Best Of
Re: Pushed off till 2028, but still here
What does that have to do with the statement? there are residential heat pumps that can produce 77% of listed capacity at -30f ambient, add on that maine is not forcing you to ditch your gas heating system you can keep it as a backup and I fail to see why anyone would take issue with a heat pump that someone in maine decided they want to install. I think reading @jesmed1 comment the mention of maine seems to be less of an endorsement of installing heat pumps in maine and more of an example of how a state has adopted more heat pumps without a strict mandate forcing everyone to swap them out.
"So Maybe Maine has figured out a reasonable system that other states could learn from." - This seems like a totally reasonable statement.
EDIT: OK so you edited your original comment to add in gibberish, speculation and politics. no need to continue with this one. I always assume the heat pump threads are thinly veiled politics discussions but come on lol
GGross
Re: Cool little tool for verifying circ pump rotation ?
Just so you know it does not indicate the pump or impeller is actually spinning, or rotation direction.
Mainly it tells you there is power at the pump, demo at link.
hot_rod
Re: Is Steam Heat still a Viable Option?
Boiling the water uses a lot more energy than pumping it.
This is faulty logic. The energy is indeed required to boil the water, but then the energy is in the steam. That energy is released when the steam changes back to water in the radiator when it releases its heat.
So this argument is incorrect.
What you CAN argue is that typical residential steam boilers are only about 83% efficient, in that about 17% of the energy goes up the chimney in the form of heat that is wasted. High efficiency boilers can get to what, about 95% in optimal conditions?
But they cost more to install, way way more to maintain, and they fail a lot sooner (given proper maintenance on all boilers involved) than a cast iron boiler.
Steam has its difficulties, mostly in terms of balance, and definitely in terms of finding good contractors, but it is not inherently less efficient.
Re: Replacement Hydronic system, cost of installation
I understand completely, have edited my posts, and ate the burger which was delicious.
Instead of cheddar used with Roquefort which bumped up the cost to . . . well, never mind.
Also, I just donated 21.99 to the website and only ask that Erin gets a proper burger for having to put up with this nonsense.
Have a great day.
tonynap
Re: Boiler still leaks after changing out relief valve, Expansion Tank, Regulator, Air Vent....
Right off the top of my head I suspect the coil in the indirect water heater has a hole allowing domestic water pressure at perhaps 60psi to pass into the the boiler side which should be around 12psi. You can test this by closing the cold water to the water heater for some amount of time. You can hasten this by draining a bit of water out of the boiler to lower the pressure to about 12psi and see if it climbs or leave it and see if the dripping stops when the pressure get to a tad below 30.
Grallert
Re: Cracked bonnet nut
One quick try could be a properly sized hose clamp around the nut to keep it together. I have done this in a pinch.
kcopp
Re: Ever use an off brand press tool?
They also make a Slushie Machine for those warm, opressing days!
Failing parts???
I was in my local hardware store today. Hardware stores are not what they used to be the old timey stores had everything. Most have been put out of business by the box stores. But in my area we have "Rocky's Hardware" that is an ACE hardware chain and all in all they are pretty good. Actually, they are a bigger chain than I thought and have about 50 stores. But I would guess I have better luck buying stuff their than at a big box. I also find the Ace hardware tools hold up well but that's another story.
I was in their today wandering through the electrical isle and I noticed they are stocking capacitors for AC condensers and even a couple of contactors.
I was pretty surprised to see that as I have never seen contactors and capacitors in any hardware store before. If they stock them, they must sell some so you know the China parts are failing. Caps used to last at least 20 years now it's the most common service call there is. I guess when they took the good PCbs out they started failing LOL
Re: Any Roth Oil Tank Downsides?
Roth offers a tank gauge that is a weighted float that sits on the surface of the oil. There is a string attached to the float that pulls down on the gauge that causes the numbers on the gauge to change indicating how much oil is left in the tank.
Roth also offers a floating oil pickup tube that has a flexible tube that is connected to the top feed of the tank. There is another opening to fill the tank. When you place the gauge and the pickup tube next to each other,on the top of the tank, the force of the oil filling the tank will entangle the gauge string and the pickup tube. You will not know about this until you get to about 1/2 a tank of oil. The tangled string and tube will stop the pickup tube that is supposed to float on the surface of the oil from dropping with the oil level. You will end up with no heat and the gauge will read 1/2 tank so you know you are not out of oil.
The service tech will try to prime the burner with no success. Then go out to the tank to see how much oil you have, then go back in and try to prime it again. Then he will replace the plugged oil filter only to find that the filter cartridge is pristine like the day it was installed (Not Plugged). Then get his clogged oil line kit and try to blow out the blockage in the fuel line (that is not there) . After that he will recommend that you get a new fuel line because there must be a break in the fuel line since he can not get the fuel to draw thru the existing fuel line. Then he will remove the fitting on top of the tank for the fuel line in order to start the new fuel pipe process. When he sees that the gauge string is wrapped around the oil pickup, he will then feel so stupid for not looking at this problem 2 hours earlier. Then he will throw away the tank gauge and the floating pickup tube and install a rigid pipe to pick up the fuel from the bottom of the tank. He will then need to come up with a reason you need a new gauge (different kind) because it is not compatible with the new fuel pick up line.
The fuel line repair will be less than 1/2 the price quoted because he found the break in the fuel line pickup in the tank and you don't need the entire fuel line replaced.
Ask me How I know this?
Go ahead and ask... I dare ya'
Re: Cost to replace boiler sections
IMHO for an EG properly installed to fail in 10 years probably means one thing. Excessive MU water.
I would put a water meter on the boiler make up water and keep a sharp look out for small leaks they can add up.
Excessive MU water will eat a boiler and any returns below the water line very fast.