Heating Help

Per tech services at

@ February 1, 2013 7:44 PM in Sidewall venting

Tempstar that furnace can't be sidewall vented. That being said I would also check with local AHJ. We all know how checking with the manufacturer works as they are very careful not to stick their necks out.

ORANGE in the flame is

@ February 1, 2013 7:34 PM in cleaning my burners

not a problem, it is usually the result of shuffling around in front of the burners and stirring up the dust and rust the ORANGE is just that burning off. YELLOW is a problem as it indicates improper adjustment of air or perhaps dirty primary air openings on the burners. Do not bother to take apart a system with orange in the flame as it serves no purpose.

Make sure it is

@ January 29, 2013 7:31 PM in Vent Damper Motor Jamming

positioned correctly on the flue pipe and not binding due to a poor fit. It is also from my many experiences with vent dampers better to relocate the damper as close to the chimney or vertical vent as possible as the high temps closer to the equipment affect its operation.

As pertains to Flues

@ January 29, 2013 7:26 PM in A new section

are you looking for sizing and installing flues for Category I equipment or Category II, III and IV?

Many times

@ January 29, 2013 7:18 PM in Duty of the HVAC technician according to law?

the tech does not have access to all the standards, codes and local requirements. Working here in RI/Mass they use CMR248 in Mass in conjunction with NFPA I believe they are up to 2006. RI uses the International Fuel Gas Code which in order to fully use that code you also need several other International Codes as they are referenced throughout the Fuel Gas Code. Then there are ANSI Standards just as an example Z21.8 Installation Of Gas Conversion Burners about a 70 page booklet is $700 to purchase and many other standards are the same.

As one who teaches code and has to deal with rewriting my instructions every two or three years as the codes change it ain't easy.

What is your

@ January 29, 2013 12:09 PM in Loud Smith gas boiler with Powerflame burner

location?

Njbilit

@ January 28, 2013 7:22 PM in Seized gas pipe

we encourage folks to come here with their questions. At no time do we ever want to offend anyone who has a legitimate question no matter who they are. It is that we are also concerned with the safety of those who post here and perhaps we could be a little less threatening with are comments and more constructive. For that we apologize and hope you will continue here to seek answers.

It is CO

@ January 26, 2013 2:56 PM in Combustion analyzer reading

as it relates to O2 basically the same I believe as CO (AF) air free. It is the actual CO minus the O2.

Actual CO have always been related to either O2 or CO2 in fact years ago we used formulas to find actual CO as compared to a diluted reading. The higher reading is always the actual CO reading.

Some testers also have a NOX eliminator or in the case of Insight you can purchase an add on filter I believe. This will typically give much lower CO reading than one without it. Jim Davis has a real good explanation of this, I just can't seem to find it, maybe he will pitch in here and give it.

By the way we will be running a three day "Testing Design Gas Equipment Class on Feb 5, 6 and 7 at our training center in Warren, RI, Call 401-437-0557 or e-mail gastc@cox.net if you are interested.

Toller, there are different

@ January 25, 2013 7:53 PM in Code requirements for double pipe side wall terminations

rules for termination of "Direct Vent" and "Mechanical Exhausting" for direct vent termination is related to the input of the equipment. For mechanical exhausting it is 4 feet from windows doors or opening etc these are in NFPA 54 National Fuel Gas Code. Your appliance is classified either a Category III or Category IV venting system which all venting is according to manufacturers instructions. I suggest you contact your local Trane rep or contact Trane factory tech services for rules specifically related to your situation.

There is no

@ January 25, 2013 4:30 PM in Code requirements for double pipe side wall terminations

specific code on venting high efficiency equipment. The requirements are according to manufacturers instructions. What I posted was a gathering of specs from different manufacturers which I felt were very good and would prevent venting problems with these side wall vents. I would check the Installation and Operations manual for your furnace as it will list venting requirements.

Answer concerning

@ January 25, 2013 12:19 PM in Relation of mod con fan RPM to combustion rate

cost of Propane, it is because it is getting more and more difficult to get delivery directly to many areas in the Northeast. Several companies I know of in Mass are driving all the way to Southwestern PA to get product. When Propane providers have attempted to build large storage facilities in the eastern part of the US politicians have found it a convenient way to get elected or stay in office to oppose building those facilities. That in addition on the Natural gas side opposing LNG facilities. They oppose, we elect them, we pay the price.

Yes it will work

@ January 25, 2013 12:08 PM in Powerpyle

the only thing missing will be my step by step instructions on how to properly carry out the change and conduct a pilot safety turn down test. For this I charge a $1,000 a page or if you are nice it is free!

Contact me

@ January 24, 2013 9:35 PM in Powerpyle

at gastc@cox.net and give me your postal address and I will send you a copy of the retrofit procedure free.

Assuming

@ January 24, 2013 1:10 PM in ? for Tim

it is natural gas with inlet pressure less than 2 PSI with an allowable pressure drop of .3" W.C. with a specific gravity of 0.60, then 70 feet of pipe at 1 1/4" will handle up to 384,000 BTU's and 30 feet at 1"  will handle 284,000 BTU's so it should be okay. If the 100 feet was all 1 1/4" it would handle 304,000 BTU's. It is always a good idea to have a fairly large manifold for the last six to ten feet to handle the surge in demand when the generator first fires but the figures given should work okay as long as manufacturers specs do not call for something else.

I looked into this

@ January 24, 2013 12:34 PM in Relation of mod con fan RPM to combustion rate

a while back on several different boilers. What I found is that it is pretty much linear but also depends on the design of the combustion blower/gas valve connection and how the valve itself reacts to air flow. But I would venture most are pretty close to linear.

I have found some differences on Mod/Con forced warm air however because of the difference in how they are configured. It includes dealing with the resistance of the flow through the secondary heat exchanger and the cleanliness of the system itself.

I am sure the lab rats from the different companies would perhaps dispute some of this depending on the design of their equipment. I certainly have not done extensive research but mostly trying to answer questions asked in class about the 5 to 1 ratio as related to actual BTU's in each step.

Paul, I will

@ January 23, 2013 8:26 PM in ? for Tim

get back to you on this.

Unclejohn

@ January 22, 2013 10:28 AM in southern pride smoker

have you ever worked on one of these? I had a restaurant service business for nine years and have worked on several of these over the years.

You first fire on just gas and make sure you are within the operating parameters on gas then have the folks you are servicing set it up for wood flavoring. You then take readings to minimize carbon monoxide levels.

Can't make it

@ January 21, 2013 7:25 PM in 2013 Long Island BIG UGLY....who's in?????

I have a previous commitment on March 2. Have fun!

I strongly recommend

@ January 21, 2013 1:53 PM in southern pride smoker

a combustion test be done on every service call in order to insure safe and efficient operation. In addition to that if you are trained in combustion analysis it can lead you to particular problems that otherwise would not be detected.

Sorry, not able

@ January 19, 2013 12:37 PM in steam boiler conversion from Oil to Natural Gas?

to connect you up with anyone in or near your area.

Huh?

@ January 18, 2013 11:17 AM in Cause of CO poisoning unknown

I think I missed something.

What is your location

@ January 17, 2013 11:53 AM in steam boiler conversion from Oil to Natural Gas?

I may be able to connect you up with someone.