Best Of
Re: Is our building's hydronic heating water pressure too high? What's causing this high pitch whine?
As an example, assuming the radiators are on the floor of the upper level, calling each level 10'
So 35' X .433= 15 psi. Add a 5 psi safety factor, 20 psi fill is adequate.
The tank, assuming it is sized properly, would have a 20 psi air charge before being connected to the system.
5, 10 even 15 psi increase as the water heats from room temperature to 180°F is not unreasonable. On a system with a properly sized 50 psi relief 35 psi is not an issue.
hot_rod
Re: Does underwater near-boiler piping act as a sacrificial anode for a steam boiler?
I been in this business for forty years both as an installer, repair tech and consultant. I have seen buildings with underground wet returns last for more than 20 years, buildings with above ground wet returns in them for as long as 50 years and of course dry returns in some buildings for 75 years.
If you look at the real old buildings you find that the fittings were cast iron and no corrosion occurred where brass or copper was installed into the cast iron fittings.
Today many jobs are done with steel fittings, even there it is rare that for the brass or copper fittings will corrode to point that a leak will occur in 20 years.
Every thing depends on how much air is in solution with condensate return.
to lessen galvanic action dielectric grease can be used in lieu of pipe compound.
Jake
Re: Help with boiler starting up
Banging can be caused by a number of things. You touched on making sure the radiator condensate drains properly, Draining the system (not sure how that does anything) and making sure the air vents are working. Other causes are water pooling in a pipe somewhere. If condensation does not drain back to the boiler and for some reason us stuck in a sagging main or branch that is no longer properly pitched, that can cause the radiator not to heat properly and banging. If your main vent is not properly located, that can cause premature vent failure
Other reasons for banging are incorrect near boiler piping, poorly designed Hartford Loop, wet steam entering the main(s)
There is a great book you may want to purchase in the store if you are new to steam heat.
Re: Short cycling boiler. I'm stumped.
Great job Anthony,
You ruled out the L8124 and hit a home run with the pressure switch!
Hopefully, no more issues with it!
LRCCBJ
Re: From Wall Hung to Cast Iron -- radiant / baseboard / indirect hot water
On a cold night (At or near your design low) See if that boiler cycles on and off and there corresponding times
pecmsg
Re: From Wall Hung to Cast Iron -- radiant / baseboard / indirect hot water
@JPennHill said:
Really don't care about the delta in efficiencies — I think simpler is always better.
I'm just a homeowner/engineer, not a heating pro, but I'm also in the "simpler is better" camp, so I would definitely go with the cast iron boiler. Yes, it will be 10% less efficient, but your building envelope is well insulated and sealed, so you won't be burning a ton of fuel, meaning a 10% fuel savings isn't going to be worth the headaches that come with high efficiency.
So I personally would go with a cast iron boiler. If you have the money, you might want to look at an Energy Kinetics boiler. They are really nice, efficient as you can get from a non-condensing oil boiler, and long lasting. And their Ascent Combi can vent into polypropylene if your venting is an issue. Or you could do an EK1 with indirect. @Roger of Energy Kinetics frequently answers questions here, so their support is excellent.
If you don't have the money for an EK, I would get a Buderus G115WS cast iron (not wall hung as you have, so parts are not as problematic) or another cast iron Weil-McLain boiler to replace our existing WM cast iron boilers, which have been bulletproof and have survived 30+ years of low water temps that everyone says should have killed them.
Again, that is my non-pro homeowner/engineer personal preference.
jesmed1
Re: Steam Boiler swap savings
Don’t dismiss the fine points of dialing in your steam heat’s operation. I’ll add to the consensus that Getting control of the pressure and assuring you have good venting is really where big savings can be had. I would add that you should confirm the boiler is piped to the instructions provided with the boiler (at minimum) and that it was properly skimmed when installed. The latter two points are important for production of “dry” steam. Dry Steam carries few water droplets with it, providing maximum efficiency in heat transfer. Wet steam is heavy and wastes energy.
Regarding target pressure, it might be worthwhile to understand what variety of steam system you have. The reason I mention this is that if yours is a two pipe vapor system and you’re running more than several ounces of pressure you’re bound to be wasting energy.
For example, if I shut off half my radiators and allow the pressure to rise to 3psi, the cycle length is almost as long as it is with all the radiators open but at much lower pressure. It’s not hard to see that one could spike fuel use tremendously if the pressure is too high for the task at hand. There is such a thing as a Vaporstat that is like your boiler’s pressuretrol but it’s calibrated in ounces. It may be worth investigating.
A steam heating system out of calibration can be an energy hog. One that’s dialed in should be very economical to run, all other things being equal. Obviously heat loss is the other half of the picture. But start with confirming optimum steam system operation since it’s on your mind already
