Heating Help

PEX outside the wall

@ May 10, 2013 11:12 AM in Any advise on pex....

using the Uponor EP angle and straight stops is what we use most of the time.  They have excellent resistance to hard water and are very low cost.  You want to to exercise each valve 3-5 times before you apply pressure to the system -- prevents channeling in the lube on the ceramic disc, which has created slow drips in a few of them.  Assuming it's a stud wall, a Sioux Chief Strong Arm with PEX Bend Lock Block goes behind it.

If you want a more traditional look, Sioux Chief has a range of F1960 copper stub outs that put the PEX joint back inside the wall and let you use standard copper compression valves.  Check out some of the Dahl F1960 options there.

Active solar thermal

@ May 10, 2013 2:31 AM in Solar Thermal is Dead

of mostly modern design has been with us since at least 1939 http://mit.edu/solardecathlon/solar1.html

The true cost of energy has been carefully hidden from Americans for a long time.  If our defense budget only covered defense...

If the system is tight

@ May 9, 2013 11:39 AM in Automatic water cutoff

you shouldn't need the autofill at all.  I turn them off whenever possible and teach people to check their system pressure every week or three. 

Slant/Fin CHS

@ May 9, 2013 11:36 AM in Time to choose a boiler

The CHS is a new line and I have no experience with them yet.  Drawings in the IOM look similar to the vertical firetube design TT pioneered, but the HX flow restriction curves are quite a bit higher (though still far less restrictive than a GIannoni.)  Anyone know more?

Note that the smallest size they offer fires at 85k.  Minimum turndown is 17k, essentially the same as the PTS 60.  

Slant/Fin is a great company

@ May 9, 2013 10:23 AM in Time to choose a boiler

but the Lynx has an aluminum heat exchanger which would not be my first choice for a condensing boiler.

outboard

@ May 8, 2013 11:08 PM in Identifying this trap

If I'm reading this right, they still have a thermostatic element, but tend not to collect debris?

outboard trap

@ May 8, 2013 10:04 PM in Identifying this trap

OK, somebody's gotta 'splain that to us newbies...

Water quality

@ May 8, 2013 10:01 PM in Cast iron baseboard

Any idea what the pH might be?  How long has this been leaking?

How much is the system losing per day?

@ May 8, 2013 9:55 PM in Automatic water cutoff

if it's more than zero, you have a problem.

Assuming the expansion tank held more than the system's weekly losses I'd valve off the autofeeder and setup a schedule for manual fills while I worked on fixing leaks.

Do any of the mini-split controls

@ May 8, 2013 1:13 PM in Steam and Heat Pump

have terminals for emergency baseboard heat?

∆T on boiler loops

@ May 8, 2013 11:21 AM in Delta-P/Delta-T Part #4

because they have a fixed head and variable (in the case of a mod/con) heat output.

What TT Prestige needs 15 GPM all the time?  250 wants 12 GPM @ high fire, 399 wants 19 GPM @ high fire.  The 'Bee curve is a little steep for a perfect match on those low HX losses, but I'd assume the ∆T control would have sufficient authority.

Have you considered trying a 'Bee on the primary?

@ May 7, 2013 10:20 PM in Delta-P/Delta-T Part #4

Boiler loops pretty much scream for ∆T pump control.

How many square feet

@ May 7, 2013 8:54 PM in homemade panels...

of aperture?

Research time

@ May 7, 2013 12:19 PM in Delta-P/Delta-T Part #4

I will have an opportunity to compare strategies next heating season.  We have two Stratos pumps serving over 100 radiators and a handful of fan coils in a hotel.  They ran on ∆P-C last season, but we have wells which will get temperature sensors and controls this summer so that they (and the associated 100+ proportional motorized valves) can be run ∆T, ∆P, or some yet-to-be-written hybrid algorithm) next winter.

Yes, good luck

@ May 7, 2013 11:28 AM in What's the proper order for oil to gas conversion?

and once you have the heat loss be sure the boiler is sized correctly.  Minimum firing rate may be a concern.

More than a dozen quotes and nobody ran a heat loss

@ May 6, 2013 4:41 PM in Suggestions for frustrated and confused homeowner

at least borders on being criminal.  Negligent on all counts for sure.

How did you get to 280k BTU of connected appliance load without NG for space heat?

Sidewall venting (easy with a condensing boiler) will minimize exterior visual disturbances.

What's your design day heat loss?

@ May 6, 2013 4:33 PM in What's the proper order for oil to gas conversion?

Just curious...

Questions

@ May 6, 2013 12:49 PM in 1961 KEWANEE BOILER CONTROL UPGRADE

Can the burner be modulated or fired two stage?

New controls (Tekmar, Heat-Timer, or DDC) and ECM pumps would make a huge difference.

I assume the baseboard is parallel piped - are the fan coils piped off the same supply/return lines or is there a separate loop for those?  Two reset curves might be helpful.

I'm not clear if tongue is actually in cheek here or not

@ May 6, 2013 12:40 PM in Burnham has a sense of humor!

I'm quite aware of the advantages and limitations a conventional CI boiler offers, but IMO they are missing the boat on a huge opportunity for themselves by not offering a modulating version of their G iron boilers.

Most of the magic of a mod/con comes from the modulation and its associated controls.  Condensing is the frosting on top.

U1C wiring

@ May 6, 2013 10:09 AM in RIBu1c

Try this

Every mod/con boiler

@ May 5, 2013 8:24 PM in More on Power Gas Burner Conversions

is based around a low-NOx modulating power gas burner.  Midco obviously noticed this, and there are a number of large burner manufacturers using similar designs (they may well have been first for all I know.)

OK

@ May 5, 2013 4:41 PM in More on Power Gas Burner Conversions

Where do we sign up?