Oil Boiler does not provide enough hot water, help!
#1
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Oil Boiler does not provide enough hot water, help!
So I have an oil boiler in my house (both very old, constructed in the 1950s) that is not providing enough hot water to all the bathrooms in the house. The heating works fine but the hot water comes out for a few minutes and immediately goes cold.
The boiler is still running when I go down and check. I was looking into some guides on the internet and believe it may be the "expansion tank" that is the problem. It seems as though there is almost no water in it. There is mostly air (I checked by knocking on the tank and it has a hollow sound). However, the air has nowhere to go. As a result, the hot water cannot go into it.
What can I do to fix it without replacing the expansion tank? Or if I have to, what are some alternatives or ways I can go about fixing this?
Is this an easy fix? Thank you all so much for your time!
The boiler is still running when I go down and check. I was looking into some guides on the internet and believe it may be the "expansion tank" that is the problem. It seems as though there is almost no water in it. There is mostly air (I checked by knocking on the tank and it has a hollow sound). However, the air has nowhere to go. As a result, the hot water cannot go into it.
What can I do to fix it without replacing the expansion tank? Or if I have to, what are some alternatives or ways I can go about fixing this?
Is this an easy fix? Thank you all so much for your time!
#2
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I don't think your problem is the expansion tank.
Is your domestic water heater in a stand-alone tank or supplied by a coil inside the boiler? How long has this problem been going on?
We need photos of your system.
Is your domestic water heater in a stand-alone tank or supplied by a coil inside the boiler? How long has this problem been going on?
We need photos of your system.
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Wow thank you so much for the quick reply!
I'm not a 100% sure whether it is a stand-alone or supplied by coil. I believe it is a stand-alone tank based on the pictures online. And the problem has been going on for 7-8 months.
This is a link to an album of pictures:
Boiler Problem - Imgur
This is a link to the pictures you can navigate through by pressing right:
Boiler Problem - Imgur
Thank you so much again for your time!
I'm not a 100% sure whether it is a stand-alone or supplied by coil. I believe it is a stand-alone tank based on the pictures online. And the problem has been going on for 7-8 months.
This is a link to an album of pictures:
Boiler Problem - Imgur
This is a link to the pictures you can navigate through by pressing right:
Boiler Problem - Imgur
Thank you so much again for your time!
#4
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OK, those are good closeups. Now back up and show us some pix of the whole system so we can see how things are connected.
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This is the best I could do. The room that contains the boiler is VERY small, just slightly bigger than the boiler itself.
Here is the album again:
Boiler Problem (whole) - Imgur
And here are the individual pictures:
Boiler Problem (whole) - Imgur
Thank you!
Here is the album again:
Boiler Problem (whole) - Imgur
And here are the individual pictures:
Boiler Problem (whole) - Imgur
Thank you!
#6
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You have a tankless coil. It is located inside the boiler behind that plate that also has the two temperature controllers, picture number four.
Most likely that coil is almost completely clogged with calcium (lime) deposits. Do you also have a flow problem on the hot water, significantly less than the cold?
In my opinion a tankless coil is the second worst method to provide domestic hot water ever devised, the first being an open kettle on a wood-burning kitchen range. NJ Trooper calls them thankless coils. They are horribly inefficient and drag down the overall efficiency of the space heating system.
Sometimes the coil can be internally cleaned with a (relatively) mild acid but it takes specialized equipment to do. I rather doubt that a replacement coil is available for your boiler with it being so old.
Do you have any room to install a tank away from the boiler? If so, then you have options which include an "indirect" water heater that connects to the boiler but is far more efficient than the current coil. Or you could install a tank that requires gas, oil or electricity as the heating source. My last recommendation would be an instantaneous (gas-fired) water heater, some models may be mounted outdoors.
Most likely that coil is almost completely clogged with calcium (lime) deposits. Do you also have a flow problem on the hot water, significantly less than the cold?
In my opinion a tankless coil is the second worst method to provide domestic hot water ever devised, the first being an open kettle on a wood-burning kitchen range. NJ Trooper calls them thankless coils. They are horribly inefficient and drag down the overall efficiency of the space heating system.
Sometimes the coil can be internally cleaned with a (relatively) mild acid but it takes specialized equipment to do. I rather doubt that a replacement coil is available for your boiler with it being so old.
Do you have any room to install a tank away from the boiler? If so, then you have options which include an "indirect" water heater that connects to the boiler but is far more efficient than the current coil. Or you could install a tank that requires gas, oil or electricity as the heating source. My last recommendation would be an instantaneous (gas-fired) water heater, some models may be mounted outdoors.
#7
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Originally Posted by "Furd
You have a tankless coil. It is located inside the boiler behind that plate that also has the two temperature controllers, picture number four.
Most likely that coil is almost completely clogged with calcium (lime) deposits. Do you also have a flow problem on the hot water, significantly less than the cold?
In my opinion a tankless coil is the second worst method to provide domestic hot water ever devised, the first being an open kettle on a wood-burning kitchen range. NJ Trooper calls them thankless coils. They are horribly inefficient and drag down the overall efficiency of the space heating system.
Sometimes the coil can be internally cleaned with a (relatively) mild acid but it takes specialized equipment to do. I rather doubt that a replacement coil is available for your boiler with it being so old.
Do you have any room to install a tank away from the boiler? If so, then you have options which include an "indirect" water heater that connects to the boiler but is far more efficient than the current coil. Or you could install a tank that requires gas, oil or electricity as the heating source. My last recommendation would be an instantaneous (gas-fired) water heater, some models may be mounted outdoors.
Read more: http://www.doityourself.com/forum/bo...#ixzz1kHmkYLFu
I would like to be using the boiler for domestic hotwater during the winter months (when the boiler is running) and switch to the electric hotwater tank during the summer. Definately going to watch this thread as there is a lot of good info coming out.
#8
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As a homeowner I would do anything not to use tankless for my hotwater. I disabled mine and went electric and never looked back. I wouldn't spend the money to try to keep it running nor would I want to utilize it in any way.