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Re: Ceiling Cassettes in Drywall (into unvented attic) Questions
no need to insulate the condensate lines in the attic. just put the insulation over the unit itself and you will be fine.
Re: Insulation for thin concrete overpour
The glass fibers aren't usually considered to be a hazard, but as @hot_rod suggested, if you power trowel the floor they're not a problem at all.
Re: Insulation for thin concrete overpour
The surface will look like dog hair on the floor that doesn't vacuum up No harm, just not a pretty finished surface. Sealers are not a bad idea as they hide/ seal down some of the hairs and can help the cure, especially on hot days, or hot and windy days.
Many finishers spray those seal coats right after they finish the final trowel. The latex ones are not so stinky. It kind of looks like liquid Elmers glue. This prevents "chalking" also if it will be a while before you cover it. Easier to clean also when it is sealed.
All sorts of stuff you can add to the mix, plasticizers, hot water, air, additives to slow the cure, or speed up the cure, fly ash, color, etc, etc. It sounds like you "guy" is knowledgable and the batch plant operators usually know their mix options for special applications.
If the slab is to be covered I spend time on getting it as flat as possible, the finish look is not so critical. If you plan on gluing down, maybe a light broom finish would help. Again, check with your pro.
When concrete is poured within 4 walls like a basement, "external restraint cracking" is possible. Basically as the slab is heated and tries to expand, it has no room to move and you get hairline cracks. Expansion edging helps, but its not so pretty. For a slab that will be covered I would not sweat these details. You basically don't want cracks and shifting like you see in sidewalks
Concrete slab movement most often has to do with the subgrade prep and compaction, or lack of. If your current slab is stable, not cracking and shifting, you should be fine. The foam acts as a slip sheet, so cracking below will not telegraph through the over pour.
Many finishers spray those seal coats right after they finish the final trowel. The latex ones are not so stinky. It kind of looks like liquid Elmers glue. This prevents "chalking" also if it will be a while before you cover it. Easier to clean also when it is sealed.
All sorts of stuff you can add to the mix, plasticizers, hot water, air, additives to slow the cure, or speed up the cure, fly ash, color, etc, etc. It sounds like you "guy" is knowledgable and the batch plant operators usually know their mix options for special applications.
If the slab is to be covered I spend time on getting it as flat as possible, the finish look is not so critical. If you plan on gluing down, maybe a light broom finish would help. Again, check with your pro.
When concrete is poured within 4 walls like a basement, "external restraint cracking" is possible. Basically as the slab is heated and tries to expand, it has no room to move and you get hairline cracks. Expansion edging helps, but its not so pretty. For a slab that will be covered I would not sweat these details. You basically don't want cracks and shifting like you see in sidewalks
Concrete slab movement most often has to do with the subgrade prep and compaction, or lack of. If your current slab is stable, not cracking and shifting, you should be fine. The foam acts as a slip sheet, so cracking below will not telegraph through the over pour.
hot_rod
1
Re: Ceiling Cassettes in Drywall (into unvented attic) Questions
There's a slight possibility of condensate forming during defrost.
Where is the pump discharging to?
Where is the pump discharging to?
pecmsg
1
Re: Do I need a water softener??
and furthermore, most domestic water softeners swap sodium for calcium,, and add chlolrides. About the last thing you want is -- as @pecmsg said -- salt water in your boiler. It just eats iron.Only pure water boils at 212*, all the minerals stay. They eventually build up and cause issues.tsayles50 said:Not for the boiler. You may -- or may not -- want one for your domestic water. Some people like them, some don't.Can you educate me regarding the why of that? Just wondering because from what I read hard water is very bad and our town has extremely hard water. What is the best way to address this without using a water softener.
But NOT for the boiler. Ever. Softened water is really corrosive, and you don't want that in your boiler.Salt water and cast iron is not a good combination.
There are methods to soften water to a reasonable level which municipal water suppliers can -- and usually do -- use. I'm rather surprised that yours doesn't. They are not suitable for private water supplies, nor for domestic use.
Calcium is a problem, true -- it's what deposits as scale -- but scale is removable -- and not corrosive.
The easiest way to address very hard water for your boiler is to steps: first, make sure you have little or no leakage. Then use desionized or distilled water for the fill.
Re: Do I need a water softener??
If the water is bad use Rhomar's Steam Pro boiler water. I switched my house over to it, just because water quality is starting to get questionable.
Re: Do I need a water softener??
Water softeners are good for appliances. Dishwasher, washing machine, ice maker, water heater, faucets and fixtures will all last longer on a softener if you have very hard water. These appliances have new hard water continuously run through them.
Boilers are the exception because water is not continuously running through (more on this later) but instead is recycled and goes round and round through the hydronic system.
SODIUM IS INCREASINGLY SOLUBLE IN RELATION TO TEMPERATURE. The hotter the water, the more sodium is dissolved into the water and carried through the system. Calcium, Magnesium and Sodium all add to the electrical conductivity of water and cause corrosion. Calcium and magnesium are INVERSELY SOLUBLE, and will plate out on the boiler as scale. THIS IS GOOD BECAUSE IT GETS THE MINERALS OUT OF CIRCULATION, ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY STAYS LOW, AND CORROSION STAYS LOW.
and now for the more on this later part: Continuously adding fresh water to a boiler is also bad because fresh water contains Oxygen. Oxygen also causes corrosion.
@Erin Holohan Haskell How about a FAQ on water softeners good/bad for boilers? This question comes up frequently. Also "hydronic" is not in the spell checker.
Boilers are the exception because water is not continuously running through (more on this later) but instead is recycled and goes round and round through the hydronic system.
SODIUM IS INCREASINGLY SOLUBLE IN RELATION TO TEMPERATURE. The hotter the water, the more sodium is dissolved into the water and carried through the system. Calcium, Magnesium and Sodium all add to the electrical conductivity of water and cause corrosion. Calcium and magnesium are INVERSELY SOLUBLE, and will plate out on the boiler as scale. THIS IS GOOD BECAUSE IT GETS THE MINERALS OUT OF CIRCULATION, ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY STAYS LOW, AND CORROSION STAYS LOW.
and now for the more on this later part: Continuously adding fresh water to a boiler is also bad because fresh water contains Oxygen. Oxygen also causes corrosion.
@Erin Holohan Haskell How about a FAQ on water softeners good/bad for boilers? This question comes up frequently. Also "hydronic" is not in the spell checker.
WMno57
2
Re: Do I need a water softener??
List of priorities? Way down at the bottom.This makes a lot of sense! thank you so much @Jamie Hall
You can use an RO deionizer on the fill line -- but, if your system is tight, that will be overkill.
In response to @random12345 's query as to how -- no problem. Remember that a steam boiler, when it's off, is at atmospheric pressure. Therefore you can just pour your water in to a handy opening somewhere above the waterline. Hopefully, once the boiler is full you don't have to do this often (a gallon a month with a Cyclegard, for instance, should be all that's needed -- some boilers -- Cedric, the boiler I spend most time looking at, used a whopping two quarts last winter... all winter... and it's a big boiler and system)). So there are lots of ways to set up a fill port somewhere in the system.
And thank you so much on the guidance of priorities, that is the hardest part for me this warm season but I think it is starting to come together.
-Tim
Re: Time between when you touch something hot and your brain says " PAIN ! " ?
Yes a hpwh can get to and keep 140f water. Mine does it every day.WMno57 said:Found this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5347309/ "Elderly individuals are more vulnerable to burn injury due to their limited mobility coupled with their physical inability to react rapidly and reach safety when faced with danger. Mabrouk et al.5 reported that when caught in a fire, 23.7% of the elderly collapse, which aggravates their injuries. Albornoz et al.6 have also highlighted decreased protective mechanisms in the elderly due to decreased sensitivity and atrophic skin. The propensity of geriatric patients to burn injuries is accentuated by pre-existing medical problems in conjunction with impaired vision, decreased coordination, and the side effects of medication.7 In addition, increased age is associated with increased dependence and requirement for assistance with activities.8,9 While children and young adults manifest improved survival rates, elderly individuals suffer from a disparate increase in morbidity and mortality following burn injury.9 In fact, age has consistently been shown to be a strong predictor of in-hospital mortality among burn patients,9 its impact well influencing survival up to two years after the initial injury.9" Also, the Elderly are more susceptible to Legionnaires disease So install a mixing valve. Mix 140 down to 120.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legionnaires'_disease#Prevention Can Heat Pump Water Heaters be set to 140 Fahrenheit? Will they maintain 140? Will "Grid Aware" HPWH throw old people under the bus to save the grid and "the planet"? @JakeCK found his HPWH had a mind of it own. He would command the user interface to not use resistance elements, but it would anyway.
- Keep water temperature either above or below the 20–50 °C (68–122 °F) range in which the Legionella bacterium thrives.
- Prevent stagnation, for example, by removing from a network of pipes any sections that have no outlet (dead ends). Where stagnation is unavoidable, as when a wing of a hotel is closed for the off-season, systems must be thoroughly disinfected just prior to resuming normal operation.
- Prevent the buildup of biofilm, for example, by not using (or by replacing) construction materials that encourage its development, and by reducing the quantity of nutrients for bacterial growth that enter the system.
- Periodically disinfect the system, by high heat or a chemical biocide, and use chlorination where appropriate. Treatment of water with copper-silver ionization or ultraviolet light may also be effective.[33]
- System design (or renovation) can reduce the production of aerosols and reduce human exposure to them, by directing them well away from building air intakes.
Grid aware water heaters should never go above the set point, so no it won't throw old people under the bus. If it did adjust the temperature I set it too I would disconnect it from the network. If the utility had a problem with it, I'd tell them it must be broked and me no understand.
My hpwh does not have a mind of its own. To clarify it only turned the elements on when it detected it couldn't keep up and the water was getting too cold. It displayed the error on both the device it self and on the app. It has only happened once in the middle of January, I think, on a day that we had unusually high demand. And it only ran the elements for maybe 10-20 minutes tops. It made little to no difference in overall energy usage.
Now with all that said 140f with a mixing valve set to 110-120 is the way to go. No risk of bacteria and no risk of scalding hot water.
And I've noticed my reaction times slowing down even at the age of 35 vs when I was 20. I played video games heavily when I was younger. First person shooters and such that rely on very fast reaction times where 50ms can mean the difference. I used to play those games on dialup with a ping of over 350ms and could hold my own against those on broadband. Today if I get matched against someone in their teens even on my fiber internet and it's sub 10ms latency I can hardly compete. It's disturbing tbh. I'll watch the replay footage thinking they're cheating or something and nope the kids just respond faster then I can. I used to be that fast. Now I have to rely on strategy to beat them.
Is it a large change no? In the real world it is of little consequence, but it does show up. A measurable change that slowly increases overtime.
JakeCK
1
Re: Insulation for thin concrete overpour
Good advice from the concrete guy.
25 psi foam is plenty for a basement slab, even a residential garage slab.
You want 1-1/2 times the aggregate size over the tube, so the pea gravel works well. At least 2 lbs glass fibers per yard on thin pours. I've been told 3 lbs, you only get one chance.
There are other additives based on the conditions when you pour and if it will be a pumped mix.
Hopefully the concrete overpour is not the final finish? The glass fibers will show unless you power trowel and burn them smooth And you may still get some "road map" shrinkage cracking
Be sure the tube is fastened well, you don't want floaters in a thin pour.
.
25 psi foam is plenty for a basement slab, even a residential garage slab.
You want 1-1/2 times the aggregate size over the tube, so the pea gravel works well. At least 2 lbs glass fibers per yard on thin pours. I've been told 3 lbs, you only get one chance.
There are other additives based on the conditions when you pour and if it will be a pumped mix.
Hopefully the concrete overpour is not the final finish? The glass fibers will show unless you power trowel and burn them smooth And you may still get some "road map" shrinkage cracking
Be sure the tube is fastened well, you don't want floaters in a thin pour.
.
hot_rod
1