Heating Help

apb - another triasic 'adoption'

@ January 30, 2013 8:30 AM in apb - another triasic 'adoption'

so far, no luck in finding info on this dinosaur, so i told bossman that if it ain't here, it ain't nowhere

Donlee ysh-200-n-ln turbofire II
type n (s/n) 96-19949 h-11631
10hp 480v 8315btuh nat
al 329025 burner
4d primary safety
3-18-96

york shipley says it's obsolete with no i/o manual available

thanks

yes, usually resetable

@ January 10, 2010 8:08 PM in Blocked Vent Switch problem

and that's what's indicated in the burnham i/o manual that i have.  and now that you've limited the available combustion air, the trip may also be letting you know that now there isn't enough combustion air due to the boiler flues being dirty.  when were they last brushed?  yearly is the recommended interval    

assumption - vent damper

@ January 10, 2010 12:12 PM in Blocked Vent Switch problem

have you watched/verified the proper operation of the vent damper and/or the associated controls?

naw mark

@ January 10, 2010 10:21 AM in yet another mysterious bleeding problem

no b-i-l syndrome.  i did the piping a few years ago, and have repeatedly had this problem with that circuit.  and, i should have added that it's a closed, pumping away from a bladder tank system.  and as a convenience, the 67s have been there from day 1.  and even though i could leave them open bec it's a bladder tank, after the initial pressure filling and bled a few times at operation temp, i close them as a precaution.  bec in other systems, i've seen them corrode closed, and/or leak 
 
and what makes me suspect a leak in the circuit and/or elsewhere, is bec of the large amount of air that bleeds, and the surging at the circ  
 
but as far as a drawing, it'd be so basic as to be near useless, bec i can't pull that much from old memory.  but by tue or wed, i should be able to get a pic of the near boiler piping, and a drawing of the hidden piping   

yet another mysterious bleeding problem

@ January 9, 2010 3:10 PM in yet another mysterious bleeding problem

year after year, it's the same old problem; no heat to a zone due to air in the fan/coil, floor model heating units  
typical pumping away setup with a taco air scrubber and #67 auto vent that's left capped after bleeding, one circ, and 3 zone valves.  zone 1 is a coil in an air handler, approx 30' away from the boiler and 4' above it, with a #67 auto-vent that's left capped after bleeding.  zone 2 is a coil in an air handler, approx 70' away, also with a #67 auto-vent that's 20' above the boiler, and left capped after bleeding.  zone 3 is approx 45' away but it has three, parallel-piped fan/coil heating units that have manual, screw driver operated vents that are 13' above the boiler.  zones 1 & 2 have never had a problem after initial bleeding.  and even though zone 2's #67 is 7' higher than zone 3's manuals, zone 3 repeatedly air locks all through the heating season.  i'd finally found a small, evaporating leak at the boiler, fixed it, and guessed that that'd be the solution; no luck.  three weeks later, no heat in zone 3
now the details of zone 3 are these; the 'left' fan/coil never locks up.  the 'right' fan/coil, which is on the same level as 'lefty', but 12' over, locks up once in a while.  but when there is a no heat complaint, the 'center' fan/coil, which is 6" above 'lefty' and 'righty' will always be locked up.  so, when i bleed these units in this order, 'lefty' never has air in it.  'righty' sometimes has air in it, and sometimes there's enough air to keep the temp controlled fan from coming on.  and 'center' always has enough air in it to keep it's temp controlled fan from coming on
i'm at a loss, but wondering if i adapt the fan/coils to #67s, might that solve my problem?        
            

ah

@ July 15, 2009 6:35 PM in steamhead; that mysterious? circuit vacuum

i ran out of time yesterday and today, so i didn't get to roll by there to get a better 'picture'/total feets on the piping for that center circuit. but i'll be driving right by there tomorrow so........ i was guessing that parallel teed together would count as one. and, i found out who did the install on the boiler, and i might give him a call tonight, of course without being critical, as to his reasons. esp for that mystery pipe to nowhere under the center pump but 1st and formost, we have to fix the 4 leaks and keep those vents closed, if not removed

paul and steamy - 30# safety

@ July 14, 2009 5:18 AM in steamhead; that mysterious? circuit vacuum

yeah, that's what it has, and i had run the pressure up to 25ish last week. and this week, it dropped 8#. i'll run down there today for a few minutes in-between jobs to get an idea about the piping size and run for that circuit. and i don't know if you can make it out, but behind that center pump, there's another same size line that's teed off but capped, and i don't know it's history but as a 'simple' fix for simplicity's sake; without installing wet circs, if i were to leave the supervents in place, take advantage of their 1/2" bottom taps, tie them together and run that line into the current tank, or preferably a new bladder tank, wouldn't that equate to pumping away from the ponpc?

more pics and pump info

@ July 13, 2009 9:41 PM in steamhead; that mysterious? circuit vacuum

i found 2 more leaks after letting the pumps run for approx a week, and i've lost 8psi #2 pump is a PL36/1BL001/K99. the 1-1/2" is an HUL40,the 2" is an H40 calculate that circuit's specs? wooo, that wouldn't be easy. but a ballpark might be doable and i'm wondering if there's a simple?, 'creative' way to re-pipe the tank so that the pumps is pumping away and according to another in the know, with the old boiler, they bled yearly at the beginning of the heating season. and since the install, circuit #2 is being bled 2-3 times a week. but so far, only one of the two new leaks is in C2, and it's very small/ant spit. whereas, C3/2", has two decent leaks. the front supply, top of the section/ reducer/union has a very bad leak and very poor access and, if i can locate them, i may be able to quiz the installer/s about their piping decisions looking forward to your comments. i want to raise the pressure to 28psi, leave #2 on, and see if it causes vac when bled

14?!

@ July 13, 2009 5:16 AM in steamhead; that mysterious? circuit vacuum

sure do see how. i'll get the model/serial #s

jpeg.5

@ July 12, 2009 8:39 PM in steamhead; that mysterious? circuit vacuum

the center 3/4-1"

yeah, if i had my druthers,

@ July 12, 2009 7:34 PM in steamhead; that mysterious? circuit vacuum

i'druther re-do it all and pump away, but i don't think they'll go that far yes, it's an 80, and the separators are looped together in 2" with the 3 circuits coming off of the loop, but i'm missing a pic that would clearly show it. the returns are 4". and that 'parallel' circuit on the front is the supply/tank loop, with for now, the tank is shut off from the system via the b-valve. but why does it 'vacuum' only on that one circuit? and it's not very clear, but the other two circuits have 'double' returns to tees into their respective pumps, while the center circuit has one return, and i'm clueless about that. the center circuit may have had a double return, and barely visible in the pic is what may have been it's other return. i'll see about getting more/detailed pics this week. thanks

steamhead; that mysterious? circuit vacuum

@ July 12, 2009 4:42 PM in steamhead; that mysterious? circuit vacuum

finally, here are the pics of the system that i mentioned a month or so ago. two stories + basement and at 15psi when i came upon it/off season. and, after explaining the open supervents, tank logging, and repeated air in the system, esp the center circuit, i may have the customer convinced on a bladder tank. but here's the mystery, and the customer knew about it bec he's dealt with it; when that center circuit has it's pump on, and i try to bleed the baseboards of air, it sucks/vacuums air into the circuit. with the pump off and i bleed it, i get the typical air/water spurts. but i haven't tried bleeding that circuit in relation to the other pumps being on or off yet. the customer thinks that the piping for that circuit is backwards/vents on wrong side of baseboards. but as far as anyone knows, none of that has been changed over the years. only the boiler and pumps are new, and the center pump has had it's seals 'recently' replaced already

p-press not

@ June 21, 2009 7:26 AM in when to braise?

good that you stayed away from it harris also has a silver bearing solder #8 that's very good

we maintain a similar system

@ June 21, 2009 7:19 AM in Geo units on cooling tower

and the system has a b&g scrubber also, but we don't chase any additions with air pressure. we use a pump that has enough pressure to overcome the system pressure

yeah, the b&g

@ June 19, 2009 5:30 AM in 'vacuum' in a circuit

there's one on another system that we maintain. and since this tank is reletively new, they probably will want us to make it work instead of replacing it

no attic

@ June 19, 2009 5:27 AM in 'vacuum' in a circuit

i meant floor joists

one pipe, if i'm remembering it correctly

@ June 18, 2009 10:56 PM in 'vacuum' in a circuit

and yes, closed, unless i missed it's vent up in the rafters. pics will be taken and posted

hey steam

@ June 18, 2009 10:54 PM in 'vacuum' in a circuit

2 stories, and the supers are honeywell products and they're out in the system/not routing it back to the tank. and yes, the tank may be misplaced and without a separator. but i don't think i'll be able to talk them into a diaphragm. but if so, i'll work it into pumping away

bleeding air 3x per week!

@ June 18, 2009 9:19 PM in 'vacuum' in a circuit

so, i get the question/call as to the reason why a customer is having to bleed a circuit 2-3x per week. my answer - leak/s. great! now go find it/them. so, it's off to the customer's boiler room older, pumping 'to' operation. system/pumps off of course, and sure enough, mineral deposits from various 'dry' leaks, and one wet leak. boiler gauge says 12psi, tank water-logged/near full sight glass, and one supervent has it's cap loose. things seem obvious, but here's what threw me; the problem circuit/room 216. for the heck of it, i open the finned baseboard bleeder and hear hissing but it goes on for too long with no water coming out. so i grab a piece of handy floor lint, put it near the hole, and it gets sucked in. twice. vacuum?! so, when i opened the vent/'took my finger off of the top of the straw', where would enough water be going in order to create a vacuum? full tank, full system?, 12psi. the wet leak that i found wasn't leaking THAT bad. defective flow check/s? 'large' area of empty section of system? spoke with customer, and next week is wire brush all the obvious leaks clean, up the pressure/bleed all circuits, and wait and see if leak/s appear

Bucks county?

@ April 13, 2009 8:38 AM in Tarm/Bio Heat

still good deer hunting up there?

repeated deleted

@ April 13, 2009 8:28 AM in Subfloor Pex and old Romex

cloth wrapped?

@ April 13, 2009 8:22 AM in Subfloor Pex and old Romex

that's older romex, and maybe a bit dry and brittle. older than that would be knob and tube. and while you wouldn't be subjecting it to very high temps with radiant, it will dry it even more and create a potential for problems down the road. so, if you can keep the wiring below the radiant and insulation, do so. if not, i'd suggest replacing it unless it's still in good, pliably uncracking condition. have an electrician take a peek