Heating Help

another thing

@ September 30, 2011 1:39 PM in vent question

I would check your temperature rise across the furnace and make sure its not on the low side. Check the data tag that is inside the furnace and it will tell you the range. Other then that, if the vent goes into an attic, check and make it's together. Make sure there's a termination cap and storm collar as well.

location

@ September 22, 2011 7:47 PM in Pilot light question

Where are you located? Someone on here may be able to look at it or refer you to someone. Also at the top of the page is a Find a Contractor tab, click that and you may find someone who knows something. Glad you're being proactive!

pumping issue

@ September 20, 2011 1:35 AM in Q on cost benefit of installing ODR for a cast iron boiler

Yes,like Ironman said, the 2107 Logamatic control is a great addition and will give you ODR and many other energy saving features. Your piping diagram shows that you're not "pumping away" and there is a great book about it available under the resources tab above It's late and I'm too tired to explain it but you will experience noise and early pump failure the way it is piped now.

Wrong inducer

@ September 19, 2011 3:47 PM in munchkin 80m fan

The 7500P-031 is an inducer for the Contender Boiler, you need the 7250P-85 like you had. I don't believe they're interchangeable Its a lot easier to remover and install a new inducer if you remove the burner assembly with the inducer still attached so you can get to the screws without doing a Helen Keller. I would also replace the swirl plate when you have it apart, I bet its not in good shape. Make sure you're not sucking in exhaust gases too, that causes premature failure of the inducer and swirl plate. If its a concentric vent, its even more likely to suck in exhaust gases when its in low fire especially if its vented into the prevailing wind direction and this eats inducers and swirl plates. Make sure you check combustion with an analyzer after replacing inducer. Good luck!

safety

@ September 19, 2011 1:44 PM in Pilot light question

I was being sarcastic in my earlier reply. You've gotten your money's worth out of a 107 yr old boiler for sure. But the big reason in updating is all the new safety devices they've come up with in the last 100 years and thats huge for the safety of you and your family and neighbors. Plus, if you're going to have failure or a major leak its going to be the coldest day of the year when its working the hardest. Then you won't be able to shop around or make a good decision. I've heard lots of people say the same thing, "I can't afford a new boiler now" when I'm at their house at midnight with a catastrophic failure. They always seems to come up with the money.

You may get by this heating season but I'd start saving and planning on replacement. Not sure how qualified your service guy is but of course its not me making a sale, just trying to give advice which is why you're here. I would make sure you have a good CO and gas detector in good working condition. Most of them have a 5 yr life cycle. Good luck!

40-50 years

@ September 18, 2011 3:15 PM in Pilot light question

oh yeah, you got at least another 40 - 50 years of service life left.

not servicable

@ September 15, 2011 4:21 PM in Thermopride condensing furnace howling.....

Induced blowers are not serviceable and you'll need to replace it. After replacing, be sure to check the temperature rise across the furnace to make sure its in range. Temps above the range will often cause failure.

FYI

@ September 9, 2011 3:07 PM in new TT Solo 60 propane, yellow flame?

When the WHN manual says no field adjustment, it means it came equipped with the correct orifice and high altitude controller. I'm not even sure if its even available in the US at this time. Anyway, you still need  to check and set up combustion on start up with the proper combustion analyzer on the commissioning of the boiler.  The only boiler that can run straight out of the box as far as I know are Viessmann's with the Lambda Pro combustion management system.

The TT Prestige and Lochinvar Knights, both great boilers properly installed of course.

As far as your boiler not firing, I would consider ME and my advice and get a professional that is well versed in TT boilers. Not trying to bust your chops, just trying to help.

Still need CO numbers

@ September 7, 2011 6:42 PM in new TT Solo 60 propane, yellow flame?

You need to know the CO numbers to know your combustion is set correctly. The CO2 and O2 could line up but your CO could be way off because you're not in the stoichiometric curve. That's why TT puts the CO2, O2, and CO readings in their literature. They also put this in their literature as well:

 The combustion levels should be measured
at high firing rate, refer to page 45
of the PRESTIGE Solo control section
on how to set the firing rate. If the combustion
levels are not within the range
given in Table 2 for the firing rate, shut
the boiler down and contact Triangle
Tube Engineering Department. Failure
to comply with this requirement could
result in severe personal injury, death or
substantial property damage.

Not saying you can't do it yourself without proper training..

anything need to be done?

@ September 6, 2011 3:28 PM in new TT Solo 60 propane, yellow flame?

Yes, call in a professional that is well versed in Prestige boilers and make sure he brings a factory LP orifice and combustion analyzer. You have the throttle screw of the gas valve so out of whack you're out of the stoichiometric ratio. You need to manually set the control to hi and lo fire to properly check at both ends. Also your flue temp should be higher than your water temp but no more than 54 degree's. You will never see 98% efficiency at 170 water temp. In addition is most important to know what your CO is and it should be under 100 ppm. Try to take back the analyzer you just brought and use the refund for a profession such as the one ME recommended. If they can't help you I would also recommend Absolute Comfort in the Colorado Springs area.

Heatmaker

@ September 6, 2011 2:57 PM in Heatmaker boiler

Even if you the know the heating capacity of the Heatmaker you should be doing a heat loss calc to correctly size a boiler. Anyway, there should be a plate with model and serial number inside the cabinet on the back left side. The HW, H, and HP's came in 60k, 100k and 130k and it will be part of the model number. I've seen mainly 130k's for most houses because oversizing didn't matter much because of the 20 gallon buffer tank inside, thus why a heat loss calc is always needed.

CO?

@ August 30, 2011 8:38 PM in new TT Solo 60 propane, yellow flame?

What's your CO?

purging

@ August 26, 2011 4:32 PM in How do you Purge ?

There is no simple explanation on purging because of the variations of near boiler piping. If you're a homeowner, I'd recommend calling a company that specializes in hot water heat .Plus its always good to have your systems serviced to prevent problems down the road.  A properly installed system should not require annual purging.  If you try it yourself there can be problems that could present a dangerous situation such as dry firing. Good luck!

troubleshooting

@ July 20, 2011 2:08 AM in Problem with radiant heat system

Just wondering if you own a multimeter because you didn't mention anything about testing electrical components. Is the B/W tank piped to the boiler or is 240v connected to the tank? It could be several things but you don't know unless bust out that multimeter. So I don't think your assessment was very good.  Sounds like you might need some more training to familiarize yourself with boilers and how they work and coming to the Wall is a good resource. At the top of the page, look under resources and there's plenty of reading material to get you on your way. Also, check out your suppliers for training classes and support. Good luck

pictures

@ July 18, 2011 4:56 PM in pictures

I was going thru some pics I took last winter and this one cracked me up. They probably needed 6" of fin tube in the entry, LOL  BTW, whatever happened to the Hall of Shame? 

My guess

@ May 21, 2011 5:28 PM in Gas fired Boiler age?

I'm guessing it's about time to replace.

hardly the 1st

@ May 20, 2011 11:07 AM in In the Morning News.... 1st Solar Car Wash!!

Back in the early 80's I worked for AHS, (Alternative Heating Systems) a subsidary of Novan Energy of Boulder, CO. and we installed a thermal system on a car wash in Colorado Springs. It was located at the corner of Hancock and Delta and was owned by a guy named Louie and we did a DHW system on his house as well.  Last time I was in the Springs I drove by and the panels were gone. Oh well. I've always thought laundry mats were an ideal application.

short on 24v

@ May 17, 2011 4:02 PM in Trianco Heatmaker II

You have a short on the 24 volt circuit somewhere. Hopefully you used an external transformer for zone valves.

find cause

@ April 11, 2011 2:11 PM in noisy hot water boiler

First you need to find out what is causing the scale and more than likely you're taking on make up water via a leak. Easy enough to do, just turn off  power and make up water and see if the pressure gauge goes down over a period of time. A boiler that young shouldn't be having those problems, even with crappy water. Good luck.

huh?

@ April 11, 2011 12:16 PM in ZC ZR and beyond on TACO SR506 exp for primary pump

Not sure why you set up the gold for pri/sec because its already set up that way. There is already a primary pump that circulates within the boiler and a thermostat that opens flow to the heating system at 140 degrees.  Some pics and piping diagrams posted may help.  

Inspections

@ April 7, 2011 8:45 PM in High Efficiancy Boiler Installations

In my local jurisdiction, inspectors  don't care or know how a boiler is supposed to be piped, pumped or controlled. They don't care about stuff like a low mass boiler with high mass radiation and no means of boiler protection.  199K boiler in a 1000 square foot house.  Cast iron boilers with non barrier tubing? ,They're only looking at the venting, combustion air, backflow preventer, gas drip legs, electrical shut offs, etc.

I don't know haw many service calls I've been on and told a customer the whole mechanical room needs to be re piped and hear,"Well we got it inspected". With the big anti government fervor happening these days, I don't think consumers are going to get protection there. Not all customers can be like JDB and educated themselves on the workings of their new high efficiency boiler. I also think some manufactures need to do a better job of factory training. I attended a Triangle Tube Prestige training class in Arvada, CO.,    put on by Rick Mayo that was excellent.  Also, just because there is training available, not all will come. So, I'm not sure of an ironclad solution.

What Tim Smith said

@ April 3, 2011 3:29 PM in Trianco Heatmaker II

I don't know if you noticed but Tim gave you the advice you need. The problem is in the 24v pre ignition wiring and if I remember right it starts with the pressure switch. If the pressure switch doesn't close, you need to tee in a Magnhelix or a manometer and read what the inducer is pulling and is it  enough to close the switch. The switch may be stuck closed, the control needs to see the pressure switch open before the sequence even begins. I think Laars may offer on the phone tech support on Heatmakers, not sure tho...