My Geospring

[Brian26]

Ill have to call a ct lowes, if they have one ill be taking a boat ride.

If you have the money I would get the 80 gallon but the 50 gallon may be fine. Its just my wife and I and we have never run out of hot water. These have 4 different heating modes as well. There is a high demand setting that will kick on the elements to boost the recovery time. I put mine in high demand this past christmas when I had a ton of family staying here just to be safe but other than that its always in heat pump mode.

Lowes is showing the 80 gallon one at $1,899 compared to $699 for the 50 gallon at the Norwalk, CT store. Not sure if the instant discount is factored in that 80 gallon price but I know it is for the 50 gallon one. You can maybe call them and see.

From the energize CT website.

We help make it affordable to upgrade to an ENERGY STAR-certified heat pump water heater with up to a $400 instant discount provided by the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund. Whether you’re replacing an old water heater or installing one in a new home, you'll save money up front.

 

[cableman]

Milford which is closer for me is showing one instock for 1299. Wonder why norwalk shows it for more. I checked here also and its 1899 and the only credit is 300 fed.
Im excited to get one now! Should be a pretty simple hook up vs paying a plumber to do the indirect.

If anyone knows, (i know nuttn about boilers!) if i cut my coil out, disconnect the blue wire in my aquastat which controls the low temp dial, will the burner turn on only when a thermastat calls for it?
If ive read it right, my boiler cycles all the time to keep the tankless coil hot and thats run off the low side of the aquastat.

 

[velvetfoot]

It does. I drain a 5 gallon buckets worth every few days. Ironically the dehumidifier I used to run in the basement used more power than the Geospring itself and now I am making my hot water in the process. The savings there alone is huge if you run a dehumidifier in your basement.

I wonder though, is it counterbalanced by the lower temperatures in the basement, which affects the relative humidity?

 

[woodgeek]

More knowledgeable people around here re your boiler question....but basically you want to run your boiler as a cold-start, so it will go cold when there is no call for space heat. You are correct that as long as you have a coil, you can't run cold-start. Also, if you can't run the boiler cold-start, the indirect won't actually save you any oil....the parasitic heat losses through the boiler will still be there. (But it would get you 'better' HW supply).

But whether you can run it cold start or not is hard to say...read the manual on the unit. You can certainly rewire the stat to make it run that way, but will it rust out? will is soot up? will it start to leak at the cast iron seals? I dunno...because I do not know your boiler model.

EDIT: Looking over internet resources on your unit, no mention of cold-start setup in the install manual of functionality in the product literature. So you are back to asking your oil tech IMO.

So, this is a BIG question IMO for the indirect option. In the HPWH option, it is much less so. Assuming you can shut the boiler off outside the heating season, there is no wasted oil, and only 1 cold start per year in the fall. The parasitic loss BTUs running it warm start in the winter are less objectionable....some end up as useful space heat (or most depending on your basement insulation).

Lastly, I have no regrets going HPWH and having no boiler running in the summer. I think it cut my annual AC bill in half (I have a well shaded lot). I still cringe when I hear the neighbors central AC kicking on when it is 60°F outside....that used to be me....you could open windows and have a breeze, but if it was >60°F outside, the house would still heat up anyway.

 

[cableman]

Milford had 2 left so i ordered one up. Nice savings vs buying it here.

 

[cableman]

After taking ferry i still saved 569 bucks on the 80gal! I ordered yesterday and today online its back up to 1899!
Thanks for the tip guys! Ill post a pic once i install it.

 

[cableman]

So it looks like i need a thermal expansion tank, anyone know what size or any will do?

 

[woodgeek]

you have a check valve on your water supply?

 

[cableman]

you have a check valve on your water supply?

Dont believe i do. I see a leaky backflo preventer on the boiler input but everything else all the way back to the main just looks like shut offs.

 

[maple1]

I don't have an expansion tank on my 80 gallon (resistance) DHW setup - my cushion tank acts as an expansion tank. The need for expansion would depend on your cushion tank setup & if there are any check valves between the DHW heater, and your cushion tank. Or maybe beyond, if you're on municipal water.

 

[woodgeek]

I don't have a exp tank on mine...thought you only needed one if you had a backflow preventer on your main. Why do you think you need one?

There is a relief valve on the unit (of course) to prevent damage in rare circumstances (like heating when the main is shutoff).

This issue may be decided by local codes (?) no issue here in PA.

 

[cableman]

Instructions say install expansion tank! Idk i guess i could call them.

 

[woodgeek]

I have an AO Smith 80, and IIRC the manual says exp tank only is there is a backflo preventer.

 

[tom in maine]

The Nyle Geyser is $850 last time I checked. It ties in with your existing HWH.
Then when the tank springs a leak, the heat pump is just reconnected to the new tank.

(broken link removed) has new old stock Etech units, which are an earlier version HP that Nyle copied for $365 delivered in CONUS. Minimal electronics, no control board! Just a couple relays and some analog controls.

 

[cableman]

After some research it looks like an expension tank is needed if a backflo or check valve is installed like was mentioned. Im gonna install one anyway i think.

 

[woodgeek]

Why? What will it do....if you have city water, they regulate the service pressure and the volume is not fixed. When your tank heats, the expansion will cause a small volume of HW to back out the supply line, at constant pressure. Since the pressure is fixed, the exp tank will not do anything, or prevent that small backup.....which is present in ALL tank-type HWHs.

The geospring has to have a pressure relief valve (for safety). If you somehow had a (hidden) check valve somewhere, the dribbling from the relief valve during every heating cycle would be your tipoff....and you could then add an exp tank in that case.

 

[velvetfoot]

Agree.

 

[maple1]

If you have your own well, I could see an advantage to adding some expansion - it could increase your water reserve in the event of a power outage. But I would add that expansion, in the form of either a larger or a second cushion tank. The cushion tank doubles as an expansion tank as long as there are no check valves in between - and a larger cushion tank capacity might also get you through a short power outage without running out of water or needing to power a water pump with a generator. It would also reduce the cycling of your water pump - which should help with pump life, and electricity consumption.

 

[velvetfoot]

The expansion tanks for water heaters are usually really small. He's on Long Island, so I imagine doesn't have a well. And, they never lose electricity there.

 

[Ashful]

Do you have a cold start boiler?

Traditional, with 6 zones plumbed to ca.1770, 1890, and 1990 wings of the house. It's carrying about 75% of my heating load DHW (I also have multiple ASHPs and electric water heater for the farther reaches of this big house). My two Ashford 30's supplant about two thirds the normal load off this boiler, when they're running, but the boiler runs every day, wood stoves or not. Heating about 8100 sq.ft., half of which is still original in-insulated stone with 1770's vintage Windows and doors.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cableman]

See how much i dont know bout plumbing! My buddys a plumber so hea gonna hook it up for me. I am city water with no backflo valves, i guess ill leave it out then

 

[cableman]

Installed! Its quiet. Still running on hybrid mode for past 5 hrs, i guess it takes a while to heat 80 gal to 120*. Ill kick it to heat pump only when it stops. Plumber bud said install expansion tank.

 

[woodgeek]

I defer to the pro, of course....could be a local code issue.

 

[cableman]

Stopped running bout 1 hour ago, its aproved by an 11yo after her shower so far!
Expansion tank was 34 bucks at my buds cost, prolly not needed but his people said install it.
Sure sucked the humidy out of the basment!

 

[maple1]

You sure moved quick with your decision.

Good luck, and keep us posted!