Best Of
Re: Ice cold fuel - like bad as I’ve ever seen - pics attached
Cold air is much more dense than warm air.
leonz
Re: Having a Hissy on this steam system
THAAARRRRR she blows. yup that's the one.
Where did that vent come from I wonder?
Intplm.
Re: Starting a business
Hi, Just a preliminary idea, but how about partnering with someone who does hold the proper license, so you can go into business much sooner? Then work on getting your own license, which likely will take some time… possibly years. Just be very clear with any potential partner what your thinking is. 🤔
Yours, Larry
Re: Strange smell coming off new pipe?
Any particular reason to avoid Permatex? I have no clue what he used, honestly.
GuyHero
Re: Underperforming system in cold temps
typically when the dhw calls , the heat zones are locked off. This allows the dhw to recover quickly, usually before the heat even drop in temperature. It sounds like you have plenty of boiler power? 15-20 minutes yo recover a cold indirect is about right.
How long does it stay in dhw call? Maybe the indirect is scaled and holding the call too long? Draw the tank cold and time the recovery. Some systems drop the dhw call after a period of time, also.
Put a number to your dhw load is it 60 gallons a day, 250?? Then you know how much boiler time should be needed on a dhw call
Another trick, pull the guts out of the mix valve and run the system, see what that does for the radiant flows, it will be an unknown temperature blend, but it will tell you if the valve is too restrictive. If the manifold flows jump up there’s your problem, Vern😗
hot_rod
Oil tank safety valve
Happy New Year everyone!
A quick question about oil heating systems. I just inherited a home from my dad and am doing some research on a few things before I have any pros come out. Unfortunately, I have had some bad luck with contractors over the years, but have had much better luck in recent years by doing a litte research ahead of getting someone over for estimates.
My dads house has an oil heating system. If memory serves, he had the current boiler put in sometime in the early 2000s. There is an oil tank, which looks older than that to me, but I don't see any signs of leaking under it, but is is enclosed in a closet type space. I put some card board under it to see if anything dripped and left it there for the last week. I pulled it out from under and no signs of leaks. Tank is about 1/2 full.
I am thinking about renting the property out later this year. I am also thinking it might be time for a new oil tank considering its age, but would like to do it in a few months when I can put together some money for it and determine if a new boiler is needed as well.
Ok, so here is my question. My insurance asked me if there was a safety value on the oil tank. I see the filter and what looks like a valve of some kind between the filter and the tank. But, have no idea if it is a safety valve or some other kind of valve. What does a safety valve look like and where would I find it? He used the same oil company for years, I have no idea if they ever examined the system or tank. My dad was a mechanical guy, he worked on forklifts and other heavy equipment and did most servicing himself.
Quick note, I haven't lived in a home with oil heat, so I know it is a stupid question, but I could be looking right at an oil safety valve would not know it.
Thanks so much!
Dave
Dave119
Re: Staple-Up PEX in an unconditioned cellar
try the batts and see how warm the space becomes. That will give you some idea
Heat travels to cold, driven by the temperature difference
That thick floor may take some high temperature . So more incentive for heat to go down
Was there a heatload calc and design done?
With those log joists you will not get 8” spacing across the floor, so hopefully you get enough btus delivered to the space
hot_rod
Re: Staple-Up PEX in an unconditioned cellar
I would recommend this article on how to insulate crawlspaces:
It may turn out that the best way is to insulate the walls of the cellar and crawl space with spray foam. This article shows how:
Re: ?air space between staple up with plates and insulation
Hi radiant,
Since even most insulation contractors don't fully understand air barriers, vapor barriers and radiant barriers, it's not surprising that there is some miss-information about them in this thread.
The foil should face up and have a space whether it is a staple up or a plate installation. With staple up and even more so with suspended tubing installations, the gap should be at least 2" since they rely on both radiant and convective heat transfer. With plates or tracks, the size of the gap is not as important but it should at least be enough to not touch the tubing. Having an air space will slightly raise the output not lower it. If the insulation does touch, there will be a slight reduction in output since a little more of the energy will be conducted downward. The gap will also reduce heat striping with all kinds of under floor tubing installations.
Since the foil will also act like a vapor barrier, it should face up to keep moisture from the house from migrating down into the cooler parts of the insulation and condensing there. The moisture from the soil will not condense in the insulation since the insulation will be warmer than the air in the unconditioned space. Don't forget to insulate the ends of the joist bays.
An air barrier (not a vapor barrier) would be benificial below the below insulation to keep the air in the insulation stagnent which gives a higher R value and also reduces infiltration of warm moist air into the conditioned space in the cooling season. If you put a vapor barrier below the insulation in an unconditioned space, it should be just on top of the soil not just below the insulation so it can reduce the moisture in the basement or crawl space.
The foil's radiation barrier capabilities will degrade somewhat with dust and printing but it will still be better than no radiant barrier at all.
Ron Schroeder
WD8CDH
Brookhaven National Lab
NABCEP Certified Solar Installer
Re: ?air space between staple up with plates and insulation
I beg to differ. Output has been studied for insulation gaps below plate systems, and you lose output with a 2" air gap if you are using plates. Not a lot, something like 10-15% if memory serves, but for a minor installation detail and no difference in cost why not go for the best? If you use insulation up near the bottom of the plates... that is, furthest point from the subfloor... you get about a 5/8" airspace which is ideal for plate systems, at least according to the research I've read. Perhaps back off a fraction of an inch from the tubing if the conductive loss is troubling.
"Better than no radiant barrier at all" may be true, but any radiant barrier in the joist application is not worth the money to get it in there, unless you are going for the vapor barrier and it's not much more money to make it a radiant barrier as well for some small amount of benefit. From the heating system and envelope standpoint the money wasted on a radiant barrier there could go to something else. Better (or any, if you're comparing to a suspended tube) plates or more real insulation for example would both have far greater and far more reliable long term benefit, IMHO.
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