Best Of

Re: Help with NG Steam furnace replacement 2000sq foot 1930 Dutch Colonial

Aha!

Yes - blue circle on left - solved the "where is the vent" mystery
the One on the right I am blocked by no access - But maybe tomorrow I can try flashlight from exterior crawl space access to see what that is -

brokenfurnace

1

Re: The Rise and Fall of Radiator Foundries: A Two Century Journey to Casting Radiators for Today

@Mad Dog_2 well that story is very much the introduction to our talk on Tuesday, but my father ran an architectural salvage business when I was a kid so as a teenager (and perhaps a bit before) I used to refurbish old radiators, cut down reclaimed lumber and clean up bricks on a Saturday to earn a few dollars (or pounds in fact - I'm English).

Here's a 1995 cutting from the local newspaper - the guy in the photo is my dad.

Nick_Castrads

3

Re: Would you hire this Spammer to fix/replace your Boiler?

I won't go back to T and M except for very rare cases. Maio was valuable for the number crunching, though my employers had motives outside my interests and growth. They wanted good looking clean cut ruthless rolling cash register attendants that would be happy with easy work. That's fair I guess. Not a place for conscience. Market rate, in a good market, is what I'm after. Working hard to lose is no way to go. I let a job go last week because the customer wanted it broken down. A lawyer, a request for bid justification, all on a project I know I wouldn't be proud of, no thanks. It's taken years to learn to say no at the right times.

Teemok

1

Re: Alta Combi into an Indirect Tank?

I'm not shy, I'll say it. that is crazy talk. You don't sell someone a combi boiler as a backup for an indirect that is fired by the same boiler. The most likely component to break is the boiler, and if that goes you don't have hot water with either method. Indirect water heaters are so rock solid most of them come with a lifetime warranty, and generally the boiler (not sure on this specific one) has programming to more efficiently handle an indirect, that you would have to lose due to the programming difference being a combi

GGross

2

Re: Online BTU calculator

No worry, I will not move in until all the reno are over, and that includes the new insulation in the attic. That's pretty much the only variable that will change anyways. So I use an insulated attic in my calculation in the app, and that is the results I shared of higher than 9000BTU.

PieCa

1

solar heated cast radiator, see it heat

I have this radiator fed directly from a 40 gallon solar supply.
The radiator is bottom feed, bottom return, flowing 3.5 gpm.
Shop is about 66°F. Tank was about 105°F when I started circulating.

After about 6 minutes of run time the radiator is warming nicely.

Observations: high flow does heat cast radiators, even with flow straight across the bottom. I drilled a manual bleeder into one of the "flowers" on one end top section.
.

hot_rod

1

Re: Does It Pay To Fix Steam Traps?

Once again, a great perspective on steam heating.

BruceLundeen

1

Does It Pay To Fix Steam Traps?

Does It Pay To Fix Steam Traps?

It pays to fix old steam traps, but probably not in the way you think. In this episode, Dan Holohan shares how experts in the 1970s speculated on how quickly steam-trap repair would pay back, but missed an important factor.

Read the full story here

HeatingHelp

2

Re: Love these Long Radius Fittings...

We used those long sweep combos on horizontal piping runs. A nice flow path without a glue joint in the middle.

hot_rod

1

100+ Year Old Steam Boiler

My system has always worked well. May not be the most efficient, but it has served us well for at least through this heat season. I cleaned out the control and valve box recently and may have disrupted the thermocouple. The unit will not light when the thermostat calls for heat. I can jump the system on the second and 4th terminal and it will light and turn off when it reaches the setting on the thermostat. It is very difficult to access the system from the valve box. Do I need to remove the fire brick to gain access? Also, I noticed the brick has been patched in the past, where can I get another if this one falls apart?. Thanks.

posiecki

1