plate heat exchanger

[undrblly]

Sorry I can"t post this as a reply to you bs but the site says it contains illegal email content? Whatever that is.

Thank you so much for your fast response! I read in a previous post that a guy was using a 20 plate exchanger for a 50 gallon water heater. Is that the norm, for the most part, to have unlimited hot water. I bought a sidearm exchanger and am not even going to attempt to install it because I have heard that it will not keep up with 5 people, two washers and 2 dishwashers.

Dick

 

[BS]

you are correct ,side arms are worthless , the more plates the more heat transfer , Ben

 

[atlarge54]

I respectfully disagree. I've had a sidearm installed for five years and have some of the hottest water ever -- even with a mixing valve installed and never run out of HOT water. It wouldn't be a bad idea to use isolation valves and unions on the plate HX, especially if your water quality isn't the best. Sediment and corrosion can be a potential problem.
In your case a sidearm probably wouldn't keep up. Switching to a front load washer can drastically reduce DHW consumption.
I chose a sidearm over a plate HX because they're more durable and simpler.