Best Of
Re: Help choosing a new boiler (part 2)
this is the rep for Lochinvar across most of Canada. Contact them for a list of contractors that are factory trained. My experience is that this is a very good rep firm. They support the contractor with training and repair parts.
NTI is a Canadian brand out of Saint John, NB, another solid choice with a good team.
IBC is also a Canadian company
hot_rod
Re: Help choosing a new boiler (part 2)
Again, I'm not a pro, but I've been reading this forum long enough to know that the pros here who have already offered their advice are trustworthy. If experienced pros like @pedmec and @hot_rod are saying they would buy a Lochinvar instead of a Navien because they've had bad experiences with Navien, that would be enough for me.
I realize "trust some random experts on the Internet" isn't an entirely satisfactory answer, but if you search "lochinvar" on this forum, I think you'll find that most of the pros have had mostly positive things to say about Lochinvars over many years.
You will also find many troubleshooting questions, but that will be true for any modern condensing boiler, as these are all complex electro-mechanical devices that can easily be screwed up by poor installation, etc.
jesmed1
Re: Radiator-Baseboard-Piping Complexities
Pity someone didn't think of where the pipes had to go when the framing was planned… there had to be a way.
However, you run what you brung, and in this situation I'd go with the "low temperature" baseboard. Yes, it will respond differently. It will heat faster and cool down faster. The low temperature part simply means that for a given length and water temperature, it should put out more heat than regular baseboard — and either it or regular would respond faster.
But… it will respond faster, but does that have to be a problem? No, it doesn't. Set up your boiler, if you can, to provide just hot enough water so that the whole house is circulating all the time, rather than on/off. You don't mention what the boiler is, but if it's a mod/con with outdoor reset, that's just a matter of changing the curve. If it isn't, then I'd seriously consider piping the new baseboard as a seconday loop off the main system, with it's own pump — and a mixing valve recycling some of the return to lower the temperature, ideally with that mixing valve on an outdoor reset. Then leave the baseboard running all the time (or most of it anyway) with the boiler responding to its aquastat as it normally does to give the whole thing a shot of heat when needed.
Re: Help choosing a new boiler (part 2)
I'm not a pro, just a homeowner, but since you're considering a Lochinvar, you might want to read the positive comments about the Lochinvar Noble in this earlier thread:
In fact, the heating pro @hot_rod who posted the comment above mine also mentioned in this earlier thread that he has (or had) a Noble 120 that he was happy with.
But if your DHW flow requirement is too high, I personally would rather go with a smaller boiler better suited to your small heating load, like a Lochinvar Knight 85 with an indirect tank. That would modulate down to about 8,000 BTU/hr in the shoulder seasons. My sister has a Lochinvar Knight with an indirect tank, and she has been very happy with it.
jesmed1
Re: is 1/2 fiberglass insulation on steam pipes useless?
”Need” is a strong word.
If your basement is still warmer than you’d like it, you can consider 1” thick insulation which will be a better insulator.
But even your 1/2” is way better than nothing
Re: Help choosing a new boiler (part 2)
Yes HPWH are more costly to purchase and more costly to install stay with an indirect. Stay away from Navien.
I would only use a HPWH if your electric rates are low. Failures with a hPWH are a problem. They have a refrigeration system that makes them a throw away appliance. They are expensive and if they fail they are probably not worth fixing. Unless you electric rate are really low they are not worth the problems
Re: New-ish local boiler install
What happens at the ultimate end of the main? Unless it is pitched away from the end, the end of the main needs a steam trap or a drip to a wet return to drain the condensate out of the main.
The main could be vented through a crossover steam trap to the return, through an air vent, or the main could just vent through the emitters and their steam taps to the return. It looks like this is just a conventional 2 pipe system, it wasn't some sort of vapor system.
The return needs to have a vent somewhere (or be open)
mattmia2
Re: New-ish local boiler install
The takeoff for the mains and the equalizer are in the wrong order so any water is going to tend to get thrown in to the mains instead of draining down the equalizer. the pressure is too high. fix the near boiler piping in the off season but it should mostly work if the water quality is good so it isn't priming or surging.
my bet on the not heating would be that there are bad steam traps letting steam in to the returns and/or keeping it from venting. also look for connections that should be under the water line that aren't. at the higher pressure they will need to be far under the water line so turn the pressure down.
mattmia2
Re: Burnham Boiler - Aquastat Issue?
A boiler that size should have 2 high limits wired in series. 1 should be a L4006A and the manual reset control should be a L4006E (I believe that is the correct #)
You should have this fixed and the wiring check. Runaway boiler system is not good.
You aquastat in the picture set for 160 looks like it may be a strap on aquastat (strapped to a pipe). If that is the case that is not good the high limit should be an aqua stat with a well inserted in the boiler water.