Best Of
Re: Monoflow system does not heat well
I agree with @Ironman.
I had an issue with my own house LOL.
Had an old boiler with a Monoflo system 1 zone. The system had a Taco 110. When that failed I put in an 007 and it worked fine.
When I sold the house, I put in a new boiler and an indirect used the same 007 but now had (2) 1" zone valves, indirect and heat. I had put in Honeywell zone valves with a Cv of around 5 I think.
Heating load was only 50 K with a 1 1/4 Monoflo loop. Sounded like a low pressure drop to me. On DHW it was ok with the indirect near the boiler.
On heat the 007 just wouldn't do the job the water was real sluggish getting around the main and this was without the indirect calling.
I took the Honeywell's out and put in 1" Taco valve I think the Cv was 7.5 or 8 and that solved the problem. Maybe I could have swapped to a larger circ for less $$$?
Re: How well is my heating working at lower water temps?
Initial glance on that graph, you can go down on the supply temp if you so desired. Even at the coldest part of the morning (6F?), your system not only maintains but brings up the temp. It doesn't seem to be struggling at all in that 24 hr period. Lowering the supply temp will minimize the cycling frequency but won't necessarily improve your overall energy efficiency as those air handlers can use a good amount of energy for delivery. I've seen many at 500 watts or more. Do you know how much your's pulls?
Do you know your btu/h output during that long 0400 run?
What design temp you are targeting?
This is from ecobee Thermostat? What equipment settings do you have it set for?
bjohnhy
Re: How well is my heating working at lower water temps?
it’s hard to tell the time duration of the blocks? Is it on setback thermostats? It looks like a long non stop run starting at 4:00 AM
Knowing the output of the air handlers compared to the heatload might be useful.
hot_rod
Re: Need best wireless thermostat options without WiFi
They make wire tracers that will follow the wire in the wall. They even make them that will follow a wire underground, but those get a little spendy. A commercial electrician might have the proper tool.
I've used a phone guy's tone set to follow wires in the past, but those are made for unenergized wires, even 24 VAC might let the smoke out. Might try it on the W (the one that is NOT 24 VAC to ground). You should be able to get a cheap tone set from your local big box store.
ratio
Re: Need best wireless thermostat options without WiFi
I know this is only a temporary fix but you could always just lay some new low voltage ther wires around the house and down to the boiler if thats what it takes to get it working while you establish a more permanent route to run the wires or set up a wireless solution. I personally prefer hardwire since it's usually easier to troubleshoot (just not in your current case because someone else ran the wires :) ) Look for a pipe or vent that goes from upstairs to downstairs to just temporarily run the lines, you'll save your sanity by not trying to unthink someone else's work.
PeteA
Re: Leaking new vents?
Is the boiler piped properly and producing dry steam? Bi-metal type vents don't handle water as well as others, and often collect and retain droplets, fail to reach closing temperature causing spitting sounds when met with wet steam (or water).
You might try experimenting with a quality sylphon bellows - type vent on a troublesome radiator and see if it's quieter. You'll find that each vent manufacturer's product behaves differently on different systems; some more forgiving of varying steam characteristics.
Re: Leaking new vents?
At those pressures I wouldn't expect any hissing, and even less so at the start of a call for heat when the radiators are still getting heated by the steam. Closing off 1/3 of your radiators, though, will make your boiler even more oversized than it already likely is and that's not advisable.
Re: Grundfos Circ Pumps- Were the old ones better?
I've got several thousand 15-58s in service over the past 10ish years and have replaced exactly one, which was only due to the homeowner closing a valve instead of turning down the thermostat. The 15-58 is one of the better circs ever to hit the market, in my opinion. I replace at least a dozen Taco 007 annually and even a handful of the 15-42, but have never seen a DOA 15-58. I too would put money on an improper install/startup, or it's not a real 15-58. Those big box store knockoffs might say 15-58 on them, but they're not the same quality.
GroundUp
Re: Grundfos Circ Pumps- Were the old ones better?
Grundfos phased out their single speed residential pumps to be replaced by 3 speed pumps, the 3 speed pumps had been around for a long time, UPS15-58 is not by any means a new pump, it's almost obsolete as is, in some places they have to use the ECM pumps, could be here soon as well. I didn't know the pumps themselves were ever actually constructed in the US I thought they were always assembled here, Grundfos is based in Denmark. A DOA pump is either defective (covered under warranty) or is air locked (most likely scenario) for reference I have seen infinitely more "DOA" pumps come through that were simply air locked than actually DOA pumps. I would say in general 3 speed choices is an improvement in 90% of use cases, the internal check valves were added to stop nuisance calls from installers and DIY that don't understand when and where a check valve is needed. The check valve itself, being inside the pump is a less than ideal location, you aren't required to use the check valve and can take it out and pipe in your own.
GGross
Re: Identify this radiator heating element and baseboard convector enclosure
@ariccio, it seems like your recent discussions are varied enough to remain separate, but please try to streamline them moving forward if your questions are similar. Thanks!
