# Sewer heat exchanger



## redbeardplumber (Dec 4, 2012)

This is a first that I have seen, the cold feed for the instantaneous Water heater flows through this device.


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## Pacificpipes (Oct 1, 2013)

Does the heat from the poop preheat the water?


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

Read about them.. only time its worthwhile is when you got it for free.. can see some merits if you have houseful of teens taking forever showers..


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## redbeardplumber (Dec 4, 2012)

Pacificpipes said:


> Does the heat from the poop preheat the water?


In theory, I guess the shower your using will preheat the water. How warm is the stack going to get really. A lady with the same house said she declined the instantaneous and this set up and saved 3000$. A good move I'd say.


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## leakfree (Apr 3, 2011)

Put about 30 of those in a college dorm bldg. 5 years ago,toilets went to one stack and all the lavs and showers went to a separate stack with that heat recovery unit in it on every floor.Building was a Leeds job,all geothermal heat,each gang bathroom had a cold riser to the toilets and the one for the lavs and showers went thru the recovery unit and then thru a water to water heat exchanger that supplied the hot water to the showers and lavs.Sales rep/engineer claimed that it would raise the cold water temp 15 deg. before it hit the heat exchanger http://northcentralcollege.edu/news...rec-center-achieves-leed-silver-certification


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## CaberTosser (Mar 7, 2013)

Having seen them at a supplier I was thinking that they'd recover minimal temperature in a vertical installation and would only really provide heat recovery function for showers not baths, because of the time lapse between filling and draining with a tub. It did make me daydream of some methods to recover otherwise wasted heat energy, the ones I came up with weren't space efficient though, and one would want a double wall heat exchanger with the grey water.


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

this is a great picture you took of one in action...

I have read about this over on Terry Loves site....


some pin head engineer has one installed in his home and he thinks its really gonna save him a bundle.. but it cannot really capture that much heat...... installing a stand-by 40 gallon tank in the room to pre heat the water to room temp would probably accomplish the same goal.....


I am sure someone has already thought of wrapping that kind of coil on the flu pipe going off the chimmney of the water heater... ??
or why not just put a copper coil up the chimmney liner and I bet you would 
get a lot of heat recovery....


but it is still a better choice over blowing 4000 on a tankless .


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

Master Mark said:


> this is a great picture you took of one in action...
> 
> I have read about this over on Terry Loves site....
> 
> ...


They did, dripping with consedations and carboned up the chimmney, people died from CO2..


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

redbeardplumber said:


> In theory, I guess the shower your using will preheat the water. How warm is the stack going to get really. A lady with the same house said she declined the instantaneous and this set up and saved 3000$. A good move I'd say.


 
what did she pay for this set up??


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

rjbphd said:


> They did, dripping with consedations and carboned up the chimmney, people died from CO2..


 
Yes, you are right..... 

way back in the 20s they probably experimented with that idea and killed off a few folks here and there..


there ought to be a safer way to do it by now



wouldent that piss you off if some copper theif came along and ripped 
that hunk of copper out of your home???


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

Master Mark said:


> Yes, you are right.....
> 
> way back in the 20s they probably experimented with that idea and killed off a few folks here and there..
> 
> ...


Back then, its was worst with coal and oil burner systems.


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

rjbphd said:


> They did, dripping with consedations and carboned up the chimmney, people died from CO2..










CO2= carbon dioxide
CO= carbon monoxide

CO is the deadly one; CO2 is harmless, it's what humans exhale.


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

Tommy plumber said:


> CO2= carbon dioxide
> CO= carbon monoxide
> 
> CO is the deadly one; CO2 is harmless, it's what humans exhale.


Oopss.. thanks Tommy... my fingers are dumber than me..


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

rjbphd said:


> Oopss.. thanks Tommy... my fingers are dumber than me..










Oh you're not dumb my friend, just tired after a long day like I am at this hour. You are our resident boiler and furnace expert.


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

Tommy plumber said:


> Oh you're not dumb my friend, just tired after a long day like I am at this hour. You are our resident boiler and furnace expert.


Thanks.. I'm a boiler guy.. don't do any sheet metal work.. Tx Mech is a furance boy here, I think..


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

Just read.. family of 5 and cat died from CO poisioning... found landlord installed the heating exchanger backward? .. landlord commit suicdied with CO...


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## redbeardplumber (Dec 4, 2012)

Master Mark said:


> what did she pay for this set up??


This set up has the tankless feed. A lady paid 3000$ less for a regular power vent and no coil set up....so is this set up 1500$-2000$???

I was thinking about that hunk of copper as well.

The water out of the ground here is about 40* so these tankless can be useless here...maybe this can help.... But in a small domestic house, I seriously doubt it..


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## MTDUNN (Oct 9, 2011)

rjbphd said:


> Just read.. family of 5 and cat died from CO poisioning... found landlord installed the heating exchanger backward? .. landlord commit suicdied with CO...


I read that too. Tried to save a buck. Ended up killing a family


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## Plumb26 (May 18, 2013)

rjbphd said:


> Just read.. family of 5 and cat died from CO poisioning... found landlord installed the heating exchanger backward? .. landlord commit suicdied with CO...


Do you have a link?


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

Plumb26 said:


> Do you have a link?


Read it from heatinghelp forum


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## wyoredman (Oct 10, 2013)

$4000 on a tankless? You are getting ripped off from your supplier!

Rinnai Tankless retail = $1500.00 - Installed for $2200! Just did one last weekend!

And when folks are on liquid propane for a fuel source at $3 per gallon, the tankless saves a lot of cash over the life of the appliance. No heating a tank full of water with that expensive gas all night and all day when you are at work.


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## Leach713 (Nov 1, 2013)

wyoredman said:


> $4000 on a tankless? You are getting ripped off from your supplier! Rinnai Tankless retail = $1500.00 - Installed for $2200! Just did one last weekend! And when folks are on liquid propane for a fuel source at $3 per gallon, the tankless saves a lot of cash over the life of the appliance. No heating a tank full of water with that expensive gas all night and all day when you are at work.



Lol 2200$ around here will buy a new 50gal hwt 
And tankless go for whooping 6k-7k$


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## redbeardplumber (Dec 4, 2012)

This is a new home, I did not do install....

Remember everything is more expensive in Canada and especially where I'm at.... I'm only guessing at costs....3 grand less got no exchanger and a power vent instead of a tankless....

Personally I just did a Reno and I charged 2500$ for a 50 gallon power vented BW...


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

redbeardplumber said:


> This is a new home, I did not do install....
> 
> Remember everything is more expensive in Canada and especially where I'm at.... I'm only guessing at costs....3 grand less got no exchanger and a power vent instead of a tankless....
> 
> Personally I just did a Reno and I charged 2500$ for a 50 gallon power vented BW...


 Worry Red, Flames lost vgain..


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

wyoredman said:


> $4000 on a tankless? You are getting ripped off from your supplier!
> 
> Rinnai Tankless retail = $1500.00 - Installed for $2200! Just did one last weekend!
> 
> And when folks are on liquid propane for a fuel source at $3 per gallon, the tankless saves a lot of cash over the life of the appliance. No heating a tank full of water with that expensive gas all night and all day when you are at work.


 
they run about 3500--4000 here in indy too...

if you are doing them for 2200 you are dog dirt cheap
and you wont be in business long at the price... 


a 75 gallon power vent here cost installed $2000--2800



of course the tankless are worthless anywhere but maybe florida..


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## wyoredman (Oct 10, 2013)

WOW! Cost of living in the city, I guess! Holy crap those prices are outrageous! What do you fellas get for hourly service fee? T&M here in WYO is $70 per hour. Any more and customers would laugh you out of business!

A regular 50 gal WH install here (not power vent) is around $650 to $750, if everything goes smooth!

I didn't realize


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

wyoredman said:


> ...Rinnai Tankless retail = $1500.00 - Installed for $2200!...


Not around here. $3500 bare minimum on a perfect day when the gas piping and venting are already up to snuff. (and they are NEVER up to snuff)


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## Keefer w (Jan 26, 2012)

My company prices tankless starting at $4200. That's the retail. Not what we paid for them


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