Best Of
Re: Need second opinion on this Boiler install. Photos included
Since you installed the tubing, he feels it is not part of his job. That should have been settled before the job started.
Re: Need second opinion on this Boiler install. Photos included
20-30 years ago, many (most) small businesses would bend over backwards for a customer. They would go out of their way, at their own time and expense, to make a customer happy. That was the most important thing for them.
Today, nobody gives a sht about anything but profit (if a company) or doing less work (if an employee). I cannot tell you how many times I need to contact an individual at a company………….usually with e-mail………..and the response is……………NOTHING. It's about 85%. No response whatsoever to the query. That does not make me happy.
How many companies sell a cheap product that won't last more than three years and yet they tout it as the best thing available on the market? They make it in China for $6.00 and they sell it here for $29.99. Does that deception make a customer happy?
With regard to installing and repairing boilers, the bar is so low and the capability so limited that none of them care about keeping a customer happy………………where else you going to go? Get in………..get the money………..get out. We have seen unlimited situations on this website where the tech goes in, fails to fix the problem, charges the customer, then returns again, fails to fix the problem………..and charges them AGAIN. How can any customer be happy with this business model?
LRCCBJ
Re: Boiler pressure constantly rises to/past 30psi relief valve trigger
@person56 said:
"One additional question is what should normal temp range be when running full load? My boiler seems to hit highs of around 220, which seems like a lot. "
Say what? You do know that water boils at 212 degrees at atmospheric pressure, right? 220 is dangerously close to becoming a steam boiler bomb. The only reason your boiler water hasn't turned to steam already is the slightly higher pressure.
So I think we found your problem, or at least one of them. Your water temperature is way too high. Your aquastat should be set for 180 max as a safety. And you can set it lower if you still get adequate heat at lower temps. The lower the max temp, the less expansion volume you need.
On the subject of expansion tank sizing, what matters more than acceptance volume is the free air volume at max acceptance. The EX-30 has only about 2 gallons of free air volume at max acceptance, while the EX-60 has 4 gallons of free air volume at roughly the same max acceptance. The doubled free air volume means the max pressure in the EX-60 will be much lower for the same acceptance.
But fix your aquastat setting.
jesmed1
Re: Uponor UFH
How about posting some pics of the setup?
Turning the temperature up and down is not recommended with a radiant floor. Set it and forget it is the best and most efficient strategy.
Ironman
Re: Need second opinion on this Boiler install. Photos included
Can that boiler be installed into a header like that without hydronic separation? Or am I not seeing the closely spaced tees?
Tom_133
Re: NEW STEAM BOILER COST
I've had a few customers say wow that much? I can buy the boiler online for cheaper. Yes you can! However do you have the knowledge, skills and ability to complete the installation? It all comes at a cost. True, I might be more expensive than another contractor. I choose to educate the customer so they can see the value in what our services provide.
3x the boiler cost is a fair starting point, but have some contingency money as well for like asbestos removal, chimney liners, radiator valves and condensate return lines, etc.
Re: Boiler pressure constantly rises to/past 30psi relief valve trigger
Sometimes the bladder is stuck to the bottom port on a new tank and won't allow expansion. You can remove the tank and push on it with a wooden dowel to see.
Could also be one of your pressure gauges is off and either the boiler feed is set higher or the air fill is incorrect. I would cross check both with a 2nd gauge set.
Kaos
Re: Vent Problem on One Pipe Steam System
And those riser pipes from the boiler to the header should be 2-1/2", but it looks like the only riser they put in is 2". Obviously whoever installed that boiler didn't bother to read the manual.
Re: DIRECTION OF STEAM TRAVEL
I can't follow this piping from such close shots. I took the time to put the pieces together so I could see how bad this is. Here is what I have come up with. Compare it to the Weil McLain illustration 18 that i modified for 2 main risers.
When compared to the instructions, (with modification for 2 main risers) there are too many extra fittings and pipes, along with possible incorrect pitch that can cause the header to hold condensate from returning to the equalizer back the the boiler return, and even pushing water back up into the main. Now that will bang like crazy
I think @109A_5 illustrates the easiest fix for your contractor. Just as long as the Header is properly pitched towards the Equalizer, and the Hartford loop is properly constructed. that 24" dimension can be more than 24" to get dryer steam. The higher the better.
Let your contractor look at this set of diagrams so it is more better clearer. Picture being worth a thousand words … and all.
The close nipple on the Hartford loop is important. The longer that pipe is the more noise it can make.
Re: Looking for advice on balancing the system in my house to to help with heat and clanging
As the folks have noted, the piping to your son's radiator is marginal in size. It's also long. This makes it all the more important that it be absolutely straight from one end to the other, and that it have adequate pitch — it must slopw back to the main, and I'd want an inch or two in that length if I could get it. That may be where your hammering is coming from, especially at the beginning of a run as the pipe is heating up.
