Heating Help

Nest Thermostat now at big box stores.

@ May 15, 2012 6:08 AM in Nest Thermostat now at big box stores.

Nest will now be at Lowe's , as well as Best Buy.

Anyone have experience with these yet?

Floor Drains and pans

@ May 9, 2012 7:33 AM in boiler piping down from Attic

yes, we'll install pans and drains. Most likely automatic safety shutoff valves to feeds. Perhaps a glycol pig.

I said the the same thing, but the water level combined with frequent power outages have the owners concerned, plus height of basement of 6ft will limit how much we can raise equipment.

boiler piping down from Attic

@ May 9, 2012 6:37 AM in boiler piping down from Attic

I have a project where we are moving the new mechanicals from basement up to attic, because of yearly basement flooding by a few feet of water, even with sump pump.

There will be a fully insulated room built in the attic. Two apartments below, and a store front on first floor.

I will be downfeeding drops to a manifold to feed baseboard zones.
Other than having vents on my risers and being mindful of the pressure at the base of the drop/risers is there anything else i should be thinking of.

NYC water has chlorine,

@ March 24, 2012 2:32 PM in why does dan have a prob. with radiant and toilets

and any visitor definately could detect the slight small and taste .
Other things are added too, like flouride.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/wsstate09.pdf

Solar Thermal is Dead

@ March 24, 2012 2:11 PM in Solar Thermal is Dead

Interesting Solar Thermal vs, Solar PV argument. Thoughts?

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/solar-thermal-dead

hobby beeswax

@ March 24, 2012 7:19 AM in why does dan have a prob. with radiant and toilets

yes johnny I used beeswax for hobbies also, very expensive for such a small amount, but it polishes stone very nicely.

Cool about your lead bend, just remember "plumbers protect the health of the nation" what goes down the drain, or even what the drain is made up of eventually is recycled back into water supply. Treating solid matter is easy , other stuff not so much.

hobby beeswax

@ March 24, 2012 7:04 AM in why does dan have a prob. with radiant and toilets

yes johnny I used beeswax for hobbies also, very expensive for such a small amount, but it polishes stone very nicely.

Cool about your lead bend, just remember "plumbers protect the health of the nation" what goes down the drain, or even what the drain is made up of eventually is recycled back into water supply. Treating solid matter is easy , other stuff not so much.

Wax

@ March 23, 2012 3:11 PM in why does dan have a prob. with radiant and toilets

No problem Mark, I'm not rying to derail this thread with a plumbing technicality. Any ways
here is a link to Hercules wax gasket ingredients. The only listed ingredient is petrolatum, which is parafin wax.
We also used to treat wiping clothes for lead work with parrafin wax as it has a high tolerence for heat without melting or smoking.
I'd be curious to find any info on use of beeswax by early plumbers, if any one would care to find some info after research please let us know.

http://www.herchem.com/specs/johniring.PDF

lead bends

@ March 22, 2012 6:35 AM in why does dan have a prob. with radiant and toilets

I'm a NYC plumber also, we now use CI bends, I had not installed a lead bend or shower liner in lead since 1989.
Mostly new construction work , LU#1 union . If I come across lead bend, we cut it at the brass ferrule, and use a no-hub coupling. I remember one high end apartment building, we spent many weeks on end going to each apartment just replacing the lead bends. And rightfully so, especially if you just bought a million dollar apartment below outdated plumbing above.

Also natural beeswax was never used for toilet gaskets, its parrafin wax,a petroleum by product. Good thing too, I hear those honeybees are disappearing.

Good Luck with your project.

melting point

@ March 19, 2012 8:50 AM in why does dan have a prob. with radiant and toilets

of parrafin wax is about 130*F, radiant floor surface temperatures should not exceed 85*F. Wax gasket sits above finish floor, if radiant temperatures are controlled correctly , no way it could melt. I too never had a gasket melt in my truck.
As for the plumbing, replace the lead bend, no one really uses those any more, and good practice would be to drill another hole for the tubing anyway, and not use the same hole as the closet bend.

Still unsure

@ February 24, 2012 8:52 AM in Tekmar with Carrier Infinity control

Here is a pdf. of Carrier remote access module instructions.
There is AUX port available, just can't figure out if a Tekmar user switch would
work or not. The instructions say it will accept a dry contact, like a low temp alarm.

Tekmar with Carrier Infinity control

@ February 20, 2012 7:25 PM in Tekmar with Carrier Infinity control

Does any one know if a Tekmar 402 house control with a 480 user switch can connect
to Carrier's Infintity onlinr remote access control at the Aux ports. And online, can carrier be able to turn on radiant heat via user switch from an away setback temperature.

Thanks

very nice

@ January 27, 2012 8:33 PM in wanted to show off my plumbers work

very nice pipefitting , but .... as mentioned way too many circs, and I do
understand your reasoning , however I must ask , were there 15 different supply
temps also requiring all those Taco 5000's tempering valves??
Wasted hardware, one or two mixing valves could have used instead.

Basic answer...

@ January 24, 2012 7:30 PM in Just Wonderin' About Propane Usage

It depends.

What type of boiler due you have, can you lower water supply temperature, do you have
outdoor reset control. With this mild winter, you could have been saving up to 35% in fuel
with outdoor sensor.

correction factors

@ January 24, 2012 5:57 AM in Just Wonderin' About Propane Usage

sure there will be a correction factor associated with the fuel use formula,

a degree day is a degree day (average of high and low outdoor temp in a 24 hour period minus 65 degrees) and there will only be that one number regardless of indoor setpoints, slower rate of heat loss , infiltration etc.

In my reasoning , the "effect" in all actuality is diminished due to the indoor set points thermostats are only one aspect of fuel usage and indoor comfort. Plus, off-on control of boiler by lowered thermostat may even short cycle even more, by trying to maintain lower settings. I'm seeing this data logged with online thermostats which is recording runtime of boiler, while maintaining away temperatures. Boiler runs for only 1-5minutes before shuting off, and bounces on/off during the day.

The best way would be indoor feedback controls, with outdoor reset, with an away/vacation mode that would agressively shift the heating curve for optimum fuel savings. Another way to look at it is don't just lower the thermostat , but lower the supply temperatures as well, or solely. Then you'll really have an impact of fuel use.

heating degree days

@ January 22, 2012 6:23 PM in Just Wonderin' About Propane Usage

you would need to do a heat loss calc for 70 degree indoor , then a heat loss for the lower indoor temp, figure your fuel use using heating degree days for your area multiplied using the two different outcomes from heat loss, (search the actual formula) .

I once figured a seasonal 55 degree indoor vs. steady 68 degrees for a vacation home , and found only a 20% difference in usage, probably less than that once they bump up the temp when house occupied.

st 150

@ January 13, 2012 9:27 PM in Buderus ST-150 indirect water tank raise up off floor in basement?

tank has adjustable feet that raise it about an inch off the floor. thats all you'll need.

st 150

@ January 13, 2012 9:27 PM in Buderus ST-150 indirect water tank raise up off floor in basement?

tank has adjustable feet that raise it about an inch off the floor. thats all you'll need.

Not just wireless

@ December 31, 2011 3:34 PM in Wireless glitch

But line interference can occur on digital thermostats also.
I just recently had a no heat call on one zone , but the rest of the house was ok, this one zone is controlled by Tekmar Tn4 setpoint control. After a phone call to Tekmar we theorized that since the contol is located in the mechanical room along with all the audio-video equipment, and electric, that interference could have occurred , but not affect the other communicating thermostats. Just rechecked settings and powered on/off and it started working again by itself.

Alpha

@ December 27, 2011 11:13 AM in Grundfos Alpha

I recently had a no heat callback , and found one my Alpha pumps has a 0gpm on fixed speed also. I eneded removing the head and found sticky impeller, I WD40'd the shaft and worked it free.

Typically I only use fixed speed or pressure diff. modes, I find the autoadapt feature to quirky as far as flow goes.

I don't see how the pump itself could allow air into a system.

floor joists

@ December 18, 2011 7:47 AM in radiant under floor joists

We need to know:
1) Heat loss of the rooms above. Was a load calculation done?
2) R-values of flooring, hardwood, tile, carpet.
3) Was heat transfer plates used?
4) Was Insulation used between joists?

Knowing those design comsiderations, will give you water supply temperatures at your design day conditions.

24v

@ December 17, 2011 5:34 PM in Tekmar 508 & Taco SR504

He may be able to pull 24v from the SR504 panel to save the cost of buying a transformer.
The Taco relay should have c - r terminals in the upper left hand corner, but the taco transformer is only 15va, enough for a thermostat.