Best Of
Re: Correct Venting for faster Radiator heat up??
Wouldnt the heat effect the #2 to close to soon.
Nope.
I can guarantee the air above your boiler isn't 212 degrees.
Re: What do you know about coal heat?
Cedric's home had a coal fired gravity hot air furnace for the new (1896) addition. Last used (by me) in 1960 — that was one cold winter! I still have about a ton of coal for it… and the furnace is still there, but completely unusable and unsafe. Should remove it one day…
Some of the gadgetry that went with the old coal hot water or steam boilers was really interesting — the fancier ones were fully modulating, based on water temperature or, for steam, on pressure, and sometimes on space temperature. Some older houses may still have remnants of the controls, if you know what to look for. The efficiency on part fire was horrible — but they did modulate, and they did hold even heat.
Re: Loop not heating, possible solutions?
Is that a real dry return, and is it thoroughly vented? If so, lose the check valve. Replace it with a loop seal — if you can get enough depth. Otherwise, you could install a regular trap.
Now.
Your drawing shows a pipe connection from the steam main to the dry return? Say what? If that's for real, then that's not a dry return, but a steam main extension It will have the same pressure in it as the main, and there is no reason for steam to ever get into the fin tubes at all, check valve or no check valve. You might get away with placing a vent on each fin tube at the far end away from the steam connection — provided the fin tube is pitched back to the connection so condensate can drain. On the other hand (and the drawing is not clear to me) if the fin tubes are in series… your only hope is going to be the vent you show between the fin tubes and the check valve, and then a true wet or dry return from there back to the boiler to carry the condensate.
Re: Heat load calculation for replacement boiler - double-check my work?
Lochinvar WHB085N: 8,500 BTU low fire (turndown ratio of 10:1). It seems like you will get the best operation from that unit in the fringe months.
Lochinvar WHB055N goes as low as 8,300 BTU input but only has 55000 input for you DHW recovery.
Re: Correct Venting for faster Radiator heat up??
The #2 vents about four times as fast as the #75. It's a no-brainer.
Re: Correct Venting for faster Radiator heat up??
Do not worry so much about the length of time to fill all the radiators with steam. Most of the time a partial fill will satisfy the thermostat and avoid overheating the house. The important thing is that the system heat evenly most of the time, though this may vary in unusual weather conditions.
Regarding the Gorton #2 main vent, you have 90 feet of 2 inch main, right? @steamhead says that's what you need, and you will not find better advice on steam heat.
bburd
Re: Baxi Luna 310Fi
Not recommended. Buy one of their newer boilers or some other reliable brand. Save yourself a lot of grief.
Re: What do you know about coal heat?
I remember my grandma saying they had to get a gas furnace when my grandfather died in 1955 because she didn't know how to fire the coal furnace.
mattmia2
Re: Oil Burner Wont Work Without Return Line
Most fuel pumps on domestic oil burners have an internal bypass. (There is a Danfoss model that does not. so unless you have a Danfoss pump you have a bypass in the pump). In order to make the pump operate on a 2 pipe configuration the installer of the pump must place a bypass plug in the internal bypass port of the pump.
If you are changing a 2 pipe system from 2 pipe to one pipe, someone MUST remove the bypass plug from the internal bypass port. If you operated the pump with both the bypass plugged and the return port plugged, you have probably already destroyed the fuel pump seal. I would not be surprised if you now need a new fuel pump.
If the pump seal has failed, you may see oil dripping from the bottom of the burner housing.
Re: Oil Burner Wont Work Without Return Line
The burner has to be reconfigured for one line operation — best left to someone who really knows how to do that.