Best Of
Re: Congratulations to Dan Foley, Carlson-Holohan Award Honoree
I think HR was looking up at his son, Max , who rose above all of this to pull it together. The shipping company didn’t deliver the makings of the Calleffi booth on opening day, but Max and his team coolly found a way around, just as his dad always has. It was beautiful to watch it all happen. Thanks Team Calleffi!
Re: Basic water/steam leak questions
For the past 24 years we've drained the sediment once a week, about a pint or two of water.week, about a pint or two of water.
Don’t do that. That causes corrosion. Your boiler probably has a hole rotted through it and steam is going up the chimney.
If you want to rule that out, overfill the boiler to the header and see if water starts dripping out
24 years is a good run though, especially for a Burnham
Re: Low limit setting question
If you don't have a tankless coil in the boiler for hot water, it is always preferable to operate the boiler as cold start. It only starts and climbs to the setpoint when the thermostat(s) call. Otherwise it does not run.
Also, the "plumber" probably will set the limit at 180°F. Tell him to lower it to 165°F and see how it works out for you. Be sure to have him show you how he lowered it to 165°F. Ignore any crying by the plumber that it won't heat the house and you will be cold.
In the shoulder seasons, you probably can lower it to 150°F.
It all saves oil………..a bit at a time.
Just for your own info………….he installed a boiler that is capable of heating a 6000 square foot house when the outdoor temperature is 0°F. If you have a typical building with 2500 square feet, this boiler is way too large and will cycle endlessly.
LRCCBJ
Re: Oil Boiler Issues
Too many threads on this subject.
The oil line needs to be tight….no exceptions. Apparently, many cannot cut and flare tubing.
This is a skill that is not that difficult to learn.
But we are in the age of ProPress, SharkBite Mega Press and Zoom Lock and Pex and plastic everything.
Is it any wonder that the skills needed to cut, flare, weld, braze, solder or thread are are on the decline
Techs now are taught to use the newest technology, not necessarily the best technology.
How do you learn how to flare tubing when your on your phone Goggling 24/7
Besides , everything must be done fast now, flaring takes too long.
Bottom line is this:
If the oil can't get from the tank to the burner the burner will not run.
Re: One year old boiler repiped
Yes...Unlike most installers, I like to do every boiler a little different. When I have a system with a lot of banging & Wet Steam, I go as HIGH as possible to roll it around & dry it out. Mad Dog
Re: How Does This Look?
a nice clean installation, every component in the correct location. Should serve you well.
hot_rod
Re: Heat loss calc..
I’d highly recommend that you go with a boiler + an indirect water heater. It’s a much more reliable setup with less maintenance and a longer life expectancy.
7” fin tube BB has a heat output of 500 btus per linear foot at 170* AVERAGE water temperature. So, your BBs can produce 42,500 btus - right where the load calc put you. Load calcs typically have about a 10-15% fudge factor built in to cover extreme temperature and high wind. Realistically, you’re not gonna need more than 60k net output even with the proposed addition.
A mod/con Boiler will give priority to an indirect water heater which means that there’s usually no need to upsize the boiler beyond the space heating load to include the domestic. So, 60k btus is your realistic load.
Ironman
Re: Oil Boiler Issues
I read this and see a flaw in the information presented:
"Oil tank is outside, above ground and its got metal housing around it built special for it...we have 2 lines connected to the burner. My husband changed the oil filer and when he disconnected normally he said oil would be pouring out of the line....but this has not happened....which is what he thought too that we had a leak in the line or lines....so they have been replaced...he then made sure all the fittings were tightened....so that no air could get in....but again still didn't work."
If you have a flare fitting that has a copper tube that was nit flared correctly, then no matter how tight you wrench on the flare nut, the poorly flared copper will not make a liquid tight seal. The person that is making the flares at the end of the copper tubing must remove any internal burr from the copper tube. the copper tubing cutter will always make a ridge on the inside of the tubing, that ridge MUST be reamed out of the tubing before inserting the raw end of the tube in the flaring block and screwing down the tool to make the tubing flare out. If you flare out too much or too little of the end, then the flare will not seal properly, if the inside dimension of the tubing is not perfectly round, the flare will not seal properly. if you fold over a portion of the inner burr of the tubing because it was not properly reamed out, the flare will not seal properly. If you use a pipe joint compound that contains teflon on the flare portion of the tubing, the flare will not leal properly.
I had a friendly competitor that also sold fuel oil the would ask me to solve some issues that were a problem for him. It turns out that most of his fuel line problems were because he never learned the proper way to prepare the end of 3/8" copper tubing for the flaring tool and there were always burs that folded over and kept the flare from sealing properly. I suspect that the new fuel lines have bad flares at the ends of the tubing. If they are bad enough, a two pipe system may leak enough air into the supply tube to make the burner trip the reset with the new 15 second trial for ignition primary controls.
Sometimes having a little air in the fuel line upon ignition will make the fuel burn on startup have a more noticeable odor than a smooth light off that has no air in the fuel line. The amount of time that the burner is off will also affect the amount of air in the fuel line. So a mild day may have the problem when the colder days do not.
Re: Oil Boiler Issues
I don't know why this discussion is focused on oil lines. It's a 2 pipe setup. No priming the pump needed. @Jadams4978 states "When it fires up it smells like diesel fuel and doesn't smoke at all." It shouldn't smell like anything when it fires. Especially if it's brand new.
IMO, more attention needs to be on the burner. Especially if a combustion test was never done at the end of the installation. It could be just a simple air adjustment. So take the wise advice of @Jamie Hall, find a full service oil heat provider and get it fixed right. You'll likely have to pay for the initial repair, but most repairs should be no charge after that. Its not DIY if you don't have the instruments and knowledge. You do know that your new heating system requires annual maintenance. And its not just nozzle, filter, strainer, fire.
I wonder if the installer knows what a bypass plug is.
HVACNUT