Heating Help

@ December 10, 2008 12:57 PM in Celtic Hydrothem Replacement

You can still use a sealed combustion unit if you are not on an out side wall. As long as you are within venting distance from the outside wall. or the roof. The best unit to replace it with is the one that your licensed installer has the repair parts availible for and they are well versed in installing.

@ December 8, 2008 5:06 PM in Labor in Germany

you mean like Massachusetts has already?

@ December 5, 2008 4:39 PM in Baseboard gives me a headache whn it heats up. Why?

so sort of solvent or paint on the walls? were the covers painted at anytime? Cat activity, i.e. urine? That you can find with ultra violet light.

@ December 5, 2008 4:37 PM in How do you know if a valve is OK for natural gas?

AGA is what we use here in Mass for gas valves, no AGA, no use.

@ December 5, 2008 12:04 AM in Solar tank stratification question?

Ford, GM both sell diesels all over the world. they even sell a 4 door diesel Ranger in Poland but not here. Of course same to be said for the other companies such as Toyota where the tacoma is only availible in the UK as a diesel and is what 30 mpgs loaded with tools.

@ December 4, 2008 11:56 PM in Fan in a Can and Cold Air

Less wasted heat and cleaner combustion. the boiler area maybe able to be enclosed to isolate it from the rest of the basement to lessen the effect of the fan in a can. Make sure what ever you do the damper is installed with the proper flow direction for the air. Also on high wind days you may still have air infiltration when the fan is not running. The damper in the fan-in-a can is also to be adjusted for the requirements of the unit it is supplying so as to not bring in more air than is needed for combustion. This is in the installation manuel with the fan unit.

The age old question is what will I save?

@ December 4, 2008 11:46 PM in heat costs for different fuels and systems

People ask us guys in the field all the time this question for fuel and system choices. Well I found this link tonight and I am thrilled, not sure of the exact accurracy but it gets you close if you get the numbers plugged in right. here is the link ( http://www.energyexperts.org/fuelcalc/default.asp ) WHat do you guys think? does it seem accurate?

@ December 3, 2008 7:31 PM in I saw some interesting pumps today (Dan H.)

what are they doing with the old steam motors? could be fun for a project I was going to build.

@ December 3, 2008 7:18 PM in The Boiler Whisperer

"A real mensch" was one of the best compliments I have received. the person was also impressed I knew what it meant.

@ December 1, 2008 11:29 PM in Steam vs Hot water boiler heat

Propane costs 15 to 30 percent more than oil for equal BTUs.

@ December 1, 2008 11:25 PM in CSST Banned in MA !!!

John CSST is not allowed there the supplies must be factory made. This is jacketed stuff for in the walls and other supply lines. Good for wholesalers not for small installers as it shifts cost from labor to material quite well.

@ December 1, 2008 11:22 PM in CSST Banned in MA !!!

Bob I am sad to say I have used it but soon as the shUt came alog with licenses from manfactures and such I said I will stick with the black Iron. Anyone want a deal on my left over CSST parts?

@ November 29, 2008 7:49 PM in New Burnham gas steam boiler cycling

mike please search threads on sizing boilers. Otherwise we will simply be repeating ourselves. The boiler maybe able to be underfired.

@ November 29, 2008 7:34 PM in Aquastat question

why not just remove a lead from the aquastat and cap it off? If it is a steam unit is the aquastat not a seprate unit?

@ November 29, 2008 6:40 PM in Steam vs Hot water boiler heat

hot water systems are closed loops and require less water to be added over a year than steam does. Each cycle of a steam boiler even if it is running correctly looses a bit of water. a forced hot water system once filled and bled of air does not take on water unless the water leaks out. also the water can be treated with antifreeze if power outages are a common thing. A generator may be a wise investment as most photovoltaic or wind power systems use the grid for storage not batteries. From scratch hot water will cost less for fuel than steam even if both are sized correctly. Physics is at work. Steam was often considered back in the day as it was cheaper to install than Gravity hot water not because it was better than hot water. gravity hot water was considered the better system as it allowed lower temps but it required larger pipes. Why not install a gravity hot water system and a wood or coal fired boiler as back up? Buderus and Baxi have UL listed water boilers for solid fuel.

@ November 29, 2008 2:13 AM in Steam vs Hot water boiler heat

Radiant can be installed in your home in an efficent manor. Steam has its place and I love them when they are humming along but radiant is less costly on the fuel if done correctly. Steam uses a lot less electricity. Millivolts do not work too well on oil last time I checked.

@ November 27, 2008 7:59 PM in Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Don't you guys own lead burners? I mean really why buy a wimpy burner when you have one that can melt 60 pounds of lead. Who needs saftey controls?

@ November 26, 2008 9:55 PM in Size of company

There is book keeper, procurement, department, dispatcher, day labor, mechanic, tech support, estimating officer, bills recievable, bills payable, and collection agent. That totals 3.

@ November 26, 2008 9:47 PM in Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

35 pound bird waiting to go in the oven. My boys are staying up late playing legos and the world is good. May all calls we face tommorrow be simple and quick and all of us make it to where we need to go safely. Hug your kids and your folks.

@ November 26, 2008 9:42 PM in Typical

darn it Dave the installers must have moved to my end of Mass. ANd they work for our gas companies here. Now I have offended the gas workers I am sure. There the heat is off of Brad now.

@ November 23, 2008 1:46 PM in Radiant not radiating

Pine is a wonderful insulater. it conducts heat far less readly than any other flooring. How are the flows controlled/balanced through the loops?

@ November 23, 2008 1:40 PM in still scratching my head at the K-M-C vacuum system

Christian you have what is very unfortunaely a very common futzed up steam system. If the boiler is in good condition a good steam person in your area could repipe the problem areas. The repairs will either bring more comfort or lower fuel bills or in a best case scenario both. Working anmd working well are two different things. Systems such as you have are why people remove steam systems as they are tired of having the system "fixed" by "experts" Steam systems are very simple systems to do right. The issue is most things are easy for a well versed person to do in their given field. You have the books, if the book says it is wrong then it is wrong. now the issues become is it wrong enough for me to hire a trademan to fix it? Item one was done to get more steam to those rads or even as an attempt to zone them. Item 2 was some sort of trap to either stop steam from passing that point or the help condensate form before it returns to the boiler. I am guesing there are no takeoffs for rads after that trap. Item three returns can be wet or dry but must drop before going into the boiler. the higher on I am guessing was the newer one. It sounds like they need attention but this is hard to say from several hundred miles away. Item four, yes near boiler piping is often not up to par. Dan could very well right a whole book on the ways it is done wrong. It saves trees righting how to do it right. Steam is simple, this is its biggest flaw as K.I.S.S. is seldom the way folks solve problems.