Heating Help

also

@ March 1, 2010 7:31 PM in Converting to pumping away

Yes, I would do what Jstar said. Also to complete the "pumping away" package, you will need to move your male up water to where the expansion tank connect to the air eliminator. Just replace the 90 with a tee and connect there. 

Good question

@ February 25, 2010 8:00 PM in Ameri-therm Vent Damper

I saw a lot of those years ago and always recommended getting a CO alarm to customers. Later I thought I should have given a option to remove them or highly suggesting removal. Fortunately, I haven't seen any in a while.

fill valves

@ February 24, 2010 9:30 PM in which is the best boiler water feeder?

One reason I see a lot of bad fill valves is they're in the wrong place. I'll bet 70% of boilers I service are Watts which I believe are ferrous. When you see them first in line on your feed line they are exposed to the an open system,  which is portable. . They will rust and clog in a hurry.as those faucets open and close.  Of course the backflow, which are brass and stainless steel, should be first which separates the fill valve from the open system and it's only exposed to the closed side of the boiler. Another problem with the fill valve being first, is the backflow isolates the fill valve from system so it can't read the pressure and let in more water. resulting in no flow situations are possible dry firing a boiler. Always a late night or weekend service call never the less..

I know all you the good wetheads on here know that stuff but if I can save just one new guy from making that mistake......

thermocouple stuff

@ February 22, 2010 5:16 PM in Thermocouples

Just type in,  Thermocouple Testing Procedure in the search site area and you'll find everything you'll need to know. Tim McElwain, the host of this sub category, wrote the piece of info. You came to the right place.

pump placement

@ February 19, 2010 4:23 PM in Help dial in DWH

It's fine to have the air eliminator on the suction side of the pump and its the preferred method if you have the fill and expansion tank at that point below the eliminator. I read somewhere, maybe a Siggy article,  to get the pump as close as possible to the air eliminator. I can't remember the reasoning beside it's the PONPC. 

Doesn't matter

@ February 11, 2010 8:44 PM in Zone valve placement?

The thought is putting them on the return they will see cooler temps. But they're rated for any temps you'll encounter in a hydronic system so on the supply will work just fine.

Pex or not to pex

@ February 1, 2010 3:54 PM in Pex or not to pex

I haven't done any new work for a while and have a basement finish to do. It's a no frills rental and I figure I'd use baseboard and wondering if I should use copper or pex for the heat runs.   I'm leaning toward Pex-al Pex because I think it might hold up better with the 180 degree operating temp. Any thoughts?

Nice!

@ January 18, 2010 6:19 PM in Novel method of monitoring low water

I think I saw one of those at the supply house .:::::eyeroll:::::::

Glowcores

@ January 18, 2010 3:39 PM in What was the first Condensing Boiler?

When did Glowcore's enter the picture? They were the first condensing boiler I came across and I did run into Hydropulse's a little later. Changing those spark plugs was a bear. I remember needing a 1/2  drive sockets with a universal swivel adapter and extensions to bust it lose. 

Erie Pop Top Zv's

@ January 8, 2010 11:55 AM in Erie Pop Top Zv's

I found 4 Erie Pop Top zone valves with bad end switches at a customers house. Don't see a lot of Erie's around here and just wondering if this is a common problem with these valves? I just found it very unusual. Thanks in advance..

Munchie

@ December 22, 2009 3:42 PM in Munchkin Contender Heat Exchanger

It may be a low flow situation and an over fired condition. Is it pri/sec pumped? Combustion analysis?

I'd say ok

@ December 22, 2009 3:39 PM in Munchkin 140M firing: spark electrode angle?

You're ok running it without the gasket temporarily. Not a chance for much of a gas leak with positive press from the inducer. Sounds like you might go for cleaning it yourself and why not, you've gone this far. I see you  It looks like you have a nut holding your target wall on, much better than the Phillips head screw they use now.

I use a nylon vegetable brush first to knock the crud loose, then use a shop vac to vacuum. Get yourself some CLR and mix with water and spray down the heat exchanger really good, let soak and brush out with vegetable brush again. Flush with water, hook up a hose to the water side of your indirect tank or any hose bib. I put a nozzle on hose to control better and use some pressure to rinse. Also, an old credit card to get between the grooves helps. Yep, like Wayne said squeezing the condensate trap helps. Rinse it out until it runs clear.

Reassemble with the new target wall, burner gasket and door refractory.   I check with a level on the right hand manifold to see if the boiler tilts back a little bit to help the condensate to drain better. If theres some play, you may be able to shim the front up a little, don't force it too much., At least use soap bubbles to check your gas union for leaks. 

I usually go with the, "Don't try this at home" theme with customers but obviously you're fairly mechanical to get as far as you did. Still at least find someone that can set the combustion on the Munchie. Good luck

what Tim said and

@ December 21, 2009 6:04 PM in Munchkin 140M firing: spark electrode angle?

In addition to what Tim mentioned about having a new target wall handy,
you will need to have the burner gasket. They're usually trash when you
remover the burners screws to clean. You have to remove the target wall
to clean exchanger and it's probably in bad shape already. More than
likely the screw that holds the target wall in place is stripped and
impossible to remove so you'll have to take the target wall out in
pieces. I just put a little red high temp silicone on the new target
wall and put in place, the burner end will hold it in place once
reinstalled. Anyone else have a other solution to that?

All that aside, you do need a qualified Munchkin guy to do this. Not saying you can't but having all the right equipment is the key, CO detector, gas detector, combustion analyzer, etc. Good luck!

good idea

@ December 18, 2009 3:25 PM in Laars Endurance EBP flow switch

I'm glad you got it fixed. Good idea with the sheet metal protecting the inducer. Another idea might be one of those battery operated water alarms to put on the bottom of the cabinet.

Drain downs

@ December 16, 2009 2:07 PM in Thermosyphon solar

Ahhh yes,  I remember the SunSpool Drain Down Valve's. 

Tim is correct

@ December 15, 2009 7:57 PM in heatmaker

The part is actually called a low limit switch and is part # 2400-016 and Laars carries the part. It's very easy to replace, just pay attention to the color coded wires when you disconnect. The clip can be tricky, it's good to add a dab of thermal paste too. 

Pressure switches

@ December 14, 2009 10:03 PM in Variable speed scorched air furnaces

I haven't seen many if any bad pressure switches. Not saying they're not out there and the supplier may have know about a particular bad pressure switch. If you're at altitude, you need a different switch. Before just replacing the switch, you should have tested to see what kind of pressure the inducer is producing. Problem's I've seen with pressure switches are in the venting or a clogged port where the tube attaches to the inducer. The venting may have over the allowed total equivalent feet of piping. The system works when the inducer is new but as the inducer efficiency decreases slighty the pressure switch will drop out after it's running a few minutes. What kind of furnace was it?
I'm not trying to bust your chops because I know you're helping a friend and he's lucky to have you as a friend. Typically most upper end furnaces with varible speed blowers do have a 5 year warranty. $1600 for a bad diagnosis, wow. At that price i quess they figure they can keep replacing parts till they fix it.

try

@ December 13, 2009 6:02 PM in I NEED HELP WITH MY THERMOSTAT AND HEATING UNIT

Try moving the white wire you have on the B to W and stand back. J/k The hunter IMO isn't a good thermostat. With your pics, it really looks like you need a service call for some maintenance. The outside coil looks very dirty. Maybe schedule a service call and let them check out your system before doing anything to be safe

Moving company

@ December 13, 2009 5:25 PM in Bringing boilers down to a basment via stairs

It may be cost and health effective to hire a moving company that will do that sort of thing. Call around. Also, in my area, some suppliers will haul away the old boiler and set the new one in place. They use the Escalera, nice machine.

Yeah you right

@ December 4, 2009 7:43 PM in Charging pump

Oops,  I did mean Grundfos. I think I got mixed up because it was the Grumman Sunsteam panels I installed back in the early 80's. Thanks Hot Rod for the advice on the Liberty pump which I brought to recharge a 3 panel DHW system I replaced a pump on. It worked great and I was amazed at the pressure I was able to achieve for purging.

I will check with Grundfos for parts to repair because if I remember correctly the pump had a lot of oomph for larger systems.

Charging pump

@ December 1, 2009 9:49 PM in Charging pump

I'm a HVAC contractor and getting back into solar and found out my old Grumman Jet pumps are bad. They were great for charging closed loops systems and I'm not sure parts are available. What pumps are ya'all using these days? I run into some silicone oil systems so I'll need two separate pumps. I'd like something fairly small, portable and not too pricy. My supply house said just use the ol' Silver King Force pump but I know that doesn't get all the air out. Thanks in advance!
Slim

also

@ November 30, 2009 5:46 PM in Off Heating Topic- Water Heater Install

Nice solder joints!