Water only stays hot for short time????


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Old 03-06-07, 04:59 PM
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Unhappy Water only stays hot for short time????

I am not familiar with boiler systems but we have an oil fueled boiler with water baseboard heating. In the Summer all is good. In the winter our shower water only stays hot for about 3 minutes then it takes about 5 minutes (or more) to get hot again. If I turn the water off it seems to come back sooner. I am wondering if anyone is familiar with this and what could be the problem. I am very confused since in the warm months I could take a steam shower for 45 minutes if I wanted to. Thanks
 
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Old 03-06-07, 05:52 PM
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What is the water temperature of the boiler after it runs and shuts off? You may have the boiler temperature set to low.
Also this time of year the water comes out of the ground very cold, as compared to the summer months so it takes more time to get it to shower temperature. You may be running the water to fast for the boiler to heat it up.
 
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Old 03-06-07, 05:54 PM
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Domestic Hot water

Just as an experiment, turn your thermostat(s) all the way down to see if your shower water stays hot. The results of this experiment will dictate where we go from here.
 
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Old 03-07-07, 06:40 AM
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mrbizness1 - Before the boiler runs the temp was right under 180 then as it ran it went down closer to 170 then back up to a little over 180. There has been a temperature regulator installed within the last 5 years but I am not sure what that does or if it is adjustable (DH said that he tried to adjust it but it seems stuck). And you mentioned that the water may be passing too quickly to be heated, how would the water be slowed down?

Grady - It is interesting that you mention this experiment as we have fooled with that a little bit already. We lower our heat to 65 - 66 at night and when we shower without raising the tempurature the water seems to go colder faster (almost like there is residual warm water left from the last burn). When we raise the thermostat to 68 wait 10 minutes the water then seems to stay warmer longer (this is all DH's findings, I have not witnessed this). Also when I fill that bathtub the water stays warm for about an inch or so of water then if I wait (I'll turn the sink on and off to check the temp) until the water goes warm again sometimes it'll stay warm for another 4" and sometimes only 1/2".

Thanks for your responses!
 
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Old 03-07-07, 05:32 PM
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Originally Posted by Krista05
mrbizness1 - Before the boiler runs the temp was right under 180 then as it ran it went down closer to 170 then back up to a little over 180. There has been a temperature regulator installed within the last 5 years but I am not sure what that does or if it is adjustable (DH said that he tried to adjust it but it seems stuck). And you mentioned that the water may be passing too quickly to be heated, how would the water be slowed down? Thanks for your responses!

Two ways to slow the water down, install a water efficient shower head or simply don't open the shower or bath faucet as much as you have been. This will restrict the water flow. When the water starts to get cold in the shower close the cold water faucet slightly instead of opening up the hot faucet. The water passes through a heating coil in the boiler that heats the water. It might need to be removed and cleaned but I would try to do the above steps first. You could also have a oil service company add a additional water tank to your existing boiler which can store heated water for peak demand times, but it will cost you money to keep this water hot.
 
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Old 03-07-07, 05:58 PM
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Hot water coils on a boiler don't work too well. They seem nice at first then you start to have problems with it. They start to not heat so good then you need to slow the water down to help it heat better. When you slow the water down you lose your water pressure so you might have better hot water but worse pressure(which was already reduced when the coil was first installed). You could remove the coil and clean or replace it but you will end up with the same problems. Sometimes you will run into problems just replacing the coil depending if the bolts are rusted and break off when you change it.

You can close the valve in the supply line alittle at the coil to slow the water down so it will have more time to heat up. I've seen some of the fanncy temperture regulators that people attach to the pipes but they don't seem to work too well. And the reason the water is hotter when you turn up the thermostat is because there is a high and low limit on the furnace control. If you turn up the thermostat, the furnace will normally come on right away, assuming its not at its high limit. It will automaticly turn on when it hits its low limit but using the thermostat does it quicker.
If you have a family at the house, then the best soultion for you and your furnace is to go with a indirect water heater. This is a 40 gallon(or more if you want) that has a coil running through it. The coil acts like a baseboard zone in your house. The furnace water runs through it and heats up the water on the outside of the coil. Someone would have to tap into the furnace at a free hole. It heats up quickly and you will have full water pressure. The indirect water heater will ensure that the furnace will run during the summer too(which it is already doing) and help it to last alittle longer(it won't sit and rust during the summer).

You could also go with a electric or gas(if you already have gas at your home) water heater.
 
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Old 03-08-07, 07:32 AM
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mrbizness1 - I can slow the water on the tub but the shower is just a lever that turns the water on or off (but that does have an energy efficient head on it).

A question... If the water was passing too quickly to be heated would that not affect the baseboards? Thinking here.... unless the baseboards are what actually heat the water but I thought it was hot water that passed through the baseboards to radiate the heat....

Adam - If it was the coil causing the problem would it still be a problem in the summer?

I guess the same with slowing the water down? Why is this a problem in the cold months and not the summer months. The only thing different I can think is that we are not using the heat in the summer.

Another question about slowing the water down.... Our water company came out a couple years ago (this problem existed before this though) and installed something at the water entry point to the house to slow the water down from the system. They had upgraded the water system in the area which increased the water pressure travelling to homes so they installed this "thing" to prevent inhome equipment from exploding from the pressure. So to the question.... would this affect the problem at all?

There are so many variables and I know it would all just be easier to hire someone to come fix it but that costs money. LOL
 
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Old 03-08-07, 10:57 AM
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Originally Posted by Krista05
mrbizness1 - I can slow the water on the tub but the shower is just a lever that turns the water on or off (but that does have an energy efficient head on it).

A question... If the water was passing too quickly to be heated would that not affect the baseboards? Thinking here.... unless the baseboards are what actually heat the water but I thought it was hot water that passed through the baseboards to radiate the heat....

Adam - If it was the coil causing the problem would it still be a problem in the summer?

I guess the same with slowing the water down? Why is this a problem in the cold months and not the summer months. The only thing different I can think is that we are not using the heat in the summer. LOL

You are confusing the hot water in the baseboards with the hot water coming through your faucet. The baseboard water is in a sealed system. The same water gets heated and a circulator pushes it throughout your home. While that water will cool down in between heating cycles it stays at the temperature of your home.
The water that you use for everything else is called domestic hot or cold water. The cold water coming into your home during the winter months is 40 degrees or less during a winter like the one where having now. During the summer the water coming into your home is about 70 degrees. If you put 2 pots of water on a stove to boil the one that starts out with 70 degree water will boil first and will use less energy to heat up.
 
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Old 03-08-07, 04:13 PM
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mrbizness: "The cold water coming into your home during the winter months is 40 degrees or less during a winter like the one where having now. During the summer the water coming into your home is about 70 degrees."

That may or may not be true everywhere. Depends on the distribution system.
 
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Old 03-08-07, 07:34 PM
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Smile

This is the first attempt at doing so but I filled the tub at 1/2 speed. Well I didn't turn the faucet all the way, only about 1/2 what I normally do. And I must say I am surprised that the water stayed warm for the whole fill. I only fill about 4 - 5" but any other day it would have gotten cold at an inch or less. I tried to turn my shower head to a stream that was not so strong but all options are pretty strong but even that one seemed to stay warm a little longer. So we will see how this goes. I am glad I came here for advice, I have learned a lot and I want to thank all of you!

Krista
 
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Old 03-08-07, 08:26 PM
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mrbizness1 forgot to mention:

The coil in the furnace that the domestic water runs through is heated by the furnace water. The burner has to first heat the furnace water which will then heat up the coil water.
 
 

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