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Re: New Backflow Preventer Failed
P2902.5.1 Connections to Boilers
Where chemicals will not be introduced into a boiler, the potable water supply to the boiler shall be protected from the boiler by a backflow preventer with an intermediate atmospheric vent complying with ASSE 1012 or CSA B64.3. Where chemicals will be introduced into a boiler, the potable water supply to the boiler shall be protected from the boiler by an air gap or a reduced pressure principle backflow prevention assembly complying with ASSE 1013, CSA B64.4 or AWWA C511.
mattmia2
Re: Help with fuel oil boiler!
This is exactly why we use combustion test equipment on a service call.
Grallert
Re: Seeking Engineer for Off-Grid Religious Facility Heating in the Mountain States
Not a heating pro, just a homeowner/mechanical engineer.
I will ask a question for the pros to weigh in on. Would gravity hot water not be the simplest option from a control point of view? With a steam system, you have no heat unless you get the water temp up to 212, and then you have the usual problems with venting, etc.
Seems to me a gravity hot water system would be more forgiving, since you can get heat from water at almost any temperature, so your supply water temp can vary widely and you don't have to be as fussy. Also, with the large water volume that you would have for such a large building, you have a large thermal storage mass in that water that can release its heat gradually over many hours, unlike steam that has essentially no thermal mass except the radiators and pipes.
And you have no vents to worry about, no balancing, no water hammer, no searching for the improperly pitched pipe that's causing trouble.
Room temp control can be as simple as TRV's on the radiators, and then it doesn't matter what the water supply temp is. You just fire up the wood boiler in the morning, get it hot enough for a reasonable supply water temp, and let it gravity circulate with the radiator TRV's doing the local temperature control. Then add wood to the boiler periodically throughout the day.
Am I missing something?
jesmed1
Re: Steam not reaching 6th floor
Well let's see. I suggest @JohnNY / He's in New York. Or maybe @clammy or @EzzyT /
In the meantime…
First, you don't need 3 psig. 2 psig is ample — and probably unneeded.
Second, you mention that the autofeeder feeds after it reaches the 3 psig. Where does that water go? If you are adding water on pretty much every cycle and the boiler isn't flooding, you have a leak somewhere — possibly a pretty big one.
Third, as noted by others above, pressure will not — cannot — cause water to back out of a properly piped boiler in any great quantity.
And last — a cycle of only a few minutes isn't going to heat all the radiation, even if the boiler is sized properly. Just not going to happen. Something else is amiss. Probably more than one thing.
You need boots on the ground who know what they are doing.
Re: EDR Calculation Help - In Need of a New Boiler
8-way is great, but not until the water is clean. Then it will help it stay clean.
Re: strong smell after boiler install
Could it be some oil etc in the water line causing the oil smell then coming out main vents or radiator vents depending on pipe system. Maybe this would explain why on all floors you are smelling it.
Re: Not Really a Radiator Vent. What am I?
Probably could get away withit with the huge chunks of iron they called boilers in those days.
Gonna have to take a hard pass on asbestos filtration though.
Re: Steam not reaching 6th floor
Shouldn't need 3psi ever. What are the size and length of your mains and what main vents do you have in place? Have you tried slowing down the lower floor radiators?
Re: Benefits of insulating the mains in the basement...
@ethicalpaul My Mom also grew up in Saskatchewan on a farm outside of Saskatoon. I enjoy tracking weather on my weather app for various cities so noticed indeed just last week they were less than -30F multiple nights and just hit -40F one night. Not too abnormal. I recall standing at the bus stop as a kid in Vermont at -35F which is the coldest outdoor temperature I have experienced (they didn't cancel school in those days). In college I worked in an ice research lab so would fiddle with ice samples in a cold box at -50F. For a minute or two was nice in the summer…
@Powe The coldest temperatures I am talking about here in Michigan are about -10F this winter. My recovery is artificially broken up by thermostat programming turning the boiler on and off for a series of 1/2 hour increments. Radiators are still putting out heat during the off cycles so temperature steadily rises. I also have an oversized boiler to deal with. Works fine for temperatures down close to -10F. Any lower I would likely reduce the setback for that night. If I were experiencing -40F I likely might not do a setback since I don't think my system would keep up on the recovery given the radiation I have in the house was not designed even back in the day for those temperatures plus some of the radiators have been moved around reducing the overall standing radiation in the house from original. I would likely also lower my swing temperature to 1/2 degree when that cold since otherwise individual cycles might start building pressure in my case. Sounds like you have a much more properly sized system and thus can still get away with your setbacks at that temperature.