Best Of
Re: The Subtlety of Steam Heating
Please make the right one.
^ That. Right there. The most profound - yet simple thing I've seen in a long time. Really next level stuff. Thank you Mr. Holohan.
Also, I'm stealing that saying!
Re: Any plumbers good at small bathroom layout?
Hi, If there must be a tub, might a Japanese soaking tub fill the bill? Smaller footprint, but maybe some weight considerations 😎
Yours, Larry
Re: buying a hydronics business
Are Your customers stupid?
A story about the father & son, long standing, “50+ years in business company” that purchased my company. I would write a letter every year to my customers thanking them for their business, wishing them a happy new year and telling them something positive about doing business with me. One year was that the price of the service agreements would not go up this year, another time was that the cost of labor on our flat rate service price book was down 4% and that would be reflected in the new price book, and sited 2 examples of labor only flat rate repairs, like: clean & adjust electronic ignition old price $62.59 new price $60.09. One year I just told the customers that My son was doing great in Track & Field and holds high school records in 5 different events. He was offered a scholarship to The College of New Jersey to be on their track team. But I digress…
The new owner of my customers read a letter I prepared with the "good news" that I was partnering up with the new company and the "good news" is that there will be more technicians available for emergency service calls and more years of experience and several other "good news" items about the purchase of my company by their company. This corny communication was what my customers were used to receiving from me and my son. They often commented on some of my comments in the letters to me and the other mechanics during their maintenance visits, so I knew that many customers read these letters.
The buying company’s father read the letter I prepared and said this crap was too corny to originate from this firm and filed the letter in the circular bin next to his desk. He did agree that my customers should be notified that there was a new owner and composed a no nonsense business letter and mailed it to all my customers on the new company letter head. The majority of these letters went into the customer’s circular file as the letter head and return address on the envelope was unfamiliar. After several months of customers not recognizing the new truck with a different name and different mechanics arriving to service their equipment, Mr. J wanted to know if all my customers were stupid. Can’t they read a simple letter that explains what has transpired?
I just had to agree that he knew better than I about how to operate a business at a profit the way his father told him to run a business. Heaven forbid that I might inform him that a letter with my return address and my letter head would have been a better idea. Even if it was not corny and said exactly what the letter he sent out on his letter head. Jeff knew what he was doing and my customers were stupid for throwing perceived junk mail in the trash.
BOTTOM LINE: If you go through with the purchase, expect to operate the newly purchased company as if there has been no change, and you are just the new guys that work for the existing company. Answer the phone the same way the previous owner answered the phone. Send letters and invoices out using the envelopes with the company name and address the customers are used to. Change the name slowly over time if that is your intention.
Consider not changing the name at all and tell your customers that you purchased the new business and let your customers know that you will be sending letters and correspondence with the new name. You are growing and becoming more successful. Ray Kroc did not change the name of his company after he purchased it from the McDonald brothers in 1962. Somehow I don't think I would like to be eating a Big Kroc, even if it did have two all beef patties and special sauce. What Crock of stuff did that special sauce come from anyway?
Re: Delay of boiler firing?
You can try it with 1" but you may need to increase if you need more than 80,000 BTUh to heat your home. That 1" or 1-1/4" is not written on stone tablets that were delivered to a mountain in a desert.
The pipe sizing is based on keeping the flow speed below 6 feet per second in order to keep the velocity noise below a noticeable level. Above 6 feet per second will become loud enough to hear. It is not that bothersome when water moves faster than that 10 FPS when you open a faucet because the noise stops when you close the tap. With a heating system that noise would be unacceptable. The next thing is the amount of gallons per minute will flow thru the pipe and this is directly related to the FPS number. And finally the temperature drop (∆T Delta T) of that water flowing thru the boiler or the radiator as the amount of heat that is added or removed from the water. With the industry standard of one gallon per minute for every 10,000 BTU based on a 20° temperature change (∆T), we can come up with some rules of thumb for pipe sizing based on the amount of heat you need to transfer.
If you change the flow rate or the ∆T, you can also adjust the pipe size. So it is possible that 1” can be made to work for you by FPS or GPM, or by changing the ∆T in order to get the system to work.
For example you can get 100,000 BTU to go through 1” pipe if there is a 25° ∆T in the design. But when the water gets to the emitters (the radiant floor for example) it must move slower in order to release more heat to the floor. The longer the water stays in the emitter the more heat it will release. You also need to let the water stay in the boiler longer in order to change the ∆T in the boiler. So slowing down the water may be able to move more BTU through the smaller pipe.
The best person to make those calculations would be hot_rod if he is interested, since he does that stuff all the time, and I have stopped designing systems since I retired and might make mistakes and don't want you to rely on my numbers where dollars and cents are involved. But It may work with 1” with the proper flow and ∆T. It may also be just fine if you only need 80,000 BTUh on the coldest days. Without a proper load calculation, we may be discussing a point that does not really matter.
15 boiler room noises you should never ignore, this weeks video
This video was delayed because of a technical difficulty. I was babysitting the grandkids LOL Anyway thanks to @retiredguy for the idea. Have a great long weekend
Re: Delay of boiler firing?
One final note. this transformer is rated at 24v. 15 VA and may not be strong enough for the Honeywell thermostat, the Honeywell HPSR101 relay and the RIB U1C relay. If that happens you can purchase a 20 VA transformer that will fit in that same position. Amana 24v. 20VA Transformer from SupplyHouse.com. I think you should be fine, but if the transformer fails after a few months of use, get the stronger transformer.
Re: Thin Tube Steam/Hot water in Barre VT
No, Fix what you have. it would cost a fortune to make it two pipe and you will need a new boiler in the future.
Re: Thin Tube Steam/Hot water in Barre VT
You could make it 2 pipe but it would be a big job, a lot more than just moving some radiators a few inches. it wouldn't be worth it unless you had a good reason to do it.
the near boiler piping looks pretty close although a little odd, it is hard to see, it is probably close enough, especially on 1 pipe.
the biggest issue is the moisture in the basement and the rust on the boiler and what appears to be asbestos in poor condition with something over it.
make sure there aren't corroded and leaking returns out on the wet basement floor.
mattmia2
Re: Thin Tube Steam/Hot water in Barre VT
Don't think about going to two pipe. One pipe is a little trickier to get everything working well — but it does work perfectly well.
The two key things are venting — particularly mains — and getting all the pipe pitches correct or at least reasonable. From the time frame you are mentioning, I'm thinking that some main venting either isn't adequate — or isn't there at all. For radiators, the name of the game is getting each one heating the space the way you want it — and it's much better to start by slowing spaces which are getting too warm.
