Heating Help

« Back

Paul

Joined on September 19, 2002

Last Post on July 31, 2003

Contact User

remember ?

@ October 31, 2002 8:18 PM in Question about firebox?

I have one in my basement. 50 or so years old and still in good shape, ( although I will admit to haveing a buderus still on the pallet waiting for a spare moment.) thats a dry base boiler and it sits up on a steel stand. the fire brick protects the stand from burning out. the lower front panel comes off and the fire box pulls out, it should be banded together but your bands may be missing. you might be able to do a couple of things. I was going to line mine with a kaowool wet blanket but my brick is in really good shape. the trouble i have is that the burner sits really low and close to the bottom refractory so i get air tube burn out after a couple of heating seasons ( i just change the air tube) you might also be able to get a "bath tub" combustion chamber that would fit in the opening and back fill around it with sand to keep it in place. i would try to do something with it because if you burn out the stand the cast iron sections will begin to collapse it. I would also suggest that the church start a fund raiser and get that $4500 because the afue on that old girl is attrocious. I have mine down fired, the pump pressure up and i always run a #1 smoke to get 80 to 82% i clean it once a year and tune the burner twice a year. One of these days i hope to find my missing " round tuit" and fire up the buderus. hope this helps, Paul

pool dehumidification

@ October 31, 2002 7:38 PM in Looking for Combination In-Door Pool

the last one we did we used a boss aire double pass air to air with a hot water coil to keep the air temp up. that's really the key. tempering the slab is good but to keep the humidity down it is necessary to keep the actual air temp in the room 3 degrees warmer than the water temp, and it also helps to keep it covered when not in use. you can find boss aire at www.bossaire.com good luck, Paul

They work if

@ October 25, 2002 4:45 PM in Water cooled heat pump

they are purchased as an extended range geothermal heat pump. you may have to check the model number with the rep for your application. a regular water cooled unit won't work with ground water temps. because you are putting the water directly down the drain are you sure the old unit didn't have a pressure regulating valve that would have opened based on the actual load on the evap or condensor coil? Paul

clearances

@ October 21, 2002 9:22 PM in help!!!

where I live the manufactures installation inst. preceed the code. some boiler manf. allow 9" clearance to combustibles on single wall pipe. b-vent is 1" clearance to combustibles on appliances with a draft hood. on appliances without a draft hood it requires 6" clearances. L vent (oil and solid fuel) are 1" to 2" clearance for med temp appliances, and if you are using it as the horizontal vent connector it has to be approved for horizontal use. some L vent is only approved for vertical use. sheetrock, faced and unfaced fiberglass building ins. are all considered combustibles. fire rated mineral wool is not considered a combustible. hope this helps. paul

one other tip

@ October 5, 2002 9:02 PM in BIG (me)

sometimes the groover will raise up a ridge on the end of the pipe. a lot of guys file or grind it off. I find that a 4 or 5 inch grinder with a 60 grit flap wheel will make short work of the ridge and leave a really nice surface for the gasket to seal against. Paul.

ditto the pro-press

@ October 5, 2002 8:54 PM in BIG (me)

We have two machines. I usually run out the main loop in vic and then make all my branch take offs and equipment connections in pro-press. sticker shock can get you but i find that i almost never go over the materials budget the co. gives me for a given job. it's always the labor budget that i'm up against so i'll spend the money on materials that save me real time and this is a good product. Paul.

4\"seems kind of small

@ October 3, 2002 11:39 PM in BIG (me)

sure you'll get flow? seriously, I work with pipe that size a little more than i care to. we have a genie lift that has long forks that we use to load pipe. I also have some "clamps" that are made of L angle on edge so they form a groove on the man lift rail. it's a real pisser if that pipe rolls off 15 or 20 feet up. hope you bought ridgid roller stands with the jack screw. they make one style that has a snap coller and it is never the right hight for the roll groover. loose that chop saw and get a dewalt multi-cutter (graingers) this is THE tool for the mechanical trade. it cuts everything you need it to. and Im sure that you want to promote peace and harmony on the job site but just in case some one gets on your last nerve i casually mention to you that lennox fire and rescue demolition blades will remove ANYTHING that gets in your way. ( try them on your next boiler demo) good luck and good piping, paul

Chimney lining

@ September 30, 2002 8:20 PM in chimney liner

we just had twelve chimneys lined with a ceramic spray process that has been used in Europe for a while now. you don't really lose any flue size and the way I understand it they can get a zero clearance rating if you need it. We happen to be using these chimneys as air ducts so all the mechanical engineer was looking for, was somthing to coat the inside and keep them "clean". It was a really cool process and would be worth looking into. I don't recall the brand name but I will look it up in the morning. Oh and we don't need to get into the chimney as an air duct debate in this thread. it was a gov. job and aparently the are exempt from any building codes that inconveince them. nuff said Paul

ray pak

@ September 27, 2002 8:08 PM in oudoor l.p. gas boiler

can be found at http//www.raypak.com

the overhang

@ September 27, 2002 7:41 PM in direct vent locations

code allows installation below the over hang. I think the direct vent has to be a foot down, and the power vent has to be 3 or 4 foot down. now here's the rub. in cold climates I have seen ice build all the way down to the ground from condensation especially if the area doesn't get much sun. it starts as frost on the bottom of the soffit and just keeps on going. it usually occurs with boilers, but if this is a big water heater, and demand is high (like at my house, where people shower for a week at a time) it could pose a problem. Paul

try asking for a heel ell

@ September 25, 2002 11:53 PM in Tech Lingo

the next time your at the supply counter, or a heating wye. if i sent you out to my truck for my stilsons would they go on my feet? could you rummage around under my front seat and find my yarning tools or my caulking irons? why do we call them split rings if they aren't broken? when was the last time f&m actually made plates? is a rosett a flower or a really big tip for your torch. does a torch heat things up or have batteries and a bulb? (depends on which side of th pond you are on). are they hanger bolts or coach screws,or lag rods? here's one of my favorites "hammer screws" and of course it's cousin "screw nails" how heavy are heavy nuts? we buy copper by asking for type m, l, or k sched 40 t&c . seamless cast iron maleable wrot copper spiral duct I'll think about this some more tomorrow at work hope this helps Paul.

cbv=circuit balance valve

@ September 25, 2002 11:03 PM in plug vs butterfly balancing valves and location

and they are not really ball valves. b&g makes one that is called a circuit setter, it has differential pressure ports, a scale to match pressure drop to a curve, and a memory stop feature so you could close it but reopen it without losing the setting. If you looked in the end of it without pipe, the port would look very much like a regular ball valve. I have a set of probes to read across the valve but don't have a diferential meter. most of the time i just take readings with a good quality gauge and use a little math to convert to feet of head. this works very well for most of the work I do, and if I find I need more accuracy I have a friend who is a balancing contractor. hope this sheds some more light on this, Paul.

invest

@ September 25, 2002 9:20 PM in Syntho Glass

the half a day and solder it up. you won't regret it. Paul

I have a

@ September 25, 2002 9:12 PM in oil tank codes - jim f.

copy of nfpa 31 from 97 in the house. section 1-14 says no part of the appliance may be closer than 3' from an electrical panel board and 5' from the tank. In Maine they consider the distance to be from either the burner or the combustion chamber. we also allow up to 990 gal storage per single appliance. if you have a duplex then your only allowed 660 per, for a max of 1320. Paul

b& g ball valve

@ September 25, 2002 8:57 PM in plug vs butterfly balancing valves and location

style would work well here, but you want to look at your flow rates, cv ratings. on the outlet of the 005 you would be better off with a smaller cbv full open than with a larger cbv throtled down.( may cause velocity noise). same with the manifold returns, size by flow/cv rather than pipe size. Paul

run,don't walk

@ September 25, 2002 8:48 PM in plug vs butterfly balancing valves and location

away from the plug type. if their the ones I'm familiar with they are very similar to a wedge type gas cock in that in about two years you won't be able to turn them. I had them on a job we rehabed and they ranged in size from 3/4 to 4 inch. you couldn't turn the big ones with a 4' wrench and most of the small ones snapped off, oh, and they don't have blow-out proof stems either. I like b&g for ball valve style and armstrong for globe valve style, if they are for equipment balancing put them on the return, for pump duty go with triple duty valves. Paul

Polaris

@ September 24, 2002 9:56 PM in boiler vrs water heater?/Jubil

I installed a polaris as the primary boiler in a good sized house about two years ago. it's what the home owner wanted, he had hot water from an electric I think. so the polaris only did the radiant floor. that heater had to be 50 to75 mbh and it worked o.k. considering the mile long loops the guy had installed himself.

could have used that

@ September 24, 2002 9:35 PM in Wet Heads version of the HVAC News

one day last fall when we changed a flow switch. I used my transfer pump to pull the vacuum and it worked great. got the old switch out, had the new one ready to go and helper decided we didn't need the pump any more and turned it off. boy did he get wet putting that new switch in. Paul

remote stats

@ September 24, 2002 9:19 PM in Commercial Remote Thermostat - which is best?

there are several t-stats available now that have remote sensors available, but you have the same problem, if they can break the stat they can break the sensor. in high damage area's we use "prison grade" flat sensors. they are esentially a flat stainless cover plate with the sensor on the back. the last batch we got actally came from tek mar and I used them in place of the room temp units. (we put them in the space and remote mounted the rtu's in the boiler rm next to the controller. Paul.

the pipe turns green

@ September 23, 2002 8:09 PM in \"Green Stuff\"

because the acid in the flux is still working on the joint. you need to nuetralize the acid with some baking soda in water,and a scotch brite pad. good luck breaking this guy of this habit Paul.

@ September 23, 2002 8:02 PM in \"Green Stuff\"

> For the response. I am hesitant to use any "oil"
> type stuff. Being an oil man I know oil and
> soldered joints don't mix so well. Like when your
> fittings or tubing get oily and you try to solder
> 'em. ?? I was looking for a soap and water type
> suggestion. Or some old kitchen remedy like
> vinegar or lime juice or hocus pocus ??????? Well
> thanks. I think the best thing is to wipe with a
> damp rag while the tubing is still warm after
> soldering. Bill {not the science guy}Nye.