Heating Help

Why not leave it to the customer ?

@ May 16, 2012 6:23 PM in boiler feed on or off?

I haven't read the instructions for PRVs in a long time , but I believe some state to leave the valve open and some want it closed .

Why not explain the benefits of both options and if they want the valve left closed ( safest option ) there will be a nominal charge if a zone becomes air bound ? Something that probably won't happen if the valve is left open ......

We leave the valve closed on systems with old radiant or if we see signs the piping looks old and might leak . Too many horror stories from homes with convectors and those crappy wafer bleeders that dry out and leak . Or auto vents that become a water fountain .

Everything else stays open ( we use the AquaSmart on every install ) .

Not a problem

@ May 9, 2012 10:33 PM in Copper to steel/iron in a closed loop system

We transition directly from iron or steel to copper around 3 to 5 times per boiler install . And remove about the same amount of transitions with the old unit .  Never seen corrosion due to dissimilar metals . The only time I've seen a leak is because someone didn't tighten the adapter enough . 

Happy Birthday Bill and Mark !

@ May 3, 2012 10:21 PM in Hey Mark Eatherton !

2 of the best is the business ! Great guys ! 

The Molly Wee !

@ May 3, 2012 6:44 PM in Field trip to Boyertown foundry and Peerless factory

Had the best time at that Big Ugly get-together ! Sounds like a great idea .

If you can keep

@ May 3, 2012 6:40 PM in I've got a Head Knocker I want to move!

the steam pressure below 2 psi you shouldn't have a problem . A vaporstat would work well on your new system . What obstacles are you going around for the drop in the dry return ? Any chance to make that lower dry return a wet return ? 

Thanks Dan !

@ May 3, 2012 5:54 PM in Field trip to Boyertown foundry and Peerless factory

For the great time and putting the whole trip together ! And the laughs ,beer and food for the trip back ! 

Any problems with the floor mount ?

@ April 14, 2012 5:39 PM in More photos of Buderus install

There's always a big debate about which way to hang a regular expansion tank . You know we install them threads down most of the time . I've heard hanging it this way can cause the bladder to fail prematurely .

 Just wondering if you had any tank failures with the floor mount since the tapping is on the bottom of the tank , at the end of a dead end pipe .  

Great explanation Mark !

@ April 9, 2012 8:35 PM in Eatherton "flux sponge"

A little flux goes a long way . That's my soldering credo .

We use flux brushes . I paint the thinnest bead of it on the end of the pipe or street fitting . Applying it half the distance the pipe will go into the fitting is more than enough . Never inside the fitting . Once you push the fitting all the way on and give it a little twist , the flux is spread pretty evenly . Even with that minimal amount , you'll have flux oozing down the pipe while soldering . The only time I'll re-flux the joint is if it leaked or we soldered a fitting on old pipe and it took kinda funky .

I work with guys who paint it in the fittings , on the pipe , reflux after every soldering and keep dabbing that burnt out , dirty  flux brush stub into their flux can .......................Guess which method has more leaks ?

What I think really helps alot with the bonding of solder to the pipes is the method you use to clean them . We use plumbers open mesh and fitting brushes . They actually put grooves in the fittings and I'll bet it makes the joint even stronger than cleaning the surfaces with fine steel wool .

Congrats Dan !

@ April 9, 2012 8:21 PM in My Easter present

Your first granddaughter and the engagement of your daughter !  What a happy Easter !

Why not use a system bypass ?

@ April 7, 2012 2:10 PM in Gravity conversion protecting boiler

Just a simple pipe connected from the gravity zone supply ( after the circ ) to the return pipe . The pipe can be much smaller than the zone pipes and you can install a valve in there to throttle the flow . 

Wow , that is beautiful !

@ April 6, 2012 5:26 PM in More photos of Buderus install

I bet the homeowner shows that room off more than his trophy room !

Is that red vessel a floor mounted expansion tank ?

You and your crew

@ April 5, 2012 9:29 PM in Recent job photos

install systems that are truly inspiring Scott ! The homeowner made a great choice in your company ! It's good to see you posting your top notch work . 

Thanks guys !

@ April 1, 2012 7:06 PM in Amp draw of a Taco 007

Mark , I purged that zone 3 times . The initial purge . 2nd time after the zone wouldn't return hot , then a 3rd time after I swapped out the circ thinking there was something wrong . 3rd time was purged hot and it didn't seem like an excessively long time to purge through . I did shut both purge valves while the circ was running to see if the amp reading changed . It didn't .

I wonder why these circs are advertised at .7 amps if they normally run at half that ? I'll have to check some more circs on different types of heat  ....... 

I have 2 amp meters but only used one . Both circs were drawing the same amps . I'll check the battery tomorrow and test both meters on a circ and maybe a burner to boot .

Hey Al !

@ April 1, 2012 6:58 PM in Amp draw of a Taco 007

How you doing ? Man it's been ages ! Since the Big Ugly in Little Italy ? Thanks alot for the compliment ! 

Amp draw of a Taco 007

@ March 31, 2012 5:10 PM in Amp draw of a Taco 007

We replaced this hall of shamer on Thursday . Had trouble heating up the main zone . Water was leaving at 175 and returning at 115 max . Granted , there's about 100 feet of baseboard on this zone and some of the slab piping is 1/2 inch ( to route around doorways ) . But we never had return water come back so cool . Unless the main zone was still radiant .

So I checked the amps on the circ . Never done that before , never had to with a Taco . The draw was .3 to .35 amps . Is this normal ? Voltage was 124 .

Thanks in advance !

Beautiful install Dan !

@ March 30, 2012 7:14 PM in Mega Steam

Really nice pipework ! Do you have the nips on hand or thread them at the site ? Been begging for a power hand threader for years ............ 

Buy American !

@ March 30, 2012 7:10 PM in Small oil boiler

Peerless WBV3 . Lowest nozzle size is .50 

87.5% AFUE using the lowest input . 

You can use a coil boiler

@ March 30, 2012 6:56 PM in Do I need a boiler with a coil if I buy an indirect water tank

with an indirect . You can control it just like a triple pass too . If someone has real world fuel use comparisons between a new properly sized pinner and triple pass ( same hot water maker and controls ) I'd love to see 'em ! :)

The only reason you'd want to hook in the coil if you have an indirect is for backup . In case the indirect crapped out you can bide some time to research your options . We've installed a few in the past as an option .

Won't need to call

@ March 25, 2012 8:16 PM in copper fill and vent in mass.

because I just don't have oil leaks . If you know what you're doing with thread sealant , you wouldn't need Teflon on oil fittings . Period . We make up 9 or 10 oil carrying joints per day . The ONLY time we might possibly have a leak is right at a flare . So we put a small dab of sealant on the flare and that is that ! I haven't had a callback for an oil leak in years doing it this way . We use Pro-Dope now . We used to use Recorseal . Can't recommend it for oil though , The soft setting properties make it more easy to leak in my opinion . And I never had a problem getting it off my hands or clothes . Sure you're not thinking about Permatex ?

When the end result is always the same ( no leaks ) I'll ALWAYS use the sealant that will not void a warantee .

Isn't even safe ?

@ March 25, 2012 6:12 PM in copper fill and vent in mass.

So , NFPA31 is condoning unsafe piping practice in their standards book ? This piping arrangement is exactly how that book says to pipe 2 inside oil tanks . Except for the copper crossover and dresser coupling . Do you have firsthand experience of something wrong happening due to this piping arrangement ? Or is this your personal opinion ?

I've replaced 2 oil tanks that were piped this way . Guess what ? Both leakers were the tanks on the vent side .


And no , there is no Teflon used on these tanks . Or any other tanks or oil fittings my company installs . I would never use a sealing material that pump manufacturers specifically say not to use . I would never open myself up to that liability when a good thread sealant applied to both inner and outer surfaces works just as well as your magical Teflon . But hey ! If it works for you , more power to ya !

Not sure about Mass .

@ March 24, 2012 9:15 PM in copper fill and vent in mass.

Actually I don't think it's ok to use anywhere , even on a vent . We're going back and threading in nips and a union . 

Nice install Alan .

@ March 24, 2012 6:54 PM in Steam

If you run into sludge troubles I'd throw in a purge on the return . Not sure if i see one in there . We like to get all that crap out of the return before it hits the boiler . Was the old one dry fired ?