Best Of
Re: Backdrafting Gas Water Heater + Boiler Noise Issue Advice?
If you gently "thump" the side of the valve with a rubber handled screw driver the pitch may change.
The same screwdriver can also be used as stethoscope by putting the tip against the valve and the handle pressed to your ear. You could listen to the inducer motor also.
JUGHNE
Re: Tekmar 680 snowmelt control - control what?
Personally I would let the boiler run its own pump.
GGross
Re: Lochinvar Noble NKC199 Heat Exchanger flush
Not if it's got the proper chemistry and there is no oxygen intrusion
GroundUp
Re: Smart 40 indirect coupler leaking T&P relief
Two things to address.
- That is a black iron fitting on the open system part of the tank. That coupling should be stainless steel or brass.
- That should work just like a regular water heater tank. Turn off the cold and let the pressure off by draining the tank. once there is no pressure on the tank. you can remove the T&P valve to replace the coupling and tighten the fitting.
Re: Smart 40 indirect coupler leaking T&P relief
Yes, you can. After shutting off the water to the water heater, trip the relief valve until no water comes out then do what @EdTheHeaterMan says above. And while you're at it, replace the relief valve too.
Intplm.
Re: How can I find (and test) my steam system main vent?
First tee is closest to the boiler steam supply — it's the radiator supply that is reached first by the steam. Last is at the other side of the main (the end of it). It is reached last by the steam.
The main drops to the floor via a vertical pipe at some point to let the water return to the boiler, which presumably is near the floor. The picture you posted isn't really applicable.
From :17 to :21 in your second video you are looking from bottom to top of the vertical "drop" that marks the end of one of your mains.
Your video isn't that helpful, it's probably not your fault because so much is behind walls and ceilings. But the majority of your video seems to be aimed at sewage and water lines.
You might have a vent on this little riser, seen at :24 in your second video:
Here at :28 I believe is your last riser to a radiator, at least on this main. I can't tell if you have more than one main.
Re: How can I find (and test) my steam system main vent?
It goes by very quickly because you move the camera around so fast and so far- a common problem with these videos. But in the second video, you can see at 0:22, 1:59 and 2:23 where a 2" pipe elbows down at a 45° angle and reduces in size. That looks to me like the end of the main. From there, the pipe goes horizontal for a short distance, then drops and goes back into the boiler.
Now, at 0:23 in the second video, you can see a tee with a smallish pipe going up into the ceiling. At 1:25 you can see the same pipe coming up from the main toward a square hole in the ceiling, and a coupling screwed onto it. I bet your main vent is screwed into that coupling.
Having a steam main running around the perimeter of a basement is not uncommon at all. There is a neighborhood in Baltimore called Radnor-Winston where almost all the houses have this type of main.
Re: K-Flex Titan
You’d need Kfkex Titan HT not their standard offering. Otherwise it will crumble at sustained 212f temperatures.
it has a lower R value per inch than fiberglass and won’t work as well.
the higher quality US made fiberglass like
https://buyinsulationproducts.com/ sells is less prone to loose fiber shards and has a more moisture resistant rubberized paper type jacket. Add Zeston PVC pipe insulation jackets over fiberglass pipe insulation if you want to encapsulate it with a completely waterproof and cleanable surface.
Waher
Re: Heat Pump vs In floor radiant electric boiler
with a slab on grade you will want to insulate it regardless if the heating type
At that point the cost if the pex is all you need to have clean, quiet , comfortable radiant system options
If you use pex you have many heat source options electric boiler , heat pump, wood, lp, solar
Find a knowledgeable local contractor to run some load numbers and give you options
I met a handful of knowledgeable hydronic contractors in your area on a recent training visit up there.
Hannah, at macleodandgrant.com could probably get you some names
hot_rod
Re: Heat Pump vs In floor radiant electric boiler
it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. If going with a ducted heat pump, electric resistance radiant in the bathrooms would be a nice feature.
