Heating Help

ROI

@ March 6, 2013 2:16 PM in Looking for feedback

At first glance the heaters cost about double.
The existing vent almost never works.
On demand requires 3-4 times the energy at peak usage. The existing gas or electric lines are often not big enough.
I would approximate the upgrade at 4X that of simple replacement.
I am getting ready to do one for my house. The gas line is big enough and it is an easy sidewall vent. It will still cost more than double with my labor for free.
Carl

It depends...

@ March 6, 2013 2:09 PM in Snow Melt Water Temps

It really depends on the design. We just did one with 3/4" pex at 9"oc. We used 2" blue board and centered the tubes. It runs really well at about 100-120. I tried it hotter and the heat was uneven. Lower temps also put less thermal stress on the concrete.
Carl

Shrinkage

@ March 6, 2013 2:04 PM in Normal Height for Gypcrete Pour

The condition you have is very common. I think it is unavoidable. We normally glue wood floors over gyp. You could use a trowelable glue to fill the gap.
Carl

A little more?

@ March 4, 2013 10:41 PM in smoke detectors

Are you talking about commercial duct sensors? Household smokes? Flame rollout?
I little more would help.
Carl

Picture

@ February 27, 2013 10:19 AM in Automatic air vent operation - is this normal?

I think the problem has more to do with where the vents are. Do you have pictures

Condensing

@ February 27, 2013 10:17 AM in I'm feeling lost

You do not have a condensing boiler yet you are running low temps. You may have to replace the boiler sooner than you think. Your boiler controller should be set so the return temp is always higher than 140.
Your low delta t and pipe erosion is an indicator that you are over pumping.
I think your future plan should be a mod/con boiler, ECM circ, and trvs on the interior radiators. Indirect for hot water.
You should be able to use the actual data from your chart for your coldest day to size your boiler correctly.
Carl

New problem?

@ February 22, 2013 4:12 PM in Living Room Cold (Hot Water System)

Is this problem new or is the system design flawed? A good heating guy takes the temp drop into consideration in his design.
Post some pics of the boiler and near piping.
Carl

t-stat

@ February 22, 2013 4:07 PM in Steam/Thermosta/24V AC question

If you already ran a new wire along a clean path, it seems unlikely that is the problem. Are their any potential sources of interference near the nest?
I have no first hand experience with nest t-stats. I think your assumption that since it has it's own battery, it likely is just acting as a switch is correct.
I have found 24 volt circuits usually read about 27-28 volts

Carl

Pex b

@ February 22, 2013 2:42 PM in Can you tell me what kind/brand of Pex this is?

It looks like pex b.Is their any writing?
Carl

Solar flares?

@ February 22, 2013 11:59 AM in Steam/Thermosta/24V AC question

Just kidding! Jamie makes an excellent point.
As far as your malfunction. I would suspect electrical interference. It could be the t-stat wire running along line voltage wires within the framing or maybe a nearby magnetic dimmer. Try wiring directly to the boiler and seeing if the problem persists.
Carl

Good for warm climates...

@ February 22, 2013 11:22 AM in Hybrid water heaters....

The heat pump just takes heat from the room and puts it in the tank. If you are in a climate where you heat the space, you are not saving anything. In fact you are wasting energy in the transfer.
In a warmer climate where you would be running AC to cool the air it makes a lot of sense.
Carl

Your tanks...

@ February 20, 2013 11:42 PM in Commercial Hot Water Tanks & BTU's

Your tanks are piped with an equal header configuration.Both tanks get the same flow. If one of the tanks is a different model the flows will not be equal.
You may end up with one tank doing most of the work , thus running cold. With your present piping, I think your contractor is correct.
Carl

Tekmar

@ February 20, 2013 11:10 AM in Tekmar Controls with Indoor Reset

Tekmar products and support are excellent.
I agree with Steve that a phone call is in order. They also have some excellent essays on their web site that will give you some background info.

The idea with the TN4 and TN2 t-stats is that they keep track of trends in indoor and outdoor temps. They then "learn" over a period of time what the requirement are of each zone and make adjustments to the water temps. They are also quite good at modulating the boiler and adjusting the on/off differential to avoid short cycling.

When the zones have similar temps needs, the tekmar will pulse width modulate the zone valves or circs to get the correct average temperature. If one needs 130 degree water and the other 120, the tekmar will cycle the valve on the 120 loop to keep the average down.

In your case with 2 very different heat emitters, you may need a mixing control on the cooler zone (cast iron). The tekmar would provide the hotter water to the coil then mix down the water to the rads. When only the rads call for heat the boiler would fire to the lower temp and the mixer would go wide open.

There are also nice scheduling and home/away scenes built in if needed.

Carl

Meter

@ February 18, 2013 10:55 PM in A math problem :)

Put an Amp meter on it. It should be pulling 25amps at 120 volt. You may have a mislabeled or defective element.
A 3KW 120 volt element is an odd one. You would have to run 10 gauge wire.
Carl

Heat loss

@ February 15, 2013 12:15 PM in wondering if they did not undersize my boiler

On one hand, your radiators are probably capable of producing an average of 550 btu/foot. That would mean 71,500 for max radiation. Your boiler is producing something in the low 60,000 range.
The real question is what is the heat loss of the house. How much heat does it loose on your coldest day?
Without more info, l really doubt is more than 25btu/foot.
I think your boiler size is most likely appropriate.
I think you may be falling for the myth of energy savings and short term setbacks.
Carl

Heat loss

@ February 15, 2013 12:15 PM in wondering if they did not undersize my boiler

On one hand, your radiators are probably capable of producing an average of 550 btu/foot. That would mean 71,500 for max radiation. Your boiler is producing something in the low 60,000 range.
The real question is what is the heat loss of the house. How much heat does it loose on your coldest day?
Without more info, l really doubt is more than 25btu/foot.
I think your boiler size is most likely appropriate.
I think you may be falling for the myth of energy savings and short term setbacks.
Carl

It doesn't move enough water

@ February 15, 2013 12:02 AM in wheres your head?

The new taco valves work well.
It sounds like you have circulator problems. Please descibe the application.
Carl

Really??

@ February 13, 2013 11:55 PM in Propane tank ?

That was my point. The gauge on the tank (and the one on your truck) are not that accurate, relatively.

2 #

@ February 13, 2013 11:44 PM in 2LB system for Tankless Water Heater And Fireplace

I am still trying to figure out this 2# thing. Your rinnai will not run on 2#. A 2# fireplace is unusual. This chart may help with the sizing http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/natural-gas-pipe-sizing-d_826.html
Carl

Original Question

@ February 13, 2013 11:08 PM in Propane tank ?

The original question was asking how you could take a 50% full tank (250 gallons) and add 211 gallons and end up with 85% instead of 92%. I believe the gauges just aren't that accurate.
Thanks for the refresher on why you only fill to 85%. It's just a different subject.
Carl

Not so accurate.

@ February 13, 2013 7:44 PM in Propane tank ?

That happens to me quite a bit. I think the gauge gets hung up.
My propane company usually leaves the printout from the truck pump. As much as I love a good conspiracy, it is probably your gauge.
Carl 

No Mess

@ February 13, 2013 7:39 PM in one zone wont close

You can just unscrew the head. The valve is sealed.
Carl