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Re: Replacement circulator help?
I would steer you towards the brass version, can you get it into a horizontal run somewhere?
That rotating collar design adds some restriction.
That rotating collar design adds some restriction.
hot_rod
2
Re: Shorted Pump
A glass tube fuse that is loaded just above its rating for a long period or in a holder that is making poor contact or has a bad termination to it can melt the solder in the cap of the fuse instead of the element and weird things can happen. or it could just be a manufacturing defect.
The incandescent lamp in series is a good way to test the circulator without burning something else up.
The incandescent lamp in series is a good way to test the circulator without burning something else up.
2
Re: Split zone, 90º tee restricting flow to one side?
Ball type balance valves work fine.
Pull the ring on the Quicksetter, put a wrench on the valve and immediately as you start moving it you will witness the flow change
Like any valve selected to be used as a control valve, sizing is important
I would not crank a ball type valve more than 70- 80% The flow path is not so smooth when shut down that much
But if you are cranking it down that much you probably have the wrong size valve and a grossly oversized circ
Look at a balance valve as a fine tuning device, it is not intended to make large flow corrections
With fixed and variable orifice type, the fine thread hand wheel allows you to make very precise adjustments , fractions of a gallon. If you need to be that accurate
Engineers tend to focus on a type of valve they are familiar with, and spec that valve their entire career 😉
I take 5 different types of balancing valves to an engineers office for training, explain the features and benefits of the different technologies
Variable orifice, fixed orifice, ball, PIC, and thermal balance valve
Pull the ring on the Quicksetter, put a wrench on the valve and immediately as you start moving it you will witness the flow change
Like any valve selected to be used as a control valve, sizing is important
I would not crank a ball type valve more than 70- 80% The flow path is not so smooth when shut down that much
But if you are cranking it down that much you probably have the wrong size valve and a grossly oversized circ
Look at a balance valve as a fine tuning device, it is not intended to make large flow corrections
With fixed and variable orifice type, the fine thread hand wheel allows you to make very precise adjustments , fractions of a gallon. If you need to be that accurate
Engineers tend to focus on a type of valve they are familiar with, and spec that valve their entire career 😉
I take 5 different types of balancing valves to an engineers office for training, explain the features and benefits of the different technologies
Variable orifice, fixed orifice, ball, PIC, and thermal balance valve
hot_rod
1
Re: Split zone, 90º tee restricting flow to one side?
Indeed it would. The flow resistance in a straight line is... just the resistance in a half inch or so of pipe. The resistance in the leg of the T is much greater -- quite enough to make that sort of difference.
Re: The case of Ray versus the A dimension
Oh dear. @EBEBRATT-Ed has put it pretty well -- but to put it into a nutshell, if you have dry returns the A dimension matters. A lot. The dry returns are at atmospheric pressure, not steam pressure (or at least they should be; if they aren't you have other problems) and the water in any drips coming from the wet return to a dry return will indeed rise to the A dimension above the boiler water level. If that stays below the dry return itself, that's fine. If it rises into the dry return, havoc.
@ethicalpaul 's argument is pretty much correct -- for the steam mains or one pipe systems. it is NOT correct for two pipe steam systems.
@ethicalpaul 's argument is pretty much correct -- for the steam mains or one pipe systems. it is NOT correct for two pipe steam systems.
Re: Can you attach a Clevis hanger to the subfloor?
Good job @Chris_L. If however you had the plywood or OSB for the subfloor I would suggest that you support with the hanger upside down. Then add a 2x4 or 2x6 to the bottom of the floor joists in order to push the pipe up from the bottom. 

Re: It's Been a long time.
Neato...Nice clean, sqaured away like a Good Navy man would do! I have found we do mostly rehabs/repipes on Screwed up boilers. We don't do the boiler a day pace we did for years. There are two reasons:
1) We don't get the initial install because "You're much higher than so and so...and no one else is telling me I need to do all this!...but they've been in business since WW I...what could you possibly know? " So, they pay us later...its a vicious, unnecessary cycle...The real sharp guys like us who really care and know what they are doing are the ODD MAN OUT! The Outlier, not in with the typical Wolf pack.
2) Because we have decades of experience and knowledge, we became specialists, Surgeons if you will. Less brute force day after day... up and down stairs with 400lb sections. We make better $$ as Surgeons & Save further wear & tear on the body.
Medieval?? Absolutely 💯..... I comment all the time as we're moving these old and new huge slabs of Cast Iron all around up & down, muscling them in to place: "Boys...isn't it amazing after over 150 years, of tough men installing heat, our methods and materials haven't really changed much ( with the exception of Mod Cons on HW systems)...When you are in Steam land, the old sections are superheavy & filthy to get out and the new steamers are clean but just as heavy...Sometimes we use an electric hand-truck, but We still old school, Neanderthal it. No lost fingers, toes, digits...There's an Art & finesse - even doing this. Mad Dog 🐕
1) We don't get the initial install because "You're much higher than so and so...and no one else is telling me I need to do all this!...but they've been in business since WW I...what could you possibly know? " So, they pay us later...its a vicious, unnecessary cycle...The real sharp guys like us who really care and know what they are doing are the ODD MAN OUT! The Outlier, not in with the typical Wolf pack.
2) Because we have decades of experience and knowledge, we became specialists, Surgeons if you will. Less brute force day after day... up and down stairs with 400lb sections. We make better $$ as Surgeons & Save further wear & tear on the body.
Medieval?? Absolutely 💯..... I comment all the time as we're moving these old and new huge slabs of Cast Iron all around up & down, muscling them in to place: "Boys...isn't it amazing after over 150 years, of tough men installing heat, our methods and materials haven't really changed much ( with the exception of Mod Cons on HW systems)...When you are in Steam land, the old sections are superheavy & filthy to get out and the new steamers are clean but just as heavy...Sometimes we use an electric hand-truck, but We still old school, Neanderthal it. No lost fingers, toes, digits...There's an Art & finesse - even doing this. Mad Dog 🐕
Re: Triple aluminum plates between joists - bad idea?
There is one thing you need to observe, Make sure you do not put the tube too close to the toilet drain pipe regardless of the number of tubes in the joist. if the water in the tube gets too hot from a malfunction some day, the wax ring will melt and then you will have some nifty odors and you will not know where they are coming from.

Now as far as adding tubing to a floor, If you could stack 28 rows of 1/2 OD tubing in a 14 ft joist space you will not get any more heat from that floor suurface. Think of the floor as EDR, one square foot of floor at any given temperature is still only one square foot of floor. if 2 tubes or 6 tubes get the floor to the designed temperature of say 90°, then that 90° surface will give you the exact same amount of heat to the room. Think about radiant wall heat on one of the outside walls, or a towel warmer at a higher temperature. Make your job easier and do the math before, you do the muscle.

Now as far as adding tubing to a floor, If you could stack 28 rows of 1/2 OD tubing in a 14 ft joist space you will not get any more heat from that floor suurface. Think of the floor as EDR, one square foot of floor at any given temperature is still only one square foot of floor. if 2 tubes or 6 tubes get the floor to the designed temperature of say 90°, then that 90° surface will give you the exact same amount of heat to the room. Think about radiant wall heat on one of the outside walls, or a towel warmer at a higher temperature. Make your job easier and do the math before, you do the muscle.
Master plumbing drawing test
Has anyone taken the town of Hempstead drawing part of exam? Any info would be much appreciated.
1
Re: AO smith ECC code
I have installed many dozens of heat pump water heaters of 3 brands: 1. Brad White, 2. A.O. Smith/State, and 3. Rheem. Most of them have been fine. I have had problems with all 3 brands. Motherboard replacements, and refrigerant leaks. With the units still under warranty, the manufacturers have all been cooperative with replacing both motherboards or whole units and they DON'T pay for labor. Sometimes they want the old unit returned, or just the mfg's label, or not at all. It seems that if something goes wrong with the compressor, they will replace the whole unit i.e. a new water heater. The compressors are not made to be repaired! Tech support is a mixed bag--mostly they are helpful. They of course generally want to be dealing with a field technician--NOT a homeowner. They want you to be on site and with diagnostic tools at-the-ready. Most of those experiences I have had, have been satisfactory. But...I generally feel "not right" charging the client for labor--and most times that is fairly extensive i.e. removal of old and install of new. I am now quite good at motherboard replacements. I am lucky if the board is at my supply houses! Sometimes the mfg. will send a new motherboard to me.
There have been quite a few "generations" of these units now-- 5, 6, 7? Some generations have been notoriously problematic. When they are installed well, in the right setting, they are efficient and economical. Sizing is fairly critical--40, 50, 65, or 80 gallon. Rheem also makes a 120v plug-in model.
I haven't handled any of these.
There have been quite a few "generations" of these units now-- 5, 6, 7? Some generations have been notoriously problematic. When they are installed well, in the right setting, they are efficient and economical. Sizing is fairly critical--40, 50, 65, or 80 gallon. Rheem also makes a 120v plug-in model.
I haven't handled any of these.
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