Best Of
Re: Anyone know about disassembly of these full-port Webstone (Nibco) ball valves?
Either ream it and don't worry or don't ream it at all. Right now you have no problem take the valve apart and you will have a problem
Beautiful cleaned up American Radiator
Been a while since I posted, but mostly as it’s been a while since I needed to (or unnecessarily chose to) work on our system… but as I’ve fired things up for the first time this year, felt like a good time to get a picture of the beautiful American Radiator beast I bought, cleaned up, and installed last year.
JShep
Re: New NYC steam radiator inspection law - what does it mean?
Read the law. It's onerous. The legislation will have one certain result. It will make it still harder and more expensive for families with kids to find landlords who will rent to them.
The landlord must include in every lease that he must inspect radiators annually. He then has a 15 day window each year to request in writing in English and Spanish from the tenant a written statement of whom under six years old lives in the unit. If the tenant doesn't reply, in writing, he must report this to the City by a certain date. If he misses any of this, he pays $500.
Each year, the landlord must hire an licensed master plumber to conduct a
" visual inspection for indicators of possible defects or damage of the steam radiator, including, but not limited to, leaking water, browning floors or walls, signs of corrosion on the steam radiator or its surrounding surfaces, any other evidence of water damage, and looseness of the steam radiator valves."
… in each unit where the under 6 year old lives and all common areas. The plumber must then rat out to the City any deficiencies he finds.
Then, of course if those stains aren't removed from the wood, there are fines and more fines…
If lead paint laws haven't ruled out renting to folks with kids, steam radiators will.
With the obscene costs of doing business in NYC, at least the real plumbers who haven't left for Florida and maintain the license and pay the parking tickets can make a few dollars inspecting iron. You see, none of the legion of foreign handymen who install gas boilers with garden hose will ever be able to call himself a "Radiator Inspector"
Re: HVAC in New Construction in 2024
There have been many discussions on heat pumps and furnaces/boilers, so I thought I would put out some of the points that seem to keep recurring.
Heat Pumps in Cold Climates: Why Hybrid Systems Make More Sense: Heat pumps are a remarkable technology, but in cold climates with high electricity rates, they can be expensive to install, replace, and run. Fortunately, hybrid systems with a boiler or furnace offer a smarter, more flexible solution.
Bosch recommends mini splits with boilers, not just heat pumps alone. In a training session two weeks ago, they also stated that heat pumps in New England are not a good application because the electric rates are so high.
NREL study shows a seasonal COP of 2.1 (210% annual efficiency) - that's almost $6/gal oil equivalent. Since the COP drops further with lower temperatures, electric bills increase rapidly. This May 2023 NREL Field Validation of Air-Source Heat Pumps for Cold Climates study shows the wide disparity between manufacturers ratings and field performance, with an average seasonal efficiency (COP) of 2.1. On a unit of energy basis, $0.30/kWh is the equivalent of $12.18 per gallon of oil and $8.79 per therm of natural gas. New York residential electric rates increased 50% from 2020 to 2024, and 4% in the prior 7 years…Northeast states are leading that trend and forecast to increase further.
Studies show 60% to 80% of people turn off their heat pump below 35°F, often due to high electric bills and the air the blow is colder than furnaces (multiple studies p 18-19). That’s often the right choice economically and environmentally because furnaces and boilers will cost less to operate and they use less source energy compared to electricity generated with natural gas (EPA Clean Air Markets Program Data CAMPD 40% power plant efficiency in New England less 8% transmission and distribution losses); and they have lower carbon intensity (GREET 2022 1.06% natural gas fugitive emissions means natural gas 20 year lifecycle has a 36% higher carbon intensity than fuel oil). Even more so when temperatures drop below freezing.
Imagine a power plant as a hungry pizza eater. You feed it 8 slices of natural gas, but it gobbles up 5 slices just to generate and deliver electricity to your home. That leaves only 3 slices of usable energy. A 210% efficient heat pump can stretch those 3 slices into 6 slices of heat. But if you use a boiler that's 87% efficient, it skips the power plant altogether and turns 7 out of 8 slices directly into heat, more warmth, less waste.
Furnaces and boilers deliver warmer, more comfortable heat (cold climate technical data p A230). For comparison, the air leaving mini split heat pump heat at 91°F can feel like cold air blowing at 73°F just a few feet away. A better air sealed and weatherized house with high efficiency windows and doors can improve winter heat pump comfort.
Electrification will require that the residential grid grow 4X. Cold climate heat pumps consume close to 2X as much electricity as a typical home, and EVs use the equivalent of another home's worth of electricity. In the near term, that means if just 10% of cold climate homes fully "electrify", the residential grid will need to provide almost 30% more electricity (and that does not include overall grid load impacts from AI impacts). And the cost of utility scale battery back up is astronomical, they last about 10 years and cost about $300 to $500 per kWh of storage - that's just $0.30 of electricity.
Heat pumps aren’t just expensive to run, they’re expensive to install and replace. In Rhode Island, representatives indicated that converting low-income homes to heat pumps cost the state $20,000–$25,000 per home this year. Over time, that’s $75,000+, compared to a single boiler that lasts decades.
Hybrid systems make sense, especially in a volatile energy future. It’s not all-or-nothing as hybrid systems let you choose the best tool for the job, season by season. Choosing to heat with a heat pump or a boiler/furnace could be for personal comfort, operating cost, emissions, source energy consumption, and more.
Roger
Roger
Re: Can I use new oil boiler to replace old? Old is leaking. Old has vent, looks like new does not? TY
That's pretty vague… old boilers are replaced with new ones all the time, but these things aren't refrigerators which Home Depot brings in on a truck and shoves in a corner.
There's a lot more to replacing a boiler…
Re: How do I fix my circulator pump?
Probably much cheaper to replace the pump with a modern wet rotator pump.
The bearing assembly and motor cost will ruin your day.
Re: Cost to clean a heat exchanger?
Did the tech leave behind a printout of the combustion test? At 3 years old, that boiler should be spotless inside. At 20 years it should be spotless. If there's soot, then the tech needs to find out why, not just clean it.
HVACNUT
