Combi unit new install old house

[metaldad]

Long story short. Old house. Scorched air system. Scabbed off water heater, to (2) zones. Gas bill this billing, omg, the highest I ever had. (yes. I heat the carage, and I turn it up when I'm out there, and, I was out there last month).
Did some horse trading, getting a Ruud m/n RUCBH180DVLN. More efficient than a traditional wh, however, not really concerned with squeezing every penny out of it. I want to increase system temps, plus I'll be adding more zones.
THIS is the question. Is the Ruud/Rheem/Richmond, made by someone else? I want to obtain extra parts, less obtaining a complete 2nd unit. That question, and, if there are others about what, why, and how I did what I did, go ahead, ask.
The Ruud is being delivered end of month, so - other manufacturers / options do not interest me

 

[metaldad]

no one?

 

[Bert_]

I read a couple times and still can't figure out what's going on or the question.

 

[PoorUB]

THIS is the question. Is the Ruud/Rheem/Richmond, made by someone else? I want to obtain extra parts, less obtaining a complete 2nd unit.

As for who builds them, I would assume Rheem builds them with European heat exchangers like most companies do. for the most part Rheem does buld their own equipment. There could be a company building them and re-badging them for Rheem, but no clue here who that would be.

Who are you getting it from, and can they get you spare parts?

 

[metaldad]

As for who builds them, I would assume Rheem builds them with European heat exchangers like most companies do. for the most part Rheem does buld their own equipment. There could be a company building them and re-badging them for Rheem, but no clue here who that would be.

Who are you getting it from, and can they get you spare parts?

i think my guy is getting from menards.
menards is **** on parts.
recently, my 11 month old natural gas fired 50 gal unit died. (2 weeks ago)
pilot wont stay lit.
yes, i ignored the sticker 'do not return to place of purchase. call 1-800- blah blah blah'
i needed hw that day, not in 3 weeks.
menards had me bring in the heater, for warranty exchange.
i have, practically every part for spare, except heat exchanger, for my furnace, and condenser
methinks i just might buy a 2nd unit
probably cheaper than a box of parts
thank you for your interest

 

[metaldad]

I read a couple times and still can't figure out what's going on or the question.

i asked for parts supplier.
i also mentioned, if anyone was interested, i could elaborate on the what, when, why, i did what i did, which was to add baseboard heat to a structure that already has gas fired hot air delivery
thank you for your interest

 

[Jackfre]

Rudd units are made by Rheem. Rheem is owned by Paloma, the infamous manuf of the “Paloma Pack” of the early 80’s. I am unfamiliar with their combi boilers, as they are a recent addition to their line, but competed with them on the tankless when I was with Rinnai. They are legit. I think it unlikely that Menard’s or even major wholesalers like Ferguson would stock parts. There is no money in it and with a device like a combi boiler you are going to be on the horn with Tech Service. There was a time where a manuf could control distribution of their products and a wholesaler who had some protection from over distribution in the marketplace would stock parts and promote the line, offering training, parts supply, etc. With the internet manuf can no longer control the distribution of the product, and no one but the manuf will stock parts. Today, wholesalers and Menards sell the boxes. It matters not at all to them what is in the box. I would suggest you look into who represents Rheem in your area and see if they are offering any classes on your new Combi. I was the Rinnai rep and we had a training facility and we did road show trainings all the time. it is how you build a market. I did a few tens of thousands of these hydro-air projects and when they are set up correctly they do really well. Your hydro-air system to your AH should run happily in the 140* range. Your addition of what I assume is traditional hi-temp American baseboard will require 180* supply. You can run it at a lower temp but the output gets de-rated quickly. I think you would have been better with the panel-rad Euro type low temp baseboard which has excellent output at the lower temps. And I suppose that having demonstrated what a complete gas-bag I am, I should ask the question which you prompt. Why did you do it?

 

[fitter30]

Condensing boilers doesn't matter what brand they are. The 95+% efficiency is from condensing return water temp has to be 130° or less above that temp efficiency is 87%. Combi units yearly maintenance on the dhw side. From pumping vinegar through the heat exchanger to cleaning strainer. Utube has some videos on cleaning. Taco has a line of e series pumps that are very efficient using ecm motor. Rheem is owned by
Paloma Industries Japanese private owned company making equipment world wide.

 

[Jim greengo]

As for who builds them, I would assume Rheem builds them with European heat exchangers like most companies do. for the most part Rheem does buld their own equipment. There could be a company building them and re-badging them for Rheem, but no clue here who that would be.

Who are you getting it from, and can they get you spare parts?

As far as I know rheem/rhuud/weather king still makes a lot of stuff in ft Smith ark for furnaces/ac's.
Not sure about boilers though.
Probably same co that makes their water heaters would be my guess.

 

[metaldad]

Thanks for the replies.
Ill check into paloma.
It was asked, and, so it shall be answered.
Sorry for the long winded story
House is from the 50's. Block bsmt walls, full height bsmt. 2x4 walls, non insulated, 1st flr. 2nd flr is an addition, insulated. Just (1) 6'' round feeds the master bedroom. n
Nuttin in the master bath.
Upstairs was always a little cool in winter.
Boy1 and i, fall of 2020, blew cellulose into 70% of the 1st flr wall cavities. Made a noticeable difference. p
Problem was that the stat, 1st flr, is in a hallway. 6 doors in hallway (2 are bedrooms). All closed. Main entry to hallway, no door. Of course, tstat cycled less, making it cold upstairs.
Bought an electric space heater just to warm it up for the mrs.
I am not adding a wasser coil to my furnace.
Wound up installing 45' of aluminum finned copper baseboard, Sterling Kompact.
At first, this being a science project, ran it wild. No pump, stat, zone valve. Strictly gravity flow, it got to 86 degrees in the room. Throttled the isolation ball valve s until I installed pump, stat, zone valve.
Scabbed off the gas fired water heater. Supply off the top before potable takeoff, return to the bottom, thru the drain access. Works very well.
This year, added 14' baseboard to kitchen. Zone valve. stat. With approx tank setting at 140, never makes set point. I need to raise system temp, and I dont want to use a tempering valve for the potable.
KISS.
Plus, a traditional wh is what? 65% eff?
With a combi unit, I can use 180 heating loop. I realize the existing bsbd is minimal, I will be adding more bsbd and zones, as I go along.
Have since changed stats, with ones that have remote sensors. Seems to work more better.
Exist water heater, is only 3 weeks old.I intend to keep it piped in, feeding it with city water, set gas valve at 'vacation', the outlet then feeding the inlet of the domestic side of the combi. That way, the water wont get stagnant and harbor biological growth.
Jah, I will have to repipe the whole shebang, no big deal.
If it means anything, my work experience - 38 years as a general foreman union service pipefitter, working on large hvac systems. i have never toiled residential.

 

[metaldad]

unit finally came in. whole lotta **** stuffed into a small cabinet.
now i have a visual, im going to make a strut frame brace.
will have to move dwh over a few inches. no big deal.
every part inside the thing, seems oem.
rheem site is for ****. no parts listing for unit.
can't even register unit, rheem's site doesn't recognize the s/n.
will have to phone them monday.
boiler manf is kiturami, korea.
no info on their site of combi's, only dedicated dwh.
control board is oem specific (rheem), made by nanokem, korea. this specific board is not on nanokem site
hopefully, i didnt obtain a load of ****. main reason im keeping existing dwh piped in.
not blowing a hole in the side of my house ffor the exhaust till may or so.
this unit seemed to be the only unit on the market available for a single 2'' pipe exhaust, using indoor air for combustion

 

[metaldad]

did more reading. more examination
if the s/n deciphers like most other manf, built 6/21. unit built #612
they did use plastic zip ties near the board.
found at least 4 places, where they crimped a stacon on 1 end of a wire, zip screwed to cabinet. other end wrapped around wiring like a wire loom.
bottom of unit. water connections are 1'' mpt brass. gas 3/4 mpt steel. condensate drain 1/2 mpt plastic, color looks like sch 80 pvc. hokey is there's a 2nd dw inlet, which is plastic, ugh! and an 'auto feeder inlet', which is black plastic. inside unit, looks like it feeds into a solenoid valve. book doesnt say squat about it. i was or am going to use a b&g reducing valve on the heat side.
the exhaust nozzle, is 3'' plastic. they do not want sealer on it. just tighten hose clamp.
dry fit a 3'' supplied screen into nozzle. which should be the same od as 3'' pipe.
sloppy fit, 1/8'' clearance
kinda leery out squeezing the bejeezus out of it.
it will go into space, to left of window.
yes, the exist dwh will have to be moved further into that cubby hole.
yes, the zone valve lines were plumb, with the 1st dwh.
i was in a rush slamming in its replacement coupla months back.
the rafters, kinda full with my pipe chase. room in the strut for 1 more 3/4 copper line.
the control box i built with boy1. he did the work, i did the finger pointing.
will either have to add another box for more zone relays, or gut this one for a larger one.
would have liked to used conduit bringing the wiring in, but, as you see, the area is kinda busy.

 

[metaldad]

dont know how many pics can be put in 1 post. used to 8.
so, here's the lay of the land.
yes, its a block wall, with styrofoam glued to it. with white block fill paint for seepage stoppage.
not finished, as they love to whack you with property tax increases, as i already pay enough.
we not discussing that

 

[metaldad]

forgot about this thread.
retired 6/30/22.
and then finally got around to installing. i have NOT worked on it everyday.
moved exist water heater about 18'' back.
with the shortened run of that flue, the downhill pitch was really noticeable.
wound up miter cutting 3'' flue, and mig welded, to reduce height.
built a unistrut rack to mount the combi.
turns out, component spacing left me 20'' between the units, so i extended the strut rack, and mounted zone valves, pump, exp tank, feeder, tmeters, gage, vents/drains
spent a lot of time laying out the piping in my head.
left a 'walk way', where theres a path between the water units and furnace.
kept the piping high, or, low, to permit the path
piped in extra valves, to isolate either unit, on the domestic side.
tried to keep from looking like 3 stooges plumbing, with zig zagging lines going up, around, over, under.
changed plans, ripped out pvc exhaust line, installed cpvc, gets me a hotter exhaust temp.
major pia, that all the combi's pipe connections are on the bottom.
everything is just about piped, i added 8' element to the kitchen zone today.
standing pressure test on the combi and near piping.
future zone stubbed out.
gotta get going with the electric. and insulating.
methinks ill be firing this bad boy up by the weekend.

 

[wvanbusk]

How's it going?
I found this forum thread after buying a Rheem RCBH199DVLN
I'm looking for nice looking installs in old houses.
I have an 1888 house with no insulation yet and lots of tall original windows
The current system is NG 100k forced air and 40g tank in the pantry
I'm planning on putting this on a wall in the garage and running pex to panel rads
I want the space in the pantry. There is no basement, just a crawl.
Anyway
I'm hoping that you can post a few pictures of your final boiler install
I like the way it's not on a wall
hope it worked out on your place
w