Heating Help

Some tanks specifically state

@ March 17, 2013 10:58 AM in 275 gal oil tank basic basement install advice

not to pressure test a tank on a new install . And honestly I think we had just one out of thousands that had a leak on the first fill up .  A good idea is to have someone at the tank while the first delivery is pumping in .  Swing joints are a good idea and we use them all the time too . We even use a swing joint out of the bottom , just in case someone uses the valve as a step up  :)  If it's a basement tank we try to pipe the supply and vent through wood instead of concrete so there is always a little play . Ever have a tank fall a bit when cutting the fill pipe that was going through a cement wall ? It's a miracle they dont tear apart at the threads on the nipple with all that weight !

Jstar is right

@ March 15, 2013 3:06 PM in Weil McLain WTGO-3 Flue Question

6 inch round is the minimum for a Weil 3 section . They do allow you to connect the boiler to the chimney in 5 inch too , but I'd keep it 6 . 

Most people drive vehicles

@ March 13, 2013 9:34 PM in weil mclain oil boiler help please

younger than their roof ........ their shed ......... their bathroom and kitchen ...........

I can understand the logic that people always find a way to afford a 40 grand car , but can't find any money to upgrade their boiler that'll pay for itself faster than the end of the monthly car payments . But the logic only goes so far until someone can cruise down the pike in a Buderus with the top down ........

How is the hot water produced ?

@ March 8, 2013 10:06 AM in help with harvey whipple

Is there a coil in the boiler ? 

Congrats to your daughter !

@ March 8, 2013 10:04 AM in My Daughter the coach.

I bet you're a very proud dad Tim ! 

Aaron

@ March 8, 2013 9:47 AM in flo-check problems. getting stuck open or closed. any info?

After Sandy blew through , finding parts was almost impossible anywhere near the areas that were hit . Almost anything that wasn't in water was reused on our installs .

More than likely crud got stuck where the flowchecks seat themselves . You could try running a cleaner through the boilers but after doing that and purging and then hanging around to see if they're working right again ............. it's probably easier to just replace the flowchecks .

 And right at the flowcheck is a common place for air to get trapped . If there's enough air near the weight it'll stop water flow altogether .

Happy belated Alex !

@ March 6, 2013 10:15 PM in Alex Marx!

Hope to see you at the next Ugly ! Or before ! 

Yep , I agree

@ March 2, 2013 2:10 PM in Burnham V7

the casting near the cleanouts is too thin and probably the cause of all the V7 leakers . But we've installed probably a few thousand V8s in about a decade and maybe replaced a handful of leakers . I changed one out that was leaking at the push nipples . Only time will tell for the V8 line ...... 

I was told

@ March 2, 2013 11:09 AM in Burnham V7

from someone from Burnham the problem with the V7 was the internal part of the sections near the cleanouts were too square , the edges were too jagged , and water moving past them made turbulence and caused them to leak .

A few days ago we were at a Levitt house to turn V74 180 degrees for easier access vunder the stairs . Saw it was leaking near the cleanouts . We told the customer and she decided to have us do the job anyway . Water was spritzing out at 20 psi so we knocked it down to 5 psi and it stopped . The good thing is..... once she has no choice but to get a new one we'll install the right size !

Power purge

@ February 23, 2013 9:23 PM in Rattling sound

is what we call purging with the fast fill lever up on the pressure reducer valve . I try to purge all zones at 20 to 25 psi . It's important to have a bucket under the relief valve pipe because the chance of it discharging while purging is pretty high on an EK . Good luck with the system Mel .

AquaSmart

@ February 23, 2013 7:16 PM in Can you sufficiently heat up a 60 gallon superstore with high limit at 160 degrees?

and Hydrolevel reset aquastats do this automatically . And have LWCO functionality .

I tried something like this last year . I had my high limit at 150 on the boiler and my Superstor set at 130 ( summer settings ) . It does work , but it takes a looooong time for the tank to hit 130 when the boiler temp is so close to the indirect's temp . It's always better to ramp the boiler temp up as high as possible for the heater to recover faster .

The only thing I can suggest

@ February 23, 2013 7:07 PM in Rattling sound

is to make sure each zone works properly and without the sloshing noises " before "  the next technician leaves your home . I did this just the other day on an EK install . 5 heating zones and we ran each one to make sure the thermostats controlled the right zone valve . And to check there was no air left in the system . I actually crossed 2 zones ....  No one's perfect !      :)

It really is not a big deal to " power purge " as long as the boiler relief valve is piped into a bucket and the hose being used to purge is in a safe place to handle the water .  I hope at least one technician will get your heat going trouble free soon  Mel .

Why have an auto air vent

@ February 23, 2013 5:01 PM in What causes good automatic float type air vents to leak?

if you're just going to close it after fill up ? Would you cap a Spirovent or other type of fancy air eliminator ?  You can purge a boiler with high pressure for a good long time and still have air in the system when it heats up . I know it first hand and it happens quite often .

Like Hot Rod said , a float type vent usually leaks due to crud buildup from the system . We don't usually add a cleaner to a new install . But we do purge hot , and don't open the float air vent till after the purge . Cause you know where all the system's crap is gonna wind up if you fill the boiler the first time and vent it at air vent on top of the boiler ................

4 way black fitting

@ February 23, 2013 4:51 PM in What causes good automatic float type air vents to leak?

An EK ? 

Bringing in a few extra people

@ February 23, 2013 4:49 PM in 2013 Long Island BIG UGLY....who's in?????

maybe 3 or 4 . 

Iron bacteria ?

@ February 23, 2013 4:48 PM in Rattling sound

That's a new one for me .......

It really does sound like these techs have no idea how to properly purge a boiler .

Unless they're purging the zones with 20+ psi pressure , you'll have the sloshing sounds for a long time .

I never put bleach in a system and I'm not sure if there's any benefit to it .

Definitely !

@ February 23, 2013 4:41 PM in Rattling sound

Looking forward to catching up ! 

Thank you Bill for the kind words !

@ February 18, 2013 8:36 PM in bad boiler installation?

The side mount coil , is this a boiler you can use for steam or hot water ?

I'd love to see a triple pass , top flue ( maybe quad pass then ) boiler with a front facing coil .......

I'll never understand why most triple passer ports are on the rear of the boiler ........

Number one lesson

@ February 14, 2013 7:09 PM in What business lessons did you learn from the Great Recession?

by a longshot .......  Diversity is your best ally to survive the recession . If you weren't installing gas equipment along with oil , doing AC work , solar , generators , plumbing work .............  you were in for a rough few years .

Another ..........  most people were not looking to upgrade their equipment while it was still functional . Who had the extra money ? And when they did , most of them wanted the cheapest price and lower end stuff . Coil boilers were our 2nd biggest ally !

Watts 530C

@ February 13, 2013 6:35 PM in bad boiler installation?

It's code here on Long Island for boilers with a coil . We install them on the cold inlet . 

This might sound crazy

@ February 13, 2013 5:45 PM in Rattling sound

but do you have a Youtube account ? Is there any chance you can take a video with sound of the rattling noise and upload it ? I'm not sure if you can directly load a video on this website ....... Sound of the boiler running would be nice too .

As for the sound level ............  you might be right that it's louder than a microwave . But I'm not lying when I say at least 5 or 6 customers told us they didn't realize the EK was running .

I agree with the pros

@ February 13, 2013 4:35 PM in bad boiler installation?

who said the boiler should be turned so the burner is in front . Looks like there's plenty of room . Even if the boiler has to be raised on blocks so the pipe on the left isn't in the way .

Whoever pinned the circulator , expansion tank and relief valve between the boiler and the chimney should be ashamed . Some of those parts will eventually have to be changed and they made it an all day affair .....

We are used to cramming a whole bunch of stuff in a tight space . Never have I had to cram anything anywhere where it was almost impossible to change a part or clean the boiler . Your particular boiler wouldn't have been my first choice since the coil is on the side , but it can be moved and piped so it's much easier to service . Wit the right crew who keeps the idea of servicing in mind .  Please let us know what the company does for you .