Best Of
Re: Getting my 1924 system going again
That is a older prv/ safety the valve after the valve after should not be closed due to closing it in effect removes the safety valve from doing it job in relieving the boiler should it s pressure become over 30 psi . Those type of feed safety are available but I believe against code due to usually have a shut after making it against code . If the proper prv/ backflow is installed then a tee should be installed and a 30 psi safety valve should be installed . If this was indeed a gravity system and not converted don’t assume that all the radiator where full of water in some cases the upper floor radiators where not completely bleed leaving a little bit of cushion for expansion . As other may have stated the existing expansion does not have the usually tank style drain w dip tube at the age of your system I would wish you luck in removing the plug without damaging its thread in which case you will need a new expansion tank being most gravity system when a bladder type tank is installed will need some type of air seperators to remove the dissolved o2 in the feed water which means possible so repiping .It’s great to keep a antique going but as for eff I would image it’s quite low and that if removed and a new modern cast iron hot water boiler where to be installed and properly piped as a conversion from gravity to pumped system not only would the time to come to temp and fuel comsumpition would surely be dramaticly lower . Not to beat a dead horse there’s a lot more to a proper gravity to pumped conversion then just some piping if you would like your new modern boiler to have a long non condensing lifespan . It s more then cutting reducing the piping there flushing the decades of rust which always form in gravity hot water systems and installing mag seperators and possibly strainers to further remove . Your bigger expense will be removal the asbestos the boiler breaking and removal of the boiler will be far less costly then the asbestos removal . In the past I ve done a few of these and the results and speed of which the system heated where drastic and most had a mim of a 40% fuel reduction . Key is balancing the two mains ,staying above flue gas condensation and keeping the velocity fairly low in the piping .
peace and good luck clammy
clammy
Understanding the boiler fill valve, this weeks video
In this weeks video, it talks about the boiler fill valve or PRV. Do you leave the valve feeding it open or closed? Hope you enjoy it.
Re: Order of Firomatic Valve and Oil Filter at Tank Side
Im the past I've had luck with putting a worn out firomatic wheel on the valve upside down and getting the valve to open all the way when I didn't have a replacement wheel.
Re: Order of Firomatic Valve and Oil Filter at Tank Side
I'm going to bet you that you just need to remove the handwheel that opens the valve. Do what @EBEBRATT-Ed suggested. Once you get the handwheel off, then you will want to wire brush off the threads on the valve stem. That valve in the video is working just fine, The stem is just unattached inside the valve. That is why the stem is spinning. If you hold the stem, you can remove the handwheel.
Once the hand wheel is removed and you clean the threads on the stem, You can reinstall that same handwheel with the pliers holding the stem. After you get the threads of the stem to go thru the top of the handwheel, Then you can use the pliers to hold the top of the stem and continue to twist the valve open. I would suggest that you not go all the way open. You don't want to bottom out the threads so they get stuck in the full open position.
I am posting you this catalogue picture so you can see how the valve looks when open with the threads sticking thru the handwheel
It appears that you have part number 12320 fusible tank valve that is installed on a street 90° elbow.
You can use what you already have. I have serviced oil filters for years, using a valve with the rotating stem. I just hold the stem while spinning the handwheel.
As far as using a soot vac or shop vac to cause the tank to not spill oil during a valve swap, You are in no danger with #1 Kerosene or #2 fuel oil. Those fuels have a much higher flashpoint temperature when compared to gasoline. The self cooling motors sparks will not blow up with oil fumes. I have used that trick hundreds of times in my career. I'm still alive to tell you about it. Just sont try it on a tank filled with gasoline. That will have a really big boom and you will need to get a new vacuum cleaner.
Re: Getting my 1924 system going again
Use Teflon tape as you make it up. None of the old boilers I work on have accurate gauges.
Re: Getting my 1924 system going again
Just ordered the parts to make a test valve as you suggested.
Budward
Re: BG100 Lubrication
Those oil tubes that any supply house sells are only for an initial oiling of a brand new pump and should not be used for a yearly oiling amount. B&G recommends oiling the pump yearly with 20-30 drops on non-detergent oil (not 3 in1oil), and 10-20 drops of oil in each motor bearing. I found over the years of service that even that amount of oil was excessive but they are the mfg and should know what they are stating. Note that the pump itself can not be over-oiled since it has a drip hole that will dump any excess oil and leave a mess/stain on the floor below the pump. Years ago, we were told by the B&G reps to oil the motor yearly (about 5 drops) and to overfill the pump once until the oil runs out the overflow. Put an oil drip container to catch the excess oil below the pump and then re-oil that pump after about 5 years. My experience was that everyone over oiled those pumps. They all had an oil spot on the floor beneath the pump and the motor mounts were soft. I always carried a box of new motor mounts.
Re: Corrosion on burners for a RUUD Achiever 90 plus gas hot air Furnace
A furnace like that will often get condensation forming in the air intake pipe during the summer and sometimes it will drip on the burners, it can cause some issues that can be handled by regular maintenance. Some manufacturers recommend a drain tee on the intake pipe. I can't tell anything from your picture but I doubt it's anything serious. The combustion test results don't look terrible. I bet you were dealing with a sales tech who was chasing a commission.
Re: Sizing a radiator
@delcrossv , Hmmm. Then I guess they need to pay for WrightSoft or Elite like all of the professionals did when I was in business. I still have an older version of one of them on an old computer. I can't get it for my MacBook without paying for the license again. So when I need to do one, I crank up that old Dell laptop and hammer one out and email the results to my Mac. I also have some hand written forms that were put out by the Hydronics Institute. (remember when it was called The Institute for Boiler Ratings I=B=R years ago?).
These forms give you more choices to select from, you can do a room with 1/2 of the ceiling exposed to the exterior and the other half under a conditioned space. Each room is more accurate that way. Since there is no air condition load, you didn't need to tell the difference of the North or South or East/West walls. Less work needed for a heating only system size.