Heating Help

Been waiting for the Android version

@ May 15, 2013 2:18 PM in Slant/Fin heat loss app

and just installed it -- thanks!

how many GPM?

@ May 15, 2013 1:08 PM in zone valve question

really is the question.  Belimo makes good stuff -- I greatly prefer their CCVs over zone valves.

What you are likely missing is the opportunity to tune the flow for each zone independently, which would be trivial using separate ECM pumps.  Adding circuit setters or proportionally-controlled CCVs would probably cost more at those flow rates.

I can control them with a TRIAC

@ May 14, 2013 5:39 PM in Cadet Combi boiler

for under $50, but there's the time and hassle of piecing it together plus the inefficiency of both motor and controller.  Those little ecocircs move water using almost no electricity and the variable speed dial is already there.  Just wish they'd give us a 0-10V input option for them.

The switching power supplies used in ECM circs should be designed to run on 90-250V (like computers have for almost two decades.)  Even better if they extended the uper range to 300V, which would allow use on one leg of a 480 service.

I've been using the Wilo Stratos on 208V here and have not had any dropouts yet.

union circ

@ May 14, 2013 4:27 PM in Cadet Combi boiler

that we can control somehow, preferably ECM, similar in size to the little ecocirc or even the larger one.

hybrid systems

@ May 14, 2013 3:29 PM in Cadet Combi boiler

and the control thereof is what I prefer to build, but I'm always looking for better answers.  We have several times the heating degree-days here as we do cooling, but the challenges for a small house (of which we have many) come from both cost and equipment space.

I wish Daikin made the Monobloc Althermas in smaller sizes.

Affordable boilers

@ May 14, 2013 2:54 PM in Cadet Combi boiler

as you've pointed out before, ROI gets pretty ugly when you're heating only a few months with a small heat loss.

Most of the magic of a mod/con comes from modulation, so why can't we have some of that US Boiler G-series iron paired with a modulating (or even a two-stage) burner?

and there is the issue

@ May 14, 2013 11:29 AM in Cadet Combi boiler

if they can find a way to sell them for $500-600 more than an equivalent output CI boiler they will have a winner -- as long as they don't develop some form of midlife meltdown or require inordinate amounts of service in order not to.

Metric union pumps

@ May 13, 2013 10:54 PM in Cadet Combi boiler

What can we actually buy here in terms of small ECM union pumps?  Stratos Pico never made it as far as I know, and the true microcircs are even rarer.

thanks...

Webstone rocks

@ May 13, 2013 10:52 PM in Cadet Combi boiler

Great products, fair pricing, constant innovation.

We do think alike

@ May 13, 2013 4:37 PM in Cadet Combi boiler

But at 2.1 GPM and 3.9 ft of head I can live with it.  Finding a small enough pump is the challenge there -- I'm looking at the ecocirc e-series for them, but will need to figure out how to pipe them so they can be flushed and serviced.  What we really need is those metric union threads all the small EU pumps come with, but everything here has flanges.  A union on one side and a Webstone union ball drain on the other might work...

The biggest question (other than stability and reliability) at this point for me is cost.  The generic contractor price I got from the rep is slightly more than what we pay for a PTS60.  If the "bought right, shipped right" deal for distributors allows them to sell it for what I hope it does, we may have a winner.

CDN040

@ May 13, 2013 3:37 PM in Cadet Combi boiler

is indeed the interesting one for us  Looking to see what kind of deal we can get on them for next season, but would love to have a firsthand report from someone before we jump.

Intermittent Heating

@ May 13, 2013 1:19 PM in What is the most effective heating system for Schools & Intermittent use buildings?

Thanks, Terry.  Makes a lot of sense, especially with those old leaky buildings.

As envelopes are improved, where does the crossover point (setback versus shutdown) end up?  I know several residential steam systems which won't tolerate more than about 4F setbacks.  If they had an array of boilers downstairs which could be marshaled every morning they could recover in time, but would it actually save fuel?

Garbage disposals

@ May 12, 2013 4:29 PM in Need opinions on kitchen faucet brands

agreed - strongly.  Learned to live without one when we moved to a place with an old 750 gallon septic.  Got used to it (and the lack of leaks, clogs, and maintenance) and never looked back.

Thanks for the pointer - I'll be installing one next weekend!

Dishmaster Faucet

@ May 12, 2013 4:14 PM in Need opinions on kitchen faucet brands

wow, a blast from the past!  I remember that M76 at a couple of neighbors' houses when I was a kid.

When I have to deal with the consequences of a bad design

@ May 12, 2013 4:01 PM in Need opinions on kitchen faucet brands

several times a day, it bugs me.  Little stuff like that makes more of a difference than most people even realize.

Nice design on those extra deep models -- I think I'll try one out.  Know who makes them?  I hate to ship stuff from the other side of the country if I can get it dropped at my office with a regular order from a supplier.

Edit: Might be Kraus http://www.amazon.com/Kraus-BST-1-Basket-Strainer-Stainless/dp/B0042D5F0G
http://www.kraususa.com/bst-1-st-1-stainless-steel-basket-strainer-and-strainer-set.html

Basket strainers for kitchen sinks

@ May 12, 2013 3:24 PM in Need opinions on kitchen faucet brands

are worth the time to get right.  Can't count the number of bad designs I've seen over the years.  Not sure who makes them, but the ones with three legs and notches (so a 60º rotation either way will change from sealing to straining) work well.  Many designs don't strain worth a darn, and most lose their ability to seal at some point.  The (Kohler?) screw-in ones work, but replacement baskets are spendy.

WOW

@ May 12, 2013 12:57 PM in Steam at Work

just wow.  I think I need to arrange a visit next time I'm in CA....

Deep setbacks and radiant

@ May 12, 2013 12:33 PM in What is the most effective heating system for Schools & Intermittent use buildings?

rarely play well together, unless the system is oversized and the building envelope is dodgy.  A few degrees overnight, a few more over a weekend is about what most can reliably deliver without sacrificing both comfort and fuel consumption.

If you have a way to monitor daily or even realtime fuel use, you can find this sweet spot for each system, then work to improve overall efficiency on multiple fronts.  Is someone performing regular combustion testing on the various boilers?  Draft and combustion air improvements with a bit of tuning can work wonders at times. 

The next step for us is a re-evaluation of the entire system, starting with a room-by-room heat loss and radiation survey plus interviewing occupants and operators to determine real and/or perceived shortcomings.

Envelope improvements are generally the next place we look.  On older buildings, caulk and thermal window coverings alone can often provide major improvements.

Recommissioning of older systems, along with strategic repairs, replacements, and de-knuckleheading along the way comes next -- especially if budgets are tight.  Replacing oversized single-speed circulators with ECM pumps on hot water systems often pays back fast enough to get the CFO's attention.  If budgets allow, then new controls and ODR come next.

Not laughing

@ May 12, 2013 11:36 AM in Old System to new

just being impressed by good old applied engineering.  Nice.

why not

@ May 12, 2013 12:47 AM in zone valve question

a few smaller Stratos pumps?  How many zone valves are there?  You can run a Stratos ∆T if you need to.

It almost follows a reset curve

@ May 12, 2013 12:18 AM in Old System to new

Some kind of semi-magical optimization of thermal mass and boiler sizing?

Checklist

@ May 12, 2013 12:15 AM in Time to choose a boiler

Design is critical, and one of the most important aspects is the efficiency of the distribution and emitters.  If you can build a system which meets your winter needs using water supplied at ~120F or less you will gain access to a world of comfort and efficiency about which others can merely dream.

Hire a good designer, who may or may not be a contractor.