Heating Help

Dumb question

@ June 26, 2010 10:44 PM in Whatcha Think?

The red boiler that was removed looks like a steam set up (gage glass, LWCO), whereas the replacement looks like hot water (circulators, expansion tank). No one else mentioned that so I must be missing something here?

Thanks for the suggestions.

@ June 18, 2008 12:35 PM in Drain Mystery (not heating)long

I only snaked the indoor pipe. I will try to snake the underground pipe to see if that helps. It should also show if there any bigger problems building up out there. The standpipe height could be a problem, it is only about 8" but it worked okay before. Unfotunately the trap can't go any lower because of the depth (or should I say shallowness) of the underground pipe. The standpipe shouldn't go higher because we are at the maximum allowed by washer Mfr. already. If the underground snaking doesn't help any, I may have to make a pedestal to raise the washer, then raise the standpipe. Thanks again. Mike

Drain Mystery (not heating)long

@ June 16, 2008 12:33 PM in Drain Mystery (not heating)long

What would make the washing machine water spill over the top of the drain pipe where the hose goes in? Roughly half the water goes down the pipe, the other half ends up on the basement floor. The pipe snakes clean and everything else works okay. The bathroom is at the North end of the house. The kitchen and washing machine are at the south end of the house. The kitchen has its own trap and vent in a 2”? drain line. The washing machine has a trap and vent and then tees into the kitchen pipe. The main drain runs along the back of the house, the kitchen/washer pipe tees into it, then the main drain goes out to the street on the south side. There’s 1 roof vent on the bathroom side and 1 on the kitchen/washer side. So the kitchen and washer vents must tee together at some point. Any suggestions on what to check next? This problem just started in a 1940’s house and I’ve owned it 10 years. TIA

@ May 18, 2003 10:46 AM in Water feeder recomendation needed

Mad dog, thanks for the quick response. The #67 works, I was religious about blowing it down and I will emphasize that with the tenant. I am going to call a contractor to do the feeder install, but I wanted to know what to ask for.

Is delay on start and stop normal?

@ May 18, 2003 10:40 AM in Normal gas furnace behavior

I was asked to look at a friend’s gas furnace yesterday that they think is acting erratically. There is a tag on the gas valve that says it is a delay valve. When the thermostat is turned up, there is about a 30 sec. delay before the furnace starts blowing. When you turn the thermostat down, the furnace runs for 3-5 minutes before shutting off. I am not familiar with gas furnaces – are these delays normal or should they have someone check it out? There is terminal block with several unused points on it – the thermostat is connected to ‘W’ and ‘4’, it’s a Bryant furnace. Is there any way to know if it was connected right in the first place? Thanks, Mike

Renter can't check water level.

@ May 18, 2003 10:29 AM in Water feeder recomendation needed

My current house is going to become a rental. The incoming tenant has said he is not a knobs and valves kind of guy. I have to have a water feeder added onto the 1 pipe steam system. Would you get rid of the Model 67 LWCO and add a combination feeder/cutoff? Or keep the 67 and add just a water feeder, mechanical or electric? Or add the combination feeder to the 67 to have dual cut offs? Thanks, Mike

Attn: Steamhead

@ May 8, 2003 12:11 PM in #41 vents sticking

Steamhead - Thanks for the offer to look at my system, unfortunately I am in CT, that would be a long service call. The closest Find-a-Contractor is 4 towns away but I will call them to look at a delayed ignition problem and add an automatic water feeder - (I'm in the process of moving and this house will become a rental) The oil co. has tried to fix the ignition problem twice but it keeps coming back. On the proper main vent question - The main is 2" diameter and 70 feet long. I knew the #74 was not the right vent from reading the Lost Art.. but it was there when I bought the house. If this helps - there is a total of 20 linear feet of convectors in the house. Mike

@ May 6, 2003 9:03 AM in #41 vents sticking

Thanks for both of the replys. The main is a #74 that's not too old and I believe is working. This is a 1 pipe system and the pressuretrol is at .5 and 1. Velocity may be issue as Dan mentioned, because this is a replacement boiler and it is 1 size larger than the old one, just for good measure as Dan says. The 2" supply out of the boiler opens up to 3", I think, at the header which should help slow things down but the size of the boiler may be overpowering it. On initial start up the steam does travel fast and I already had the nozzle reduced from 1.5 to 1.25. I'll try boiling out the vents and see if that helps. Thanks.

New vents not closing

@ May 5, 2003 12:12 PM in #41 vents sticking

I had some no-brand vents that were leaking and now I have a problem with new Hoffman #41 vents getting stuck open in a very short time. I bought 3 vents from 1 supply house – one stuck open right out of the box. The second one got stuck after working for 4 weeks and the third stuck open after 6 weeks. I went to a different supply house and bought 2 more. One stuck open after 4 weeks and the other has been working okay. I wrote to Hoffman to see if they knew about a bad mfg. run or something to check on my system. But, I got no response unless it was accidentally deleted with the Spam. Anyone have a similar experience or any advice? Thanks, Mike

Thanks

@ January 16, 2003 5:36 PM in Oil Vent Too High?

for the explanation, that does help. It shouldn't be too much trouble to shorten the pipe.

Did you ever hear this one?

@ January 16, 2003 12:45 PM in Oil Vent Too High?

Several times there have been notes on my oil delivery ticket that say “weak VA” or “low whistle”. One time there was a wasp nest clogging the vent, but other times it was clear. The last ticket I have says “Vent too high”. Here’s the setup – the tank is in the cellar and the cellar floor is about 6 feet below grade. The fill pipe, 2”, is about 2 feet above grade and the vent pipe, 1.25”, is about 6 feet above grade. Would it make any difference if the vent was shorter? I’ve noticed that new installations use a 2” vent that is usually not much higher than the filler; does this make the va work better? Thanks, Mike Rastelli

@ November 11, 2002 12:57 PM in Young Convectors

Last week there was a question about replacements for Young Convectors – I would also like to know if there is anything available because I have them in my house. I contacted 2 supply houses, searched the internet and asked on the Wall, but couldn’t find them anywhere. The problem I have is that the copper tubes get small cracks near the headers. One of them is cracked on the top and just leaks a little steam. The other one cracked on the bottom and drips condensate. When I moved into the house, the rug was wet and the floor was starting to rot underneath. The wood even had mushrooms growing on it and I don’t think the previous owner knew anything about the leak. One room in the house was finished after all of the others and has an American Standard unit instead of the Young convectors. I think this is a hot water convector because it has very small tubes, but was made to be used as a replacement for steam also. Note the large supply tapping and the built in taps for the external drain pipe in the picture. These seem to be unavailable also. Rather than use a pot to catch the water or get a whole new heating system, this unit inspired to do some experiments with hot water convectors that are readily available in any length and inexpensive too. Start with a reducer tee that’s 3/4 x your supply pipe diameter and add a small drain tube as shown in the mod picture. It works without spitting the vent. It does not put out as much heat as the original Young but the room only feels slightly cooler than the others. Unfortunately you can’t use a longer unit to make up for the heat loss because you have to fit inside of the wall recess. Things I learned – using these units with no drain pipe results in Old Faithful. The drain pipe diameter has to be equal or smaller than the tube diameter. The first test was with 1/2 pipe for the drain and the drain got hot and the fin tubes stayed cold. The combination of steel, brass and copper fittings is not ideal but it works for now

Mystery solved!

@ November 8, 2002 12:26 PM in Burner no flame mystery

Thanks for all of the replies. It would run for about 30 sec. without lighting and then go off on safety. I decided to replace the oil valve myself. The supply house is out of stock until next week so I took Ron Jr's advice and bypassed it temporarily. The burner lights every time and is running like brand new now. The oil valve looks clean but it only opens about 60% of the time when testing it on the bench.

@ November 6, 2002 5:31 PM in Burner no flame mystery

No, the system was installed by a different company that was recommended by a friend. The plumber is a relative of the friend. Thanks for the reply, I will have the valve changed.

@ November 6, 2002 12:40 PM in Burner no flame mystery

Woke up Saturday and had to push the reset on my 3 year old steam boiler. It ran for about half a day and then went off again. It would light as soon as I pushed the reset and work for 1-4 on/off cycles and then trigger the reset again. I called for service on Monday and a tech showed up on Tuesday. He changed the nozzle and filter, adjusted the electrodes and bled the pump. The burner ran through 2 cycles and the guy left. On the 3rd cycle it tripped the reset again. I tried swapping on a spare transformer in case there was intermittently no spark but had the same problem. While the burner was running with no flame, I tapped the solenoid oil valve with a screwdriver handle and the flame came on. Seems like a new oil valve is the solution. The boiler install paperwork emphatically says to not use Teflon tape on the oil lines and that’s what the installer used. Is the teflon what’s causing the solenoid to be sticky? What other problems will be caused by the Teflon on the pump connections?