Welcome! Here are the website rules, as well as some tips for using this forum.
Need to contact us? Visit https://heatinghelp.com/contact-us/.
Click here to Find a Contractor in your area.

Lochinvar Knight boiler problems

2»

Comments

  • icesailor
    icesailor Member Posts: 7,265
    Venting:

    The gray pipe is the exhaust, It must go into the chimney. How they connected it all together and ran it up the flue is a project.

    The white pipe is the intake. It looks like it gors through the foundation wall. Where does it go from there? Does it go through a foundation wall above grade? Hopefully, it doesn't just dead end in a crawl space.
  • Paul48
    Paul48 Member Posts: 4,469
    edited March 2012
    cricka

    Do you get ample supply of hot water from that indirect? Maybe it's just me, but I'm having some problems figuring out the plumbing to it.On further review.....I can't figure any of the piping out. It looks like it was done by a rank amateur....a drunken rank amateur.When done properly, it's beautifully simple.
  • icesailor
    icesailor Member Posts: 7,265
    Piping:

    Ditto here. That's an unusual piping way to connect an indirect.
  • cricka
    cricka Member Posts: 19
    Hot water

    We usually get enough hot water for our uses, but then we don't use much - short showers, don't usually run water in more than one place at a time, etc. The one time  I remember when at least 2 showers and the dishwasher were running at the same time, hot water did become a small problem. But it's a huge problem when water is stone cold because of the "output temp diff" lockout of the boiler - see my post from Mar 11, "More problems".
  • Zman
    Zman Member Posts: 7,561
    What kind of response?

    What kind of response are you getting from the Installation contractor?

    I don't think this setup will ever work correctly.

    The Boiler should likely be a 165K

    The Fresh air is absolutely wrong

    The piping is incorrect

    The heating pump is ridiculously oversized (it is pumping 60+ gpm when you need about 10 to 15 gpm)

    The crazy thing is they spent about 10k extra just in parts oversizing your system.

    I think I would start looking at the consumer protection laws in your area. I wonder if Lochinvar would be willing to verify that this system is incorrectly installed in order to give you some leverage.
    "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough"
    Albert Einstein
  • RobG
    RobG Member Posts: 1,850
    Cricka

    Where are you located? It seems your at the point that you need an independent, qualified heating contractor to come out and evaluate the install. If we know where you are located, the good folks here can certainly recommend someone. I'm sorry you are having to go through all this, It's a disgrace to our profession that things like this happen. However you proceed, you are going to need ammunition from an expert.

    Rob
  • cricka
    cricka Member Posts: 19
    Thank you

    Rob,

    Thanks for your help and concern. We're located in Philadephia.



    We are beginning to feel overwhelmed; we  want to go back to the original contractor (and since the foreman on the job is gone, perhaps they now have somebody who knows what they're doing) to fix what they bungled, but of course we need to have somebody independent come and look at the system and tell us what is wrong and how it can be fixed.



    A friend knows somebody who will do a heat loss analysis for us - we measured all the rooms and the windows and gave it to him. We're waiting to see what that tells us.
  • Ironman
    Ironman Member Posts: 7,367
    edited March 2012
    STEVEusaPA

    Cricka,



    Look up the above user name from other posts on this site and contact him. I think Steve is about an hour or less from you.



    He's got a current reply posted on the "Radiant Heat" section.
    Bob Boan
    You can choose to do what you want, but you cannot choose the consequences.
  • Ironman
    Ironman Member Posts: 7,367
    Some More Observations

    1. The vent cap may be a concentric with the air intake going in under the part that looks like a storm collar. I'm not familiar with that make so that's a guess from looking at its appearance. I can't see an other purpose though for the collar having a gap between itself and the cone.



    2. This brings up another issue: if the middle flue is active, the the exhaust from it would be drawn into the intake of the boiler through the concentric vent. If that's what it is.



    3. it also brings up another issue: if the center flue is active, the heat of the exhaust gases could melt the concentric since it's plastic due to its close proximity.



    4. I do not see the problems with the indirect piping that others here are stating. It may be there, but I cannot detect it from the pics. It looks to be according to Lochinvar's diagrams. Again, I may not be seeing everything.



    5. Also again, the versaflow circ is definitely over-sized, but you'll need the heat loss for each zone to determine what size is needed.



    6. Your current piping will be over-sized if your heat loss comes in with a substantially lower number (and it will) than what your boiler is. Don't panic. This is not a problem and the piping doesn't need to be replaced. It can actually be a benefit as it gives some buffer to the boiler which helps to prevent short cycling and puts less resistance against the circs. The only downside is that you don't want to get below 2 ft. per second velocity on a downward return as that might hinder air removal. If there are manual air bleeders on your rads, then it's probably not an issue.



    Hang in there and be persistent and things will eventually get worked out. Stick to your guns about the heat loss and sizing - it will be worth the rewards in the end. An over-sized boiler is less efficient, costs more to maintain and operate, and will have a shortened life expectancy. Proper sizing will save you thousands over the lifespan of the boiler.



    Please, keep us posted.
    Bob Boan
    You can choose to do what you want, but you cannot choose the consequences.
    Docfletcher
This discussion has been closed.