Best Of

I didn't know you worked for Boulangers. Funny I used to run into some of their jobs occasionally. It was strange 1 job would be a perfect install and one would be a disaster. I assume the perfect installs were yours LOL!

I do remember a Christmas weekend call at the Holyoke post office this was about 28ish years ago. On a Saturday. They had renovated the boiler room. They had a huge storage tank for DHW and one of the unused tapings someone had put a black plug in it. Unlucky for me it let go on Christmas weekend. And it was a really cold weekend. The gas burner was down in a pit and the pit was full of water. The power to the burner was still on and the lights in the burner panel were lit even with the burner completely submerged!

We shut the power down and pumped the water out took the gas train apart and dumped the water out of it. Dried stuff off. I couldn't get parts or controls and was not going to trust the burner programmer.

So I disconnected everything electrically and hot-wired the burner motor and it ran then I hot-wired the pilot valve and ignition transformer and that worked so I hot-wired the gas valves and got main flame. Low -high fire wouldn't work as the mod motor was bad so I ran it on low fire and made steam and sat there for 4-5 hours till the building was warm. Then I shut it down and chopped all the wires so they couldn't restart it. Its a big brick building so once it was hot it was ok through Sunday. Monday morning I was back there with a truck full of parts.

It wasn't much fun and I pretty much missed Christmas but I made some good cash!

The service valves that are available for tankless water heaters are ideal for HX installation. 1" is a very common connection size on plate HX. This tankless valves include a 3/4" bushing also.

With a service valve you get a shut off, 1" union connection, flush port with hose connection, and a straight or angle connection option. The side port is typically for a pressure relief valve when used on tankless heaters.

On the domestic side piping you can easily run a de-limer. Valves and Union connections on the boiler side allow you to remove the HX for service.

In some cases it may be easier to take the HX to a radiator shop and let them flush and clean both sides to bring it back to optimum performance. Unions and valves on all 4 ports make this an easy task.

It seem there are issues with the Combis that use a shuttle valve for DHW. It is fairly simple too build a HX external. A pump, HX and flow switch to enable the DHW function on the boiler.

Plenty of options for sizing plate style HX. This one supplies the Peppermill Hotel in Reno, geothermal wells heat and supply DHW for the 1600 rooms pools, restaurants, etc.

Community College for 2 years,

Then worked at an oil company for13 years mostly commercial burner/boiler service and some residential. 2,4 &6 oil and gas burners up to about 15mbh.

In my heart I am probably an oil guy although I haven't touched any in a while.

There is nothing like a start up on a 100gph oil burner and watching it burn!!!

Got my electricians license and wired some houses (part time) for a relative who was a builder.

Then 5 years in my own business got out with my head above water when the recession hit.

Worked for a large mechanical contractor for 9 years did Mostly HVAC service and install. Learned sheet metal and AC service along the way.

Went back and forth between the office estimating and running jobs as well as install and service.

Then got into the Plumbers & Pipefitters union for the last 18 years estimating, project management and pipefitting. Still did some service and installs until I retired. Worked for two mechanical contractors during the last 18 years. Had 14 state licenses at one time dropped all but 4 now. Taught at the Union Hall for a few years. 46 years total.

If I could still work I probably would still be working.
Miss being out on jobs and working with the guys.

I just dabble on "side jobs" occasionally for relatives.

Can you call it work when it is mostly for free?? It's really more like a hobby the little that I do. LOL

UGH! Your high school geometry teachers are rolling in their graves.
Yes, the 2 shorter sides of a triangle ( A and B ) squared does equal the longest side (C) squared.
And 1.414 has always been the square root of 2.

High school teachers rarely teach practical ways that math can be applied. This is one of the reasons we have such gaps in knowledge with people entering the trades. There is a huge need for the class "quick and dirty construction math" It just boils down to teaching in the real world rather than a textbook.

Ask any framing carpenter what angle they use for hip/valley rafters and they will tell you to just use the same rise on the framing square but use 17 instead of 12 for the run. <1% will tell you that the rise stays the same but the run should be 12x1.414=16.968, because the run is now the diagonal of a 12x12 square.

Great video, keep them coming! Maybe the class should be online with this group each teaching a section