Heating Help

Tape/Dope

@ October 24, 2012 7:24 PM in Teflon tape/paste and steam.

I noticed a few guys like the Blue Monster Teflon tape, I cant seem to get my suppliers to locate it for me, anyone have a supplier/connection in NYC?

Pro-Dope

@ October 22, 2012 2:20 PM in Teflon tape/paste and steam.

That's all my old boss would use, when we piped out steam boilers we only used Pr-Dope on the threads above the water line, below the water line we used spool wick and Pro-Dope, than we switched from Pro-Dope to Real Tuff, from what i remember it dose not harden, it is a good product

Tape/Dope

@ October 22, 2012 2:16 PM in Teflon tape/paste and steam.

Thanks Ice, the Crew and I got alot of work done that day, the old head was Iron w/Iron nipples welded to the head, this is a pre-heater for a domestic HW system, 12 years after the original install the Di-electric unions and the iron nipples rotted away, we replaced the tube bundle as well, as you can see the bundle needed to be replaced along with the head, the new head is Stainless.

Tape/dope

@ October 22, 2012 9:27 AM in Teflon tape/paste and steam.

On new work we use teflon tape and real tuff, on older work when we will install a new nipple into an old fitting that is already stretched out a bit we like spool wick and real tuff, on this heat exchanger head we installed we used teflon tape and real tuff, 150psi in these 2" lines.

Seperator

@ October 3, 2012 6:41 PM in Found this in ....

Its a type steam separator, I believe it slows the velocity of the steam down as it exits the boiler separating water from the steam, Is it all brass/bronze? it would look good in our mongo bin with that copper....:)

Header

@ October 1, 2012 6:53 PM in Advise on my header before hooking up to the mains

Nice work, I would add some hangers, (clevis or teardrop hangers for support) but other than that it looks real nice

Nice job

@ September 30, 2012 8:30 AM in Why Real Steam Pros Don't Use Copper for Steam Piping

Nice job as always Frank & Gordo, I do have a question, were you able to pitch the new section of pipe/pipes off the header toward the mains or did you have to pitch them back to the header? I have seen it done both ways, just curious what other guys do.  I figure if you can pitch the pipe/pipes off the header toward the mains the condensate will flow along w/the steam to the end of the return, instead of flowing back down onto the stem coming out of the boiler.

Firedragon

@ September 26, 2012 7:07 PM in firedragon

Go to his website and get his email and phone number, if hes not busy teaching a class hes available, whenever I email him or call him hes never to far for a answer to my question. www.firedragonent.com

Nozzle

@ September 12, 2012 6:08 PM in Nozzle Type

It looks like the smallest nozzle I can use here w/the V74 is the .85 x 60 W like it says in the IO manual on the Burner Specs page (and as Paul had mentioned). Anyone else know of some ways to space the Riello nozzle/electrodes

Nozzles

@ September 12, 2012 2:53 PM in Nozzle Type

I just spoke to Riello tech dept, to see if they have a gauge, and the guy told me to use one of the screws that hold the Turbulator disc in place for all 3 of the dimensions for the F3 & F5, that sounds like a good tech tip, I know i heard George L. of Firedragon say in regards to nozzles thing A & W like the rootbeer for Riello's. The Tank is inside my house above ground, thanks Paul,

Nozzles

@ September 12, 2012 11:34 AM in Nozzle Type

Thanks Paul, I think i will pick up a couple of different nozzles, looks like they recommend Delavan 60 degree "W" nozzles. I see in Firedragons Riello Handbook under the F5 Standard column that if I go with .85 nozzle, i can set my pump psi at 145, turbulator setting at 1, and my air damper at 2.75. Paul doe Rilello make a gauge for setting the nozzle and electrodes similar to the ones that Beckett makes? or does every use the Beckett gauges to set up Riello? thanks again

Nozzle Type

@ September 12, 2012 7:55 AM in Nozzle Type

I have a Burnham KV74, firing rate at 1.35gph w/a Riello 40 F5 burner, DOE rating of 156 MBH, over sized for my house, my heatloss is around 60,000 btus per/hr. I installed a heat manager 2 seasons back and it cut back on the short cycling quite a bit, the specs call for 1.10 X 60W nozzle, i removed the drawer assembly last night to take a look at the nozzle that is in place, its a Sid Harvey-1.00/ 60 degree B/Solid/CGJN. Could I go a little smaller on the nozzle, or should I keep this style? Is a solid nozzle ok for this type of chamber?  The pump pressure is 150psi, air damper is set a 3, Turbulator at 3. Last Sept I took a set of combustion readings before i cleaned the chamber/heat exchanger/chimney base, -0.01 over the fire, -0.03 INH20 IN STACK, O2=6.7%, CO=37PPM, EFF=79.3%, CO2=10.6%, CO (O) 54PPM, T-STK=614 DEG F, T-AIR=77.2, EA=43.6%, - 0-smoke spot, Then another set after the cleaning in October, -0.01 over the fire,-0.04 in the stack, O2=5.8% , CO=36PPM, EFF=82.7%, CO2=11.2, CO(O)=51PPM, T-STACK=502 DEG F, T-AIR=67.9% E-AIR=36%, 0 smoke spot, I have not yet cleaned out the chamber/base/heat exchanger, i have to replace some chamber material, change the filter, change pump filter, etc, Thanks for any recommendations.

Congratulations

@ September 11, 2012 8:13 PM in 52 years married today

To the both of you

Wax

@ September 5, 2012 5:06 AM in removing a 90 year old one pipe steam radiator

If you cant get your hands on a good size candle you can always use a toilet wax ring (minus the plastic extension) and keep a portable fire extinguisher on hand in case you need it.

Removal

@ September 4, 2012 5:35 PM in removing a 90 year old one pipe steam radiator

If you can get an extra set of hands to help you, heat up the nut again and stick wax in the thread while trying to unscrew the nut, make sure the nut gets hot enough to suck the wax in, it will lubricate the thread enough to loosen the nut.

Tool

@ August 31, 2012 9:11 PM in Tool

Very Cool

yellow pipe

@ August 24, 2012 1:14 PM in The King Of All Crossover Traps!

Nice work Frank, that yellow pipe almost looks like a type of innerduct for fiber/cat 5 cable etc.

Pictures

@ August 15, 2012 3:37 PM in wet return question

Steve. post some pictures of the existing system, boiler, boiler water line, return lines, dry/wet, and see what the guys have to say

Gauges

@ August 15, 2012 10:27 AM in Water Gauge Tool

We usually use either Wika or Terrice gauges, these days we only buy ones that are liquid (glycerin) filled, they seem to put up with alot of abuse. We use them for both low pressure and for high pressure applications,  

Drop Header

@ August 12, 2012 8:16 PM in Drop Header Questions

Great advice guys, thank you

Drop Header Questions

@ August 10, 2012 8:19 PM in Drop Header Questions

Is there a list of rules to play by when building a drop header? or is it based on field conditions or personal preference? Are there certain pipe diameters to go by when laying out the spacing between the take offs from the header? do you have to leave a certain amount of space between the last take off and the elbow to the equalizer (if room permits)? I'm looking to build a drop header on a Burnham IN4, utilizing both tappings from the boiler running 2" inch risers up to at least 24" above the top of the boiler, elbow, close nipple, elbow (facing down) close nipple down (or longer nipple) into a 3" header. It looks like the header only needs a little bit of pitch to drain the condensate, and by using 3"X 2" tees for the take offs  I can come right off the top of the 2" Bull to connect to the mains and not really notice that the vertical take offs might be a bit out of plumb? and does the elbow that connects to the equalizer really need to drop straight down without rolling it on a 45? would offsetting it to make it plumb cause too much resistance (my old boss was real particular about risers/drips being plumb)? And is it a better to run a 3" nipple on the equalizer line and reduce to say 2" before the Hartford Loop tee? or just reduce to 2" at the elbow?  and why? And does that larger size nipple need to be a certain length? Sorry for all the questions but I'm trying to understand all that goes into a Drop Header, the 2 different shops i used to work for never built drop headers. Thanks for your input guys.

School

@ August 10, 2012 7:46 PM in Back to work

Good news Earl, what school did you attend for the HVAC classes?