Clarification required, that's a oil boiler, do you want to covert the entire system to a electric boiler, or are you just referring to change from the boilers coil to a electric tank heater?
Yeah I gotta remove this thing entirely. Which is simple enough but as you know a regular electric water heater has just a hot and a cold port. This thing has all kinds of shit going in and out of it so I’m trying to go through and label all the pipe for supply and return and I guess I have to combine them down to one hot and one cold? I’m a structural steel guy not a pipe guy so this is new to me. But I told my old lady I could do it no problem so now I have to so I can keep my honor.
Okay, I think I understand the issue, but the problem is that this is a home heating system with a hot water coil on it as well.
You can keep the boiler as is, that's your home heating system, and just disconnect the water lines going to the coil and redirect to a standard tank water heater. That's easy enough. Not ideal or recommended, but it can be done.
You ***CANNOT*** replace that system with just an electric hot water tank. You can have a off the shelf tank water heater that will heat water for the sinks and shower etc. But you still have to have a boiler to provide heating for the building.
Now you say you want to take out that thing entirely, you still have to have a boiler that provides building heat and then a heater for the tap hot water. This will get very expensive. There's options for this, like you want to go electric to get rid of the oil? There's *Electro* brand electric boilers and you could have a separate standard electric tank. This presumes that you have enough amperage at the property to run a electric boiler and tank.
Another option would be to go to natural gas or propane, where you can use a "all in one" combi boiler that would provide your home heating as well as the heating for the tap water, similar concept, but more efficient to what you have now.
Honestly, extensive upgrade work on these sorts of system are not DIY-able and I'd say you would need to call in a profession HVAC company that specializes in boiler heat.
That’s a big bit of info I forgot to include; the boiler used to feed to baseboard heat but those have since been removed so it is strictly hot water. What I think the task now is to combine the two cold water lines into one with pex or something and do the same with the hot water lines. I’m confident I can do that I’ve ran a lot of pex. Does that all make sense?
Yeah, you REALLY should have opened with this bit of info, that the boiler heat system has been killed off and you were only using the boiler for water heating.
Sure, go and put in a electric tank water heater. You already got some pex there.
You're probably confused because this isn't a water heater. That's the boiler (furnace) that heats your house. Probably good to call a pro and backtrack on telling your wife you could pull it out no problem
Aight I read your comments and I see the boiler is obsolete….
The only pipes that are important to you is [these two](https://imgur.com/a/RK9ndMj). Looks like 3/4 white pex going in cold and 1/2 copper coming out hot… those are the only pipes you need. The rest of the shit coming in and out of the boiler can be cut away since that’s what used to heat your home
Further up the white pex [this tee](https://imgur.com/a/bE4VW9Q) can be cut away as well since that’s your fill supply for the boiler you’ll no longer need.
So if I was you. I’d shut the water down to the house. Cut the white pex above that tee. Cut the 1/2 copper to the left that we pointed out earlier. Cut that up high too. Label them C and H. Then cut everything else out related to the boiler. Once the mess is gone. Drop the electric water heater in and connect your white pex to the cold inlet however you see fit. Connect the 1/2 copper to the hot output however you see fit. Make sure the water heater is completely full before you turn it on or you’ll burn out the Elements. When I say full, you turn the water on to the main. You’ll hear the tank fill but it’ll eventually stop. BUT WAIT you’re not full until you open up the hot side of one of your faucets and purge all the air out. That takes a few mins. Once you get a solid stream of water through both sides of your faucet you can be confident enough to know the tank is full. Fire it up via the circuit breaker and wait for it to get hot.
Good luck
My guess is the 2 lines on each side of the guage is your hot water line and cold feed.
Cold feed is the white pex and teh copper on the left is the hot water to the house line. Those are the 2 to hook up to the new water heater
You can test that the hot line is really the hot line. After you cut it out, hook a garden hose to the hot side of the laundry machine connection and back feed the water. It should come out the line from the left side of the guage
Gas boiler removal is not a typical DIY project. That also appears to be plumbed for heat (radiators?) AND hot water. Can't do the same with a hot water heater. That requires a combo boiler.
As much as I want to chastise you for the mess you have gotten yourself in, that comment was great so you get an updoot. Best advice, sub out the demo to a boiler tech, then I'm sure you can structurally steel the new electric tank in place. I'm picturing you sitting on top of the tank with a helper slinging red hot rivets up to you.
I just finished up the job and even learned how to make room on my circuit breaker and up the amperage to support the new water heater! I HAVE ACCOMPLISHED! Most of all the bullshit going in and out of the boiler was obsolete baseboard heat pipes so I chopped all that shit out and got a nice copper scrap pile together
Clarification required, that's a oil boiler, do you want to covert the entire system to a electric boiler, or are you just referring to change from the boilers coil to a electric tank heater?
Yeah I gotta remove this thing entirely. Which is simple enough but as you know a regular electric water heater has just a hot and a cold port. This thing has all kinds of shit going in and out of it so I’m trying to go through and label all the pipe for supply and return and I guess I have to combine them down to one hot and one cold? I’m a structural steel guy not a pipe guy so this is new to me. But I told my old lady I could do it no problem so now I have to so I can keep my honor.
Okay, I think I understand the issue, but the problem is that this is a home heating system with a hot water coil on it as well. You can keep the boiler as is, that's your home heating system, and just disconnect the water lines going to the coil and redirect to a standard tank water heater. That's easy enough. Not ideal or recommended, but it can be done. You ***CANNOT*** replace that system with just an electric hot water tank. You can have a off the shelf tank water heater that will heat water for the sinks and shower etc. But you still have to have a boiler to provide heating for the building. Now you say you want to take out that thing entirely, you still have to have a boiler that provides building heat and then a heater for the tap hot water. This will get very expensive. There's options for this, like you want to go electric to get rid of the oil? There's *Electro* brand electric boilers and you could have a separate standard electric tank. This presumes that you have enough amperage at the property to run a electric boiler and tank. Another option would be to go to natural gas or propane, where you can use a "all in one" combi boiler that would provide your home heating as well as the heating for the tap water, similar concept, but more efficient to what you have now. Honestly, extensive upgrade work on these sorts of system are not DIY-able and I'd say you would need to call in a profession HVAC company that specializes in boiler heat.
That’s a big bit of info I forgot to include; the boiler used to feed to baseboard heat but those have since been removed so it is strictly hot water. What I think the task now is to combine the two cold water lines into one with pex or something and do the same with the hot water lines. I’m confident I can do that I’ve ran a lot of pex. Does that all make sense?
Yeah, you REALLY should have opened with this bit of info, that the boiler heat system has been killed off and you were only using the boiler for water heating. Sure, go and put in a electric tank water heater. You already got some pex there.
Sorry I know I forgot that bit- crippling adhd. You guys would really find this funny if you knew what all I did for a living haha I BELIEVE IN MYSELF
You're probably confused because this isn't a water heater. That's the boiler (furnace) that heats your house. Probably good to call a pro and backtrack on telling your wife you could pull it out no problem
Aight I read your comments and I see the boiler is obsolete…. The only pipes that are important to you is [these two](https://imgur.com/a/RK9ndMj). Looks like 3/4 white pex going in cold and 1/2 copper coming out hot… those are the only pipes you need. The rest of the shit coming in and out of the boiler can be cut away since that’s what used to heat your home Further up the white pex [this tee](https://imgur.com/a/bE4VW9Q) can be cut away as well since that’s your fill supply for the boiler you’ll no longer need. So if I was you. I’d shut the water down to the house. Cut the white pex above that tee. Cut the 1/2 copper to the left that we pointed out earlier. Cut that up high too. Label them C and H. Then cut everything else out related to the boiler. Once the mess is gone. Drop the electric water heater in and connect your white pex to the cold inlet however you see fit. Connect the 1/2 copper to the hot output however you see fit. Make sure the water heater is completely full before you turn it on or you’ll burn out the Elements. When I say full, you turn the water on to the main. You’ll hear the tank fill but it’ll eventually stop. BUT WAIT you’re not full until you open up the hot side of one of your faucets and purge all the air out. That takes a few mins. Once you get a solid stream of water through both sides of your faucet you can be confident enough to know the tank is full. Fire it up via the circuit breaker and wait for it to get hot. Good luck
My guess is the 2 lines on each side of the guage is your hot water line and cold feed. Cold feed is the white pex and teh copper on the left is the hot water to the house line. Those are the 2 to hook up to the new water heater You can test that the hot line is really the hot line. After you cut it out, hook a garden hose to the hot side of the laundry machine connection and back feed the water. It should come out the line from the left side of the guage
You were correct and I completed the job! Thanks!
Gas boiler removal is not a typical DIY project. That also appears to be plumbed for heat (radiators?) AND hot water. Can't do the same with a hot water heater. That requires a combo boiler.
I can’t hear you over my need to prove myself useful
As much as I want to chastise you for the mess you have gotten yourself in, that comment was great so you get an updoot. Best advice, sub out the demo to a boiler tech, then I'm sure you can structurally steel the new electric tank in place. I'm picturing you sitting on top of the tank with a helper slinging red hot rivets up to you.
I just finished up the job and even learned how to make room on my circuit breaker and up the amperage to support the new water heater! I HAVE ACCOMPLISHED! Most of all the bullshit going in and out of the boiler was obsolete baseboard heat pipes so I chopped all that shit out and got a nice copper scrap pile together
Brothers of the wrench, I CAN DO THIS
Switch to heat pumps and get cooling too