Heating Help

flue

@ February 22, 2013 11:39 AM in Hi Again from San Francisco!- Question on Venting

I forgot,    the flue seems to reduce when going through the wall,  what are the btu ratings of both boilers and what are the dimensions of your chimney.

flue

@ February 22, 2013 11:29 AM in Hi Again from San Francisco!- Question on Venting

Your latest post  now shows 2 boilers, i didnt see the other boiler before when i remarked about the flue pitch. I would still check the peerless boilers and Tele. Larrs recommended flue sizes, alot of times the flue needs to be larger than the flue collar connector on the boiler depending on the commom flue height.

heat pump

@ February 21, 2013 12:36 PM in Rheem High Pressure Trips

Check your air side,   filter, dirty evap coil?  check duct size and take air flow readings. look for registers being shut off  check to see if AHU is the right size

vent

@ February 21, 2013 11:14 AM in Hi Again from San Francisco!- Question on Venting

This is not the first picture i have seen on the wall where the installer has used a vent tee for the steam vent.  I had problems on a couple of bldg's with this install in one case i replaced a leaking vent only to find it leaking  2 wks later.  I gave the customer a quote to repipe with a tee on the horiz. run   see page 115 lost art of steam

flue

@ February 21, 2013 10:46 AM in Hi Again from San Francisco!- Question on Venting

Check the horizontal pitch on the flue pipe.   Do you work around Pacific Heights lots of intersting old steam systems in that area.

pump head

@ February 19, 2013 2:25 PM in psi and ft/head

Here is some info for pump diagnostics
(1) To determine pump shut off head.  Start pump with discharge valve closed, record the diff. between the discharge and suction press. multiply by 2.31 equals TDH in ft.  This can be used with a pump curve/applic. to determine impeller size if not known. Run pump only long enough to get readings, make sure you have accurate press. guages.
(2) To determine operating head      open discharge valve record discharge minus suction x 2.31  this reading in ft. can be used on pump curve to determine pump operating point.   make sure in both cases if you are using a triple duty valve for shutoff that you mark setting.

copper

@ February 19, 2013 10:44 AM in Near boiler piping

Here we go again with copper on steam boiler supplys, another boiler destined to leak , what happened to training people on proper piping practice

trap

@ February 18, 2013 7:57 PM in bucket trap

Bucket traps need to be primed after installation,  This is done by opening the inlet valve first and than the outlet, in some cases water has to be poured into the trap.  Sarco/Spirax has good tech info online. The check valve is there to keep a backflow from other cond. lines especially if there are vertical cond, lines. Good piping practice requires a gate valve than a wye strainer than the trap with unions on both sides than a check valve in alot of applications. In alot of high press. steam applications a by pass line is installed above the trap piping usually of a smaller pipe diameter. and isolation valves on both sides of trap.

piping

@ February 18, 2013 5:08 PM in Cracked casting

As Bob said your boiler supply piping in copper is one of your problems, the cast iron sections cant expand and contract with that rigid copper piping, you need to repipe in steel pipe with cast iron fittings using swing joints.  I have seen over 4 of these copper piping posts just in the last year, where are these people getting there training and are they licensed.

backflow

@ February 18, 2013 3:16 PM in Backflows on steam boiler fills:

   (1) Backflow             I am not sure what he is talking about, the Watts 009 back flow has 2 independent check valves, and i believe the intermediate vent is open to atmosphere. this is where the air gap fitting should go.      (2)  press, reducing valve     .   I would sometmes install a press, reducing  valve ahead of  everything if the city water press. was over 75 psig. to prevent excessive inlet press. at inlet of MM fill valve LWCO .  If the prv outlet press is set above the steam boiler press. relief valve setting you should be ok, but since the press. reducing valve is ajustable someone could change the setting than causing a problem, maybe thats what the inspector was seeing,  I also would always install a wye strainer ahead of the backflow to keep the backflow clean.

pump

@ February 15, 2013 3:00 PM in Steam condensate return pump

You may be getting steam back to the cond. pump.   Time to check your traps and replace or rebuild as necessary,  when were they last checked ?

Training

@ February 12, 2013 11:25 AM in Need advice!

U.A Plumbers and Steamfitters apprenticeship training, there are a number of locals in NY

retired

@ February 11, 2013 12:13 PM in commercial

I worked as an instructor for years in the evening, with your exp. you would be invaluable as a teacher somewhere.   Remember the good old days when we had to run an extension cord for our drill, before battery drills, before cell phones or even pagers, before DDC controls, those were the days

VFD

@ February 9, 2013 5:41 PM in Bypass valve

Look at installing a variable frequency drive, get a hold of your local pump rep.  B&G, Taco,  they should be able to help you select what you need. vfd,sensor etc.  easier than piping in a diverting valve.

purging

@ February 7, 2013 2:10 PM in How to purge air in baseboard heat

If your a homeowner you should call a hydronic pro, if your a contractor post back

sections

@ February 7, 2013 1:59 PM in section replacement

If you want to replace a section there is a good chance the section next to it has a problem also. Once you start taking sections loose you compromise the tightness of the remaining sections. I would take apart all the sections, lift them off the stand and check all the nipple ports( round openings on top and bottom ) for any sign of metal erosion at faces, You can also inspect the base and inside panel refractory for damage. At this point you can decide how many sections and other parts you may need. You than can order your sections,gaskets ,rope,adhesives, draw rods, nuts,washers, etc. I would always number the panels, makes it easier to reassemble. Some times the hardest part is getting the risers loose from the sections, you may need to cut your header piping and weld in some companion flanges.

sections

@ February 6, 2013 4:55 PM in section replacement

Get a hold of the Weil rep in your area ask them if they know of anyone that assembles there boilers,  When I was working with Peerless boilers the rep worked with a  co. that specialized in section tear down, replacement and old section disposal.  This was in the SF Bay Area. If you want to do it yourself get the boiler I.O.M. and review the install section.

sections

@ February 6, 2013 11:57 AM in section replacement

I would wait to warmer weather and pull apart all the sections for inspection, at that point you can determine if any others have a problem. If you have never installed boiler sections I would hire a pro to do it, your back will thank you

VFD

@ February 6, 2013 11:24 AM in Carrier VVT system

As I remember most VFD's take either a 4-20 milliamp or 2-10 volt dc input to operate, If I remember the old carrier (Parker) VVT systems worked off there own operating system, some type of com link. I dont think the VVT would interface with most VFD's   correct me if i am wrong

piping

@ February 5, 2013 12:42 PM in Two pipe steam questions

Recommend changing all piping on and near boiler to black (carbon steel ) pipe with cast iron fittings and swing joints.

prv

@ February 5, 2013 11:08 AM in removing 80 year old pressure relief?

One more thing I have used over the years on all tough to remove fittings, valves and pipe.  Tighten the old valve, fitting first, alot of time this will break loose rust and corrosion. I always try to use a 24 inch pipe wrench and in some cases a 36 inch wrench.

prv

@ February 5, 2013 10:38 AM in removing 80 year old pressure relief?

If the relief valve is brass and the boiler cast iron,  heating and than shocking with cold water has worked for me several times, also have used penetrating fluid in the past, has worked for me