Best Of
Re: 25 Years ago.....
I know of no person in any industry or profession that has done more to educate the rank & file, motivate them, and bring them together than Dan Holohan…Very, very fortunate to have rode the wave behind his Surfboard ..mad Dog
Mad Dog_2
Re: Near boiler piping/replacement boiler
Run to failure..unless you have extra disposal income....Mad Dog
Re: Near boiler piping/replacement boiler
If it's not broke don't fix it.
Get quotes on new boilers (you will be shocked). Then start saving. Do an accurate heat loss and get the right size equipment and the right contractor.
Consider an Energy Kinetics boiler.
Re: Indirect water heater operation sequence
Why I don’t like fill valves screwed to black pipe.
Re: Near boiler piping/replacement boiler
Three zones with 50'/zone = 150' x ~500 BTU/ft. @ 180° = 75,000 BTU. One inch pipe is fine for that load.
If you really want to do something, pipe it primary-secondary to keep the large boiler happy.
Re: Is there a list of the best help forums for the various 'challenges' we encounter?
I have tried to offer my help on other websites related to the HVAC industry, the oil heat industry, and the boiler industry. I have found then difficult to navigate to the proper place to do what is best for the persons asking for help. The people at HeatingHelp.com got it right. Easy to follow a topic and easy to post photos to make that "worth a thousand word" statement and follow the others that have also offered to help. I have also noticed that others like Jamie Hall, Bob (hot_rod) Rohr and others on some of the other sites. They just don't click with me. This is the easiest to communicate with others here.
As far as other trades, like Electrical, Plumbing. Building, Construction, and automotive to name a few, You will not find what @DanHolohan has built here and what his daughter and others have continued to offer for our trade. This is unmatched and will probably never be duplicated anywhere else. kudos to Team Holohan
Re: Snowmelt magician!
Call Therma-HEXX. The 11.5 “ wide hydronic ThermaPANEL was specifically designed for steps. It is capable of snowmelting 8” thick granite slabs, concrete, synthetic decking, Ipe, open grate systems, pedestal mounted surfaces and asphalt. The full size ThermaPANEL is used in everything from high rise ob decks, the North American Missile Defense System to driveways and interior radiant heating and cooling from the ceiling and floor. It is a very high output system.
www.therma-hexx.com
Oldbugsy
Re: Literature on Geothermal
"This is important, because our observations with my brother's field, a big 30x60 with 1800 feet of tubing in the 1800SF would cold soak pretty badly deep into the season. His soils were drier and less dense and not good conductors as @DCContrarian was talking about. We did not get much edge effect and that large contiguous field got below freezing by the end of the season."
Frozen soil is a much better insulator than unfrozen soil. If the soil freezes then the capacity of the field drops precipitously and it's pretty much game over.
Re: Radiant Floor Heating System – Is a 10°F Single Space - Same Zone Temperature Difference Acceptable?
Does the alcove probably has a high load? 3 outside walls? Lots of glass or doors that are low R-value.
Unless the alcove room can be doored off from the rest of the room, I don't see a 10° ambient being likely. Hot goes to cold, always. Unless there are some infiltration issues also?
The key number to check is floor surface temperature. , vs the load of that various areas. 2 btu/ sq ft for every degree difference between floor surface and ambient.
70° ambient with 80° surface= 20 btu/ sq ft. Oddly enough the cooler the air, the higher the floor output. So if the alcove is 60° and the floor 80 then 40 btu/ sq ft.
Plates over slab? How is that insulated below?
hot_rod