Best Of
Re: US vs. Chinese CI fittings for new boiler + piping
Yes, Ward sold out to Anvil.
Just use malleable fittings if the CI is hard to get
Re: American Standard Aqua Seal Faucet
It is always wise to replace the complete stems and the seats when you rebuild old faucets. Then every seal is new.
That is a nice design stem and seal, properly rebuilt it should work fine.
Home Depot has the kits also. Available without new handles.
hot_rod
Re: How do I fix my circulator pump?
Probably much cheaper to replace the pump with a modern wet rotator pump.
The bearing assembly and motor cost will ruin your day.
Re: US vs. Chinese CI fittings for new boiler + piping
The threads are less consistent on the chinese stuff but that can be fixed with tape and dope. The threads sometimes are not square to each other which can be more of an issue. I think I have ended up replacing almost all of the larger chinese black unions with us made unions because the joint leaked in the chinese ones.
So, if you have some wiggle room the chinese fittings are probably fine, on more critical things the us fitigns might make more sense.
mattmia2
Re: THRUSH NO 15E ?? Label partially missing
I remember seeing a tank on here a while ago where the system water flowed through it. I don't remember the details but the way it was plumbed made sense.
mattmia2
Re: Unico potable water furnace, expansion tank pressure
Hi, This is the sort of gauge I was thinking about, that could be put onto heater drains.
Yours, Larry
Re: Unico potable water furnace, expansion tank pressure
Hi, A couple of thoughts. Try putting a gauge on the drain valves of the tanks and measure the actual pressure. That might help in getting to the truth a bit faster… I would want a drain and waste valve installed between the expansion tank and system, so you can check/charge it easily… The pump is mounted vertically in a way that can trap air and damage the bearings. I'd rotate it to sideways… The pump is pulling water away from an air vent. If pressure falls low enough, it could pull air in and cause problems… The older tank is nearly ten years old. It needs a new anode! Also, it's time now to check the anode on the newer tank.
Yours, Larry
Re: Unico potable water furnace, expansion tank pressure
Hold on. You’re missing something here!
The pressure in the tank is supposed to be set to match the minimum pressure in the system. In other words, the system pressure determines the tank pressure, not vice versa. Therefore, there’s no fixed (one size fits all) pressure setting.
It makes no sense to set it at 15 psi if the minimum pressure is 60 psi or more. That would greatly reduce the acceptance volume of the tank and render it virtually useless.
It would appear from your description of flushing minerals out of the tank annually that potable water is also being heated by the water heater. Correct? That’s unfortunate because you run the risk of Legionella contamination in the heater from stagnant water from the heating system. However, there are a lot of these types systems out there from days gone by.
At any rate, you need to find the static water pressure on the water heater and set the air pressure on the expansion tank to the same. That must be done with no water pressure on the expansion tank.
Your circulator is also mounted incorrectly. It needs to be rotated to where the motor is horizontal, not vertical.
Ironman
Re: Unico potable water furnace, expansion tank pressure
If this is correct — that is, if that valve is just a backflow preventor and not a pressure reducing valve, then the pressure tank needs to be set to the domestic water pressure when the system is cold, and the pressure tank needs to be certified to operate at that pressure.
Re: My SteamPunk boiler
Yeah, I would start saving………….and I would save fast! I don't know if you're going to install the new one yourself or not but if it was me, I would size the new boiler and have it in the basement on standby.
But I commend your ingenuity you did a neat job. Just doubt it will last.