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Author:
tomden (NY)
I have a need a to supply a lot of hot water for the summer season 2 months. I just bought an electric 38gal rheem hot water heater mod-PROE38 S2 RH95B which is fine for 10 months of the year. Can you confirm that if I install a second HW heater in series and that I would only turn on the breaker for the second heater for 2 months then turn off for 10 months? Would everything else stay the same(no need to change any valves) and everything should be fine?
What would the plumbing diagram look like(I would like to be able to service either unit- I would need a bypass?) My installer is complaining about putting in a bypass valve.. I think it's important to be able to turn off either unit for service/replacement of a unit without having to be in an emergency situation with no hot water when 1 of the units is still good.
any thought or comments would be appreciated.
Thanks
Tom
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Author:
bernabeu (SC)
[www.bing.com]
valve as YOU see fit
your 'installer' works for YOU
(as long as you have a 'master' shut off as a minimum)
==============================================
"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638
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Author:
stuckinlodi (MO)
What's the advantage of parallel scheme vs series when you have 2 water heaters? Won't both give the same amount of hot water? Maybe the piping is simpler with parallel when you want to be able to shut one of the water heaters off?
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Author:
asktom (MT)
Water is going to flow through the system whichever way offers the least resistance. It the heaters are piped in parallel and it is not done just right then only one of them will be operational, and when one of them needs to be replaced it may mean redoing the whole thing and hoping it is done right. Putting in a bypass system for an event that may occur once every decade or so seems like overdoing it. A long flexible connector hung on the wall behind the heaters that could be used to bypass either of the heaters if necessary makes more sense to me. I would use a SS one rather than a copper one because it will not stiffen up over time and would be easier to use a second time.
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Author:
stuckinlodi (MO)
In a basic series setup you would be able to simply shutoff the "upstream" water heater for the 10 months with no adverse effects. If it is an electric model you could turn off its circuit breaker. If it was a gas model the control on the front will have a "vacation" setting, or you could shut it's gas flow off completely. The cold water would simply flow thru the unheated water heater and into the downstream heater. It is important that the water heater you turn off be the upstream one - otherwise you'd have a tank full of cold water going out to the hot water lines.
If you have the isolation and bypass valves installed then you can shutoff any of the water heaters without affecting the others.
Basic water heaters in series setup:
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Water heaters in series with isolation & bypass valves:
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Author:
tomden (NY)
Thanks very much for the info and diagram, it's just what I needed.
Tom
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Author:
hj (AZ)
With a parallel installation, you need 4 valves to isolate either heater. In a series setup, you need four "3 way valves" to do it, but it gives you complete flexibility, (you can even isolate both heaters and still keep the hot water system pressurized with cold water).
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Author:
stuckinlodi (MO)
yes, I can see where using 3-way valves in the series water heater setup would reduce the total number of valves needed, plus less connections to make in installation.
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