Heating Help

Did you say spam?

@ May 16, 2013 7:32 AM in Gas pipe size

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anwy2MPT5RE

If someone could find a way to control spam, we would never have been able to enjoy the above.

Great to see that

@ May 12, 2013 6:40 PM in Steam at Work

I worked for a similar outfit for almost 30 years, we did everything but mine the bauxite for the aluminum we used for chassis and heat sinks. We had OSWEGO shears and punch presses that dated back to 1908, those machines will run FOREVER - built like a brick shithouse.

OSHA would be absolutely aghast but nobody there ever worked for a living. I had to design and install safeguards for the old presses to keep OSHA from fining us out of business in the 90's - interlocks and two handed switches so you couldn't get your arm in the throat of the machine as the blade or punch came down. You learn to respect a 500 pound flywheel!

In all the years I worked at that old plant nobody ever got hurt on the old machines.

Bob

This is all a depressing

@ April 14, 2013 9:31 PM in is this where we fall behind other countries?

statement about our country. That any company's first consideration has to be about protecting themselves from legal actin just proves the Bard was right.

Bob

When things get to this stage

@ April 6, 2013 7:54 PM in Condensation/feed tank problem

I find it's best to step back and examine everything again because it's possible you missed something. Trace out all the wiring and verify every single control, check every wire and switch to make sure it is what you think it is.

Something is not what it seems.

Bob

Water got places it shouldn't

@ April 2, 2013 3:43 PM in system bangs

At that kind of pressure you probably had water in all kinds of strange places and it's banging because some of that water is still there.

Can you localize the hammer to an area? Check all the piping you can get to 9use a level, don't trust your eye) and make sure it's all got the correct slope and make sure there aren't any sags (run a string along each run to check for sags).

Bob

It's done all the time

@ April 1, 2013 6:28 PM in Steam experts/contractors in lower Westchester NY for gas burner install on oil steam boiler

It would be a shame to replace a new boiler just to switch over to gas, that boiler could have 10-15 years of life left in it. A lot of Burnhams have been successfully converted to gas but it will void the boiler warranty; that really shouldn't matter because you will save so much over the cost of a new boiler it is almost always a good move.

Smith and Slant Fin boilers are factory rated for operation on oil or gas but would pursue the conversion of your boiler. Gas power burners are a popular option with boilers like these, get a few bids on the conversion.

Bob

Chlorides kill castings

@ April 1, 2013 6:16 PM in Question about leaking 8-year old Burnham steam boiler

The quality of the water between Boston and Providence does have high chlorides, MWRA water is fine. Ask around and see if any of your neighbors have had this problem.

I would get a few more bids before installing a new boiler, if it was caused by chlorides the brand of boiler won't matter. The key would be to find out what you can do to prevent this from happening to a new boiler.

Bob

I fat fingered the math

@ March 31, 2013 10:47 AM in EDR for this cute little 5 tube radiator?

Eight sections at 2.66 per section means an EDR of 21.3 not 18, sorry for the error.

Bob

Going up

@ March 30, 2013 7:34 PM in US shale gas to heat British homes within five years

No question that any meaningful liquification and export of natural gas will not be good for our heating bills. The question is how high will it go.

Bob

EDR

@ March 30, 2013 10:15 AM in EDR for this cute little 5 tube radiator?

The chart in Greening Steam lists that as 2.66 sq ft per section so 8 sections works out to an EDR of 18.

Bob

Plugged pigtail

@ March 28, 2013 7:42 AM in Need competent steam service in St. Louis!

Was the pressuretrol set to 10PSI and then you turned it down or did you try and turn it down and no change in operation occurred?

You may have a blockage in the pigtail under the pressuretrol that is preventing the pressuretrol from seeing the true boiler pressure. You might want to shut the boiler down and cut the power at the circuit breaker and remove that pressuretrol to make sure that pipe is clear.

Please post pictures of the boiler and the piping around it so we can see what your dealing with.

Bob

Thats why

@ March 26, 2013 9:05 PM in Customers are confused when it comes to gas conversions...

I went with the EZ-Gas in the Smith G8. This is a small 1,100 sq ft house, I just don't think a modcon would ever make sense here - especially on a steam system.

Its cast iron and it will work with an oil gun if push comes to shove.

Bob

It pays but it's not quick

@ March 26, 2013 7:53 PM in Customers are confused when it comes to gas conversions...

In the Boston area natural gas costs about $1.40 per therm which is equivalent to oil at $1.96 a gallon. Area oil prices are $3.42 and up so there are good savings to be had.

I replaced a 16 year old v75 with a gas fired Smith G8-3 last year when the oil tank started to weep and that looks like it is about 20% more efficient than the oversized oil fires v75. Even with the cost differential between oil and gas it is going to take a long time to see payback for this. 2010-11 was very similar in terms of degree days and I burned 363 gallons of oil that season, this year I will burn the equivalent of 300 gallons of oil but will pay $681 less than oil would have cost.

So if the cost ratio between oil and gas stays the same it will take almost 11 years to pay for the new equipment. I don't believe the cost differential will stay as it now is but I do believe gas will stay lower than oil long term.  I would not have replaced a 3 year old system but I probably would have tried to convert a new boiler like that boiler to gas.

Bob

MOM

@ March 25, 2013 10:19 AM in Looking over existing steam system

That second main vent is a Maid O Mist radiator vent that is screwed into an adapter. Your main venting is probably to small, once you tell us what the approximate length and size of the steam mains we can advise you of what size vents you should have.

Bob

B diffuser

@ March 19, 2013 1:07 PM in Noisy Carlin EZ gas conversion burners

The EZ-Gas model was specifically for the Smith G8 (mine is the G8-3) and it's marked as having the B diffuser plate. i did not see the burner before it was in the boiler, the manifold pressure was checked and it's 3.5" with the boiler running (the input was 11" in October).

Bob

Retention head?

@ March 19, 2013 11:25 AM in Noisy Carlin EZ gas conversion burners

The rumble on my EZ gas is almost all low frequency so the cover really has no impact on the noise level. The overhead gas line is 1" and the feed down to the boiler is 3/4" steel pipe, it clocks out to about 109,000 BTU's.

The installers had to increase the air to quiet the burner down to a livable level but it's still louder than the old AFG burner was on the V75 oil fired system.

I'll have to contact Carlin to see if a different retention head would help control the noise on my G8-3 boiler. Is there a model number I should ask about?

Bob

Roar and initial valve noise

@ March 18, 2013 8:55 PM in Noisy Carlin EZ gas conversion burners

I had a Smith G8-3 and EZ Gas installed in October. When they started it up and were running the combustion test the thing was roaring pretty good, they had to increase the air to 24% to quiet it down some. It's still roaring but not as bad if it was optimally tuned so it's not as efficient as it could be. The 02 is 4.3%, CO2 9.4% and the stack is 433F with an ambient of 50F.

The gas valve was noisy as well, sounded like someone was rapping on the pipe with a bat. A lot of noise was being transmitted through the 1" gas pipe to the floor joists so I wrapped the pipe with silicone rubber sheet at the clamp points and that cut some of the clunk. Over the last few months the noise has gotten less and less, maybe the valve is wearing in??

Bob

Grey box controls the boiler

@ March 18, 2013 5:22 PM in air valves spitting water not fixed, and more..

That box with the plastic cover appears to be a backup, it does not play any part in normal boiler operation. The grey pressuretrol with the steel front cover controls both the pressure cutout and the cutin for the boiler. It should be set to 0.5PSI cut in on the front with a differential of 1 PSI set by the white wheel inside the box. The cutout is the cut in plus the differential (0.5 + 1 = 1.5 would be the cutout pressure).

Bob 

lower is usually better

@ March 18, 2013 2:25 PM in air valves spitting water not fixed, and more..

Steam systems should work just fine at under 1 PSI but pressuretrols don't go below 1.5 so you just set it as low as you can. The systems are usually a lot happier at lower pressure, using low pressure will not cure a system that is piped wrong but it usually helps.

Bob

Yes

@ March 18, 2013 1:23 PM in air valves spitting water not fixed, and more..

Turn that screw so the tab goes as low as it can. If it doeswn't work out you can always set it to where it was before.

Bob

Turn it down more

@ March 18, 2013 11:07 AM in air valves spitting water not fixed, and more..

The pressuretrol with the clear plastic face looks like it's being used as a secondary safety in case something goes wrong with the other. I would adjust the screw on the grey box so the tab moves as far down as it can, take off the front cover and make sure the wheel is turned down to "1" or lower if possible. That should let the boiler cycle between 1.5 and 0.5 PSI. As others have said pressuretrols are not very accurate but try to set it as low as you can to see if that helps.

That 12 section radiator may not heat all the way across unless it's a pretty cold day, at this time of year its common for radiators not to heat fully. The key is does the lower pressure help with the spitting issue.

Bob

Good catch

@ March 16, 2013 10:20 PM in Ceiling rads and Thermostatic Rad Valves

Yes I did mean thermostatic radiator vents not valves.

Getting old is really not a lot of fun.

Bob