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Lochinvar Sun Saver FTA066K Storage Tank - 65 Gallon leaking - need replacement

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  • Lochinvar Sun Saver FTA066K Storage Tank - 65 Gallon leaking - need replacement

    Sigh. Just finished putting in our electric PV system and not more than two weeks later we need to replace our Lochinvar storage tank for our thermal water heating system (we guess it's at least 15 years old).

    Curious, this is a 65 gallon tank. Any reason we can't switch to a larger AO Smith Sun 80 Residential Solar Water Heater tank? Something better than that? I can't seem to find the Lochinvar 66 gallon in stock on line and the AO Smith is available through Amazon, so that would resolve the problem. Sadly it won't be delivered until the first week of November. Our old gas water heater is still cranking along but that thing is gonna die soon too. It's over 30 years old according to the info on it.

    PM me if you know a San Diego that sells solar water tanks for immediate delivery. Thanks.

  • #2
    Originally posted by karlf View Post
    Sigh. Just finished putting in our electric PV system and not more than two weeks later we need to replace our Lochinvar storage tank for our thermal water heating system (we guess it's at least 15 years old).

    Curious, this is a 65 gallon tank. Any reason we can't switch to a larger AO Smith Sun 80 Residential Solar Water Heater tank? Something better than that? I can't seem to find the Lochinvar 66 gallon in stock on line and the AO Smith is available through Amazon, so that would resolve the problem. Sadly it won't be delivered until the first week of November. Our old gas water heater is still cranking along but that thing is gonna die soon too. It's over 30 years old according to the info on it.

    PM me if you know a San Diego that sells solar water tanks for immediate delivery. Thanks.
    No practical reason at all. Depending on the collector size, if there in no draw on a sunny day, the 80 gal. will probably be a few deg. cooler at the end of the day, but running cooler will increase efficiency some and increase the end of day temp. some, partially offsetting the temp. decrease caused by the increased size. You could get a 120 gal as well, but that might be counterproductive, depending on the collector size/tank clearances and a few other things. Unless you're family size has increased a lot, I'd suggest sticking w/80 gal.

    One consideration that comes up sometimes - Make sure the new tank will fit in the current location. Sounds like a no brainer, but is sometimes overlooked, particularly as it affects piping/clearences/any added insulation/etc. I'd guess that the connection locations, one to the other are the same on either size tank, but the tank height might be diff., requiring some piping or new tank base height adjustment or both.

    There are good licensed local installers of solar water heaters. There are good licensed plumbers as well. Crappy ones for both as well. Sometimes a decent shop/vendor will have a solar tank you need in stock, but don't be surprised if they also order one. I have no experience or knowledge of any solar thermal vendors around here. The one the former owner of my house used is still around, but I can't speak to they're recent quality.

    Depending on where you are located, and as you may know, but if not, I'm pretty sure any domestic water tank changeout , solar or not (or both sounds like in your case) will require county code inspection. I'm not sure about city.

    FWIW, even though it will cost more, now might be a good time to think about doing both tanks at one time, rather than replacing the gas fired tank, say next month or next year after it finally does give out. 30 yrs. is getting real long in the tooth for a tank. Just a thought.

    Also, now may be a good time to consider changes/additions/updates to the piping system like replacing seized valves, cleaning out/replacing check valves, updating pipe insulation, etc.

    DHW and solar tanks are pretty much a commodity these days. A.O.Smith/Lochinvar/etc. are pretty much interchangeable. The prior owners of my house changed out an A.O. Smith solar tank for a Lochinvar solar tank, the year before I bought the house. The prior owner was kind of anal about record keeping, and especially since the tank was under warranty, he left copious records/photos/notes. The changeout was size/size, 80 gal., and the connections were identical.

    BTW, a decent solar thermal collector is, in all probably, a lot more cost effective than the solar electric system you just installed when providing the energy required to heat water, a bit less so for a nat. gas fired DHW system, but, still better. So, if someone tries to talk you into scrapping the solar thermal heater for any reason, I'd suggest not doing so. Also, a heat pump H2O heater may have some energy fuel cost merit, but initial cost and maint. may make it less cost effective. A demand nat. gas heater will cost more to replace than a std. nat. gas fired tank and may very well not work well when supplied by a solar thermal collector.

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    • #3
      Why not use a Superstor SS with a lifetime warranty, or a Vaughn stone lined tank. These 2 water heaters last forever with little or no maintenance required unlike the glass lined steel tanks that require anode rod monitoring & replacement.

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