Heating Help

Gerry

@ July 21, 2011 2:49 PM in MM 67 LWCO

Have you had boilers with no option for the probe LWCO?

Slant Fin gxha-200 with tankless coil

@ July 21, 2011 12:39 PM in MM 67 LWCO

This a residential boiler. If all customers are like mine then you have to assume that they will not do any maintenance no matter how much you educate them. I have put in slant fin galaxy before and I love the speed skimmer and the 2.5" steam tapping. HOWEVER there are several serious issues that I have with the SF steamers. 1) The tankless modal has no skim tapping at all.The manual says to put a T in the pressure valve tapping and skim from there. NO WAY! 2)The tankless model has the MM 67 LWCO not a probe/electronic LWCO. 3) All of the SF steamers have a return line tapping only on the right side of the boiler. This obviously wont work very well if the header is slopped toward the left side of the boiler. There is a tapping on the front of the boiler near the left corner. It is behind the front panal and is hard to work with. In order to use that tapping you need a 1.5" street elbow. That tapping is also not listed in the I&O manual. 4)There is no separate tapping for a boiler drain. 5)The I&O manual calls for a 2.5" equalizer down to the Hartford loop T. OVERKILL!!! 6) The controls are very close to the return tapping. It makes it a big pain to work with. With the tankless modal it's more of an issue because the MM 67 comes very close to the tankless tappings.

Why

@ July 20, 2011 10:48 PM in MM 67 LWCO

Is there a good reason to use something that needs to be serviced once a week  when you can use something that needs to be serviced once a year?

MM 67 LWCO

@ July 20, 2011 9:44 PM in MM 67 LWCO

Are there boilers that still come with the 67 LWCO or do all of them come with the probe type? I am asking because I took a delivery today of a new boiler for installation and much to my shock it had a 67 LWCO and no provision for a probe/electronic LWCO. I called the manufacture and they confirmed that there is no provision for the probe,This was my first/last experience with particular model.

hercules hi temp

@ July 16, 2011 11:40 PM in damaged female threads

I have the hercules high temp red silicone. Its rated up to 600 degrees. Would that also do the trick? Thanks

hercules hi temp

@ July 16, 2011 11:39 PM in damaged female threads

I have the hercules high temp red silicone. Its rated up to 600 degrees. Would that also do the trick? Thanks

damaged female threads

@ July 13, 2011 10:37 PM in damaged female threads

Good evening. I had to remove a radiator riser from steam main. Customer wants radiator moved. The access was incredibly tight. In the process of cutting out the nipple I damaged the female threads on the steam main T. There are two vertical cuts in the T. I was able to screw a nipple into the main. What can I do to reduce the likelihood of leaks? I am thinking of putting a few wraps of blue Teflon and  high temp caulk on the male nipples. In addition I might put some jb weld around the rim. The boiler isn't installed so I cant check for leaks. This is the last riser on the main so worst case scenario I can break the last riser fitting and replace the main from there. Access is tight so that is not a fun option. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

varivents

@ July 1, 2011 3:45 PM in Replacement boiler sizing

Varivents are absolute junk. They have an incredibly short lifespan. If there is the smallest issue with water in the system they will spit like crazy. They vent much to fast. Get Gerry Gills venting book available on this site. Worth its weight in gold. Balancing is not hard if done right

union

@ June 30, 2011 1:17 PM in What's wrong with this picture?

The union on the boiler riser is useless. Didn't help assembly and wont help disassembly

standing

@ June 28, 2011 9:51 AM in direct vent

The heater has a standing pilot. It is not vented in PVC. The PVC is supposed to be for combustion air. I wasn't able to lite it because the gas control is broken. I don't have the model #. It is a 20 year old AO Smith.

clearance

@ June 28, 2011 7:47 AM in direct vent

Neglected to mention that the vent terminates about 12" inches above the ground. I am assuming that this is a big no-no. The home is in NYC(Queens) which regularly gets more then 20" of snow. Can I extend the vent pipe up and put two 90's on top to have the vent point down? Also is the a minimum distance that the two vents have to be from each other and the combustion air pipe? Thanks.

direct vent

@ June 27, 2011 11:42 PM in direct vent

Went to a job today. Customer has two ao smith direct vent hot water heaters piped in series. Customer says that one of them blows out on a regular basis and needs to be re lite. From the customers description it sounds like there are no parts breaking down at all just that the heater needs to be re lite. It is the same heater that always needs to be re-lit. Both vents terminate outside. The only difference that I can see is that directly above the vent for the "bad"  water heater, is a 4" PVC pipe that I am guessing is supposed to bring combustion air inside. The PVC pipe is capped inside the house and hence has no function at all. Is it possible that that capped PVC pipe could be contributing to the water heater flame blowing out? Thanks

dumb question

@ June 20, 2011 11:21 PM in Burnham V8 Gas gun conversion

The only dumb question is the one not asked.Asking a question just means that you have the knowledge that there is more information out there and the humility to seek that info from the the more experienced and knowledgeable. I am with Rod 100% on the hydro-level. Besides for helping to keep track of water feeding it also allows you to adjust the amount of feed water. The standard water feeder only feeds to the safe operating level (bottom of the water glass), not the efficient operating level(middle of glass). The hydro-level is adjustable. In my opinion it should be illegal to manufacture, sell or install any other water feeder. 

draining

@ June 20, 2011 9:47 PM in Burnham V8 Gas gun conversion

I don't really think that draining a cup or two will do any good at all. From my experience, the only way to clean a boiler via draining is by very "thoroughly" draining the boiler. I would assume that every pro has his method which he proffers. What I find to be effective is to fill the boiler to the header and drain completely. Repeat two or three times. Next step is to drain the boiler and turn on the manual water supply while the boiler drain is open. Repeat two or three times. If needed the pressure relief valve can be removed and a hose can be hooked up to the 3/4" tapping using appropriate fittings. Then with the boiler empty and the drain open power wash the boiler with house pressure. I recommend at least a thorough cleaning before each heating season. The boiler itself does not need to be drained during the heating season. The LWCO should be drained once a week. As crash stated, after you finish filling the boiler turn up the thermostat and and run the boiler for 15 minutes.
PS as crash stated make sure boiler is cold before starting

Thanks

@ June 14, 2011 11:38 PM in smoking boiler

thanks

update

@ June 14, 2011 10:13 PM in smoking boiler

Ran boiler for 2 hours. The smoke and the burning smell almost totally went away

update

@ June 14, 2011 10:09 PM in smoking boiler

Went back today and ran boiler for 2 hours. Almost no smoke or smell after the 2 hours.

thanks

@ June 14, 2011 8:39 AM in smoking boiler

I am going back today. Will let you know what happens

draft

@ June 13, 2011 9:55 PM in smoking boiler

i didn't have the time to test the draft. fire seemed to be strait/ maybe leaning bit toward middle.

gas

@ June 13, 2011 9:53 PM in smoking boiler

slant fin galaxy gas boiler

smoking boiler

@ June 13, 2011 9:19 PM in smoking boiler

Good eve. I just finished installing steam boiler(gxha-100). upon firing the boiler smoke started coming from under the boiler. It was actual smoke not steam or water vapor. My eyes started to sting after a few moments. I shut down the boiler and will go back tomorrow. Is this normal? If not what would the cause be? What would burn? Could it be surface rust or something similar? I did a quick check in the fire box and the fire seemed normal. Thanks

smoking boiler

@ June 13, 2011 9:13 PM in smoking boiler

Good eve. Just finished putting in steam boiler (slant fin gxha-100). Upon firing there was smoke coming from under the boiler. This was not steam or water vapor. My eyes started to burn after a few moments. I shut down the boiler and am planning on going back tomorrow. I took a quick look under the boiler and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary in the fire box. Is this normal and if not what would the cause be? Thank you.