I have no hot water.

[mca]

i just installed a used central boiler furnance ,side arm and heat exchanger.Everything works great except side arm. I have a 50 gal water heater and after letting the water circulate for about 2 hours took 1 shower and toward the end ran out of hot water. I have taken the side arm back off and cleaned with vinegar and baking soda,water is flowing good but hot water is not any better. Any ideas?

 

[SpiralAcacia]

Well, not really, sorry, I use plain electric, just that when you wrote "No hot water" I immediately remembered I have no cold beer

I hope someone more knowledgeable will be able to help


SA

 

[Canton]

Can you post a pic of how your sidearm and how it's installed. I don't have a sidearm, but I do circulate my hot water through my outdoor furnace. If you're pulling water off the bottom of your water heater to use; it's going to be cold. Central boiler's website has a good picture of how they recommend you plumb your sidearm.

Double checked my beer - it's cold.

 

[mca]

Can you post a pic of how your sidearm and how it's installed. I don't have a sidearm, but I do circulate my hot water through my outdoor furnace. If you're pulling water off the bottom of your water heater to use; it's going to be cold. Central boiler's website has a good picture of how they recommend you plumb your sidearm.



My sidearm is plumbed just like Central boiler's website shows. Could I have installed it upside down?

 

[Canton]

Well, I've never had a setup like this, so maybe someone with more experience can help. I'm not sure what the recovery rate of the thermosiphon is through one of these. I don't believe they are directional - just a tube inside a tube. Can you feel the inlet and outlet of the domestic side? Is it cold entering and hot leaving? Also, what's the temp of the boiler water? They seem pretty popular, so it must be something in the setup.

 

[Canton]

Actually, the more I look at CB's drawing, the more I don't like it. Seems more logical to arrange the piping in a counter flow pattern than the way they have it. This would just be switching the boiler feed and return lines - may help?. Second, I don't really care for the "trap" they create by putting the return from the sidearm into the top of the heater and not in the side (with the pressure relief). Not saying either of these is your problem, but maybe someone with one can comment. A pic may really help here.

 

[mca]

I think I will try swapping the inlet and outlet lines from the CB, tomorrow, been a long day.

 

[S. Todd]

I think I will try swapping the inlet and outlet lines from the CB, tomorrow, been a long day.

I remember there being a small plastic check valve in the top of my water heater I had to pull out.

 

[stihly dan]

Good call on the check valves. Also with thermo syphon its storage vs usage. A 40 gal tank= a 13 min shower at 3 gal min. Many variables tho. Water temp, mixing valve, temp of boiler.

 

[Turkeyslayer]

Did you "burp" your sidearm. When I first hooked mine up I thought all was good and the next day I felt the return line off the sidearm was cold an so was our water. It took quite a bit of bleeding to get all the air out of it.

 

[stihly dan]

Hi vent will cure that.

 

[rob206]

Hi vent will cure that.

I have a side arm hook up too. Can you elaborate?

 

[mtfallsmikey]

I remember there being a small plastic check valve in the top of my water heater I had to pull out.

There may be those check valves on both cold/hot sides, some mfr. do that.