycle on.

+1 on this idea..

We installed a tankless for our blending plant. I fill a 275g tote with steaming hot water every day for washing polymer pumps out. I can fill it to the top and it never runs cold, always hot. Puttin one in my house next!

 

[Prostock85]

Similar to what Chris said, you may have a demand meter. If you do, you will actually have 2 meters. (Electric meters). The things turns off the hot water heater at certain times, very similar to a time clock. I've only been doing electrical for 2 years now but I just recently ran into a similar situation where the plumber said it needed a heater, we came in and wired it and it turned out to be the demand meter was turning on and off whenever the hell it wanted to (Old heater was fine). Other then that I have no idea. Best of luck.

 

[Rush]

+1 on this idea..

We installed a tankless for our blending plant. I fill a 275g tote with steaming hot water every day for washing polymer pumps out. I can fill it to the top and it never runs cold, always hot. Puttin one in my house next!

I have one in a rental home that sleeps 14, Everybody has been happy.:sifone:

http://www.foreverhotwater.com/

 

[Chris]

I tried a tankless on it's own and never could get hot water. I got an endless supply of warm water, just slightly less warm than what I'd want to shower in.

 

[Rush]

I tried a tankless on it's own and never could get hot water. I got an endless supply of warm water, just slightly less warm than what I'd want to shower in.

The Rinnai I have you set digitally, I have mine set at 130 and it works very well. It just takes a little longer to get to my sink. when it gets there its hot.