Best Of
Re: Heat sizing question
I used to do a lot of work in southern NJ. I ran my own company then sold it and worked for another contractor. That contractor required the estimator to include a manual J load calculation to accompany the heating equipment size we put on our estimates. Then another contractor I worked for also required the load calculation to accompany the equipment selection for the sales contract. No calculation, no approval of the work. this protected their customers form a lazy salesman that was not going to take the time to measure up the home and specify using an arbitrary rule of thumb. then I operated my own business again. For over 35 years of working in southern, NJ every job that I quoted a new heating or air-conditioning system for has a manual J load calculation in the file with the sold contract.
I can tell you from experience that selling a smaller heater or air conditioner than the competition that uses your method for sizing equipment was very successful for me. the prices came in lower as a result of using lower price equipment, (the 40,000 BTU unit was always less expensive than the 80,000 or 100,000 BTU unit of the same model equipment). Then when you needed to match up ductwork for the larger oversized equipment, or the pipe size for the larger boiler, they always came in higher with the number if register outlets and trunk duct sizes or pipe fittings on the boiler jobs.
If you are going to do this for a living, you need to learn how to do heat loss calculations, or hire someone who does. And NJ and MD are in the same climate zone and I don't remember any of my heat loss calculations for a standard residential home being anywhere near 30, BTU per sq ft.
How often are the warehouse doors opening in the winter? 10% 0r 50% of the time? what insulation is in the walls? How many windows are in the walls? Glass looses more BTUh per sq ft, than an insulated wall. So you 30 BTU per sq ft may be right on, or way off. Tough to tell.
I was doing my own whole house load calculations in 1980. It's never too late to start to do it right.
Re: Exterior insulation on foundation wall
"If insulating below grade makes basement warmer in winter then won't it make basement warmer in summer as well? Without A/C a cool basement in summer can be a feature."
Hi, I'll suggest that insulation below grade slows heat loss rather than warming the basement… so it doesn't get as cold. In summer, it will slow heat gain. In both cases, exterior insulation makes the thermal mass of the foundation walls part of what tempers the basement, helping to prevent highs and lows. For a basement to heat up in summer, some big internal gain would have to be present. Seems 🤔
Yours, Larry
Re: Dope & tape?
There is no requirement to use yellow "gas Teflon tape" on gas or anything else. Regular Teflon is allowed.
On fuel oil piping no Teflon tape is allowed which is a stupid requirement IMHO.
I have always been happy with regular Teflon tape. I don't care for 'Blue Monster" and never tried the yellow tape.
Re: Heat sizing question
The correct answer is to perform a load calc
Well insulated and sealed buildings built to today's codes should be in the 20 or lower number
Oversizing equipment is a bad deal deal for fuel consumption, excessive cycling, and low return temperatures
ACH on storage or warehouses could be a big number.
hot_rod
Re: Replacing cast iron piping
You can crack Cast Iron elbows with a sledge hammer. That will get you to the threaded pipe end that can then be converted to copper to female adapter for easy repipe job.
I have also used 2 pipe wrenches with a come-along to pull the handles together and break the pipes loose with brute force leaving you with a female thread to use a copper x male adaptor for an easy repipe
Trying to get all the new piping from the new boiler to the existing system piping will be difficult. It can be done if you have a pipe threader, but shy of that, you can make custom length pipes with copper much easier. If you are not that good at soldering 1-1/2” fittings, then you might look into renting a propress tool and using the no solder approach.
CGa-6 is a pretty big boiler with 122,000 NET output. If you really need that much heat, that will require a 1-1/4" one pipe main and those photos look like you have a 1" main with a 3/4" branch to the radiator. How big is your McMansion? I have a feeling that you an use a CGa-4 if you do a proper load calculation. maybe even smaller. If you are using the old boiler size as a reference for the new boiler and then going a little bigger just for good measure, then you will surely be purchasing an inefficient oversizes boiler for your system.
I know this is not a steam boiler but this story goes to the point here about properly sizing your new boiler. .
Re: Exterior insulation on foundation wall
Showed that FH article to a structural engineer when I was doing my church project — about 5 years ago now while COVID was going on. We both questioned the "second" wall out over the foam. The first problem with anhything odd is getting someone to design it and the next is finding someone to build it. Or agree to built it and then actually be able to get the crew to do it. And at what aditional cost ?
My parents built a ICF building. It was a beach house designed to take a hurricane. I built a ISP building years ago because it seemed like a good Idea at the time for the project and I had an idea of buying an old barn timber frame in the near future and constructing an ISP around it. Both thoses projects had reasons for doing something out of the norm and both were even possible because there were contractors around at the time doing that type of construction. My parents never really liked the house and the ISP has been a problem since day one.
TAG
Re: Height difference between primary and emergency low water cutouts
If that were mine, I'd get rid of that secondary float LWCO. Then I'd remove the plug from tapping P in the following diagram:
and install a probe-type manual-reset LWCO therein. This would sidestep the blow-down issues, at least for the secondary LWCO.
On a gravity-return job, I'd remove the plug from tapping F2 and put my primary LWCO probe there. The M&M PS-801 will fit that space, but the Hydrolevel Safeguard/CycleGuard 450 or the M&M FPC-1000 would need a remote probe.
We all know folks don't blow down float LWCOs like they should, so this solves the problem. It also eliminates all those moving parts. We have installed 80-series steamers this way for years, and never had a problem.
Re: Compliance with NYC heating laws & resident comfort: send heat all day, or only when code requires?
I worked at the Boston P&DC as a technician for the last eight years of my working life. We were the main mail processing plant for immediate Boston area. One of our fellow employees came down with Legionella in 2007. Two others were diagnosed with the same thing but their cases were were mild. This one mail handler was very sick and ended op retired on disability.
The cause was traced down to a dead ended pipe that festered and found it;s way to a water fountain. The disease is opportunistic and can kill a susceptible person. The water system was floshed and any dead ended pipes were dealt with.
Bob
BobC
