Best Of
Re: needing some help identifying some of the piping in my steam system
Sir, you should address that Friable ACM on the piping soon. Everyone in the house is breathing those asbestos fibers that go airborne very easily. Please get it properly removed. If you are in the Tristate Area I have a fantastic company to recd. Mad Dog
Re: needing some help identifying some of the piping in my steam system
Argh! Don't replace the valves the "don't work". Repair and refurbish them — not hard to do — but they are an integral part of the system!
Re: Air in boiler feed water
I can't stress enough how much of a bad idea it is to replace coin vents on radiators, convectors and fan coils with automatic air vents. So many times I have seen the air vents either fail and cause flooding, property damage, ceilings falling apart, etc. Or they cause air to be sucked into the system when the boiler pressure isn't high enough. That sounds like it might be a possibility for the cause of your problems.
Re: How to seal exhaust flue pipe?
I have a reducer made if my supplier does not have one.
Structo-lite is the miracle material! It's like joint compound but stiffer and 50% lighter,so it doesn't plop out. It's like plaster mixed with vermiculite. Sets up quickly. Fantastic for filling large holes on lath in plaster, or for fireproofing. You can trowel it onto wire lath overhead like stucco. Great for fireproofing ceilings. The Heaterman speaks sooth!
Re: oversized water heater
Legionella protection makes sense in cases of hospitals, retirement homes, places where people are ill opr have compromised immune systems.
Every home in America??? I suppose it like buying insurance, what type of policy, how much coverage, etc, etc.
The mixing valve is a simple inexpensive solution, and it extends your WH output.
I think tank life is shortened with higher operating condition, more mineral precipitation.
Pros and cons
hot_rod
Re: A2W efficiency and calculating BTUh per SqFt....
@CWHudson said:
"This shows my structure needing between 1 and 2.5 BTUh per square foot to maintain my 70F interior temp."
As you know, that's your electrical usage converted directly to BTU, before applying the COP. If your average COP is, say 3.5, then your actual heat loss was between 3.5 BTU/hr/sq ft and 8.75 BTU/hr/sq ft. That doesn't sound unreasonable to me given your highly insulated, tight envelope and your relatively mild climate.
"an average of 1.1 BTUh per sq ft for every hour of February."
Again, that's before applying the COP. So if your average COP was 3.5, your envelope lost an average of about 4 BTU/hr/sq ft. Again, very good, but believable for your envelope and climate.
For a rough comparison, here in the Boston area, in a 100-year-old house with some envelope upgrades, we lost about 10 BTU/hr/sq ft average, with about 70% more HDD's than you. After correcting for HDD's, your envelope in my climate would have lost about 7 BTU/hr/sq ft, so your much better insulated envelope loses 30% less heat than mine, which is believable.
If you say what make/model heat pump you have, that would help to know what actual COP you are probably getting.
jesmed1
Re: Oldest Boiler
Hi, I like the olde style phone number on the thermometer 😊
Yours, Larry
Re: Honeywell L8148J Aquastat bulb seized.
Don't replace that aquastat with another L8148J. I would install a Resideo L7224U or Hydrolevel 3250. Both are superior to L8148 and have features that will improve the boiler efficiency and help you save money on fuel. And they are both less expensive than a L8148J.
Re: Help with hydronic piping to reduce hammer from circ pump
Are those Honeywell zone valves, the 8043?
Usually ZV hammer is caused by a fast closing valve against a high velocity flow, flow above 4 FPS, perhaps. It's more about the speed, not the volume of the fluid.
However if the ∆P circ is on the correct setting it should easily address the velocity? What circ do you have and what is the gpm or W. when the valve makes the noise?
One common hack for the HW is to remove one of the two springs from the brass sector gear. This slows the close speed by 2 seconds, and that fixes many of the hammer issues.
It does change the close off pressure of the valve by a couple PSI also. So make sure that zone isn't bleeding through when it is off and other zones are flowing.
hot_rod
Re: Help with hydronic piping to reduce hammer from circ pump
A properly adjusted pressure differential bypass on the discharge side of the pump should get rid of the water hammer.
