Best Of
Re: Alternate means of hydronic heating a room that is kept cool, but occasionally needs to be warmed up
It was some Grainger/Dayton unit heater I got off of e-bay that someone had sitting in a box somewhere for a long time so I'm not sure the model but it is the ones that are rated for steam and hot water so it has a core and tanks instead of just a long finned tube. It would be loud if it were in my living room but it is fine just under the collar ties in my garage.
mattmia2
Re: Alternate means of hydronic heating a room that is kept cool, but occasionally needs to be warmed up
baseboard or panels aren't just radiant, they have a significant convective element. a convector cabinet can have a pretty high passive output but they generally need higher temp water for good output.
mattmia2
Why Your Classroom Unit Ventilator Blows Cold Air and Why Thats Normal, this weeks video
The unit ventilator or univent is one of the most confused hated components in a heating system. Hope you enjoy it.
Re: Alternate means of hydronic heating a room that is kept cool, but occasionally needs to be warmed up
panel radiators if you only have low temp water available
fin tube baseboard or a hydronic unit heater if you have high temp water available.
mattmia2
Re: New NYC steam radiator inspection law - what does it mean?
Good point, well made. Thanks, @Jamie Hall
Re: New NYC steam radiator inspection law - what does it mean?
While I agree with you in principle, @DanHolohan , I have one other — and it's major — concern. If this regulation is necessary — and it may be — it points to two underlying problems. The first is that the people who own and maintain buildings are assumed to be incompetent to perform proper maintenance. This may be true… but the assumption is unfortunate. The second, however, is a deeper problem: it was one assumed that the parents had an absolute and unbreakable responsibility to care for their children, to teach them well (in many different ways!) and to protect them from harm..
This relatively minor regulation is just another one saying that the parents can outsource that responsibility to "society" without consequence — indeed that it is preferable that they should do so.
Not sure I like that.
Re: New NYC steam radiator inspection law - what does it mean?
To All,
This law which is ID as 27-2056.21 in the NYC administrative code passed by the City council by a super majority for the mayors approval does not say:
1 Inspections are to be done annually 2 Inspectors must be master plumbers
The law which is very likely to go into effect if the mayor decides to veto it or not does say:
1 Inspections are to be done semi annually 2 Inspectors can be: a licensed master plumber, high-pressure boiler operating engineer or stationary engineer, oil burning equipment installer, mechanical contractor, building superintendent, engineer or stationary engineer, oil burning equipment installer, mechanical contractor, building superintendent, heating plant technician employed by the New York city housing authority, heating maintenance worker employed by the New York city housing authority, an individual working under the direct and continuing supervision of a licensed master plumber, an individual working under the direct and continuing supervision of a licensed high-pressure boiler operating engineer or stationary engineer, an individual working under the direct and continuing supervision of a licensed oil burning equipment installer, or an individual working under the direct and continuing supervision of a mechanical contractor that conducts inspections of steam radiators pursuant to this article.
There is a difference between proposed legislation INT 925 and what the council voted on.
Re: cast iron boiler summer settings
Lots of options here. Electric or HPEWH and shut the boiler off good options and ones I sometimes recommend do to cost of installation. An indirect off an old inefficient boiler maintaining a very low water temp to prevent condensation saved some folks a lot of money. full disclosure I worked for an oil company at the time and hoped to return to these folks In the at some point in the future to plug and play replace the aged boiler. in the interim I often heard how happy they were with the water heater.
Grallert
Re: Anyone know about disassembly of these full-port Webstone (Nibco) ball valves?
you had a valve with a bad assembly seam, it happens, maybe more-so with some imports.
Not many plumbers put valves in with a piping plan to remove and replace them😗
The more threaded connections, the more potential for leaks. Especially with todays thread quality .
hot_rod
Re: cast iron boiler summer settings
I'm only guessing but are you located in the southern hemisphere?
I need to turn my thinking cap around the other way, if that is the case.
Based on the age of the boiler and the way you are heating water there are several things you can do. Thew lowest cost option would be to determine what is the aquastat that is the low limit on your boiler.
On newer models that have a triple aquastat relay like the the Honeywell L8124 it is easy to find. It says LOW on the dial. First find the DIFF and turn that to the lowest setting. Now turn that LOW dial to 140°. See if that boiler temperature produces enough hot water. If you find that water is not hot enough for taking a shower, then turn the setting to 145° to see if that is good enough. keep turning up the dial until your boiler can produce the needed hot water. The idea here is that the lower the boiler temperature is the less stand-by loss up the chimney there will be.
In most of the north east USA and Canada the cost of heating water with electricity is usually more expensive. (but not always) I
If your boiler is very old you may find that there are two or three individual aquastats that will perform that function that may look like this
The two aquastat wiring diagram will have the high limit, that is usually located near the top of the boiler to shut off the burner when the water temperature goes above that setting. That is always the higher temperature setting aquastat. there is no need to adjust that. The other aquastat will be the combination LOW limit/revers. This one has 3 wires connected to it. This is the one you want to set to 140°.
Some older models (pre 1960) may have three aquastats. the high limit, the low limit and a reverse aquastat to allow priority for the DHW. To determine which one is the reverse aquastat, you can look at the mercury bulb inside it to see if the wires are on the opposite side of the High and Low limit.
What ever wiring design you have, all you need to do is to lower the LOW temperature to 140°
The high limit does not come into play for DHW. Only for space heating
If you have the separate aquastat relay and you open it up and find that there is a differential adjustment, set that to 10°
Hope this info helps
Mr. Ed
