Best Of
Re: most high yield measure to improve indoor air quality
whole house dehumidifier with filtered outside air hook up.
the filtered outside will maintain positive pressure inside.
pecmsg
Re: Underlayment for vinyl plank flooring on cement slab radiant heat
I'd check with the manufacturer of the brand you are considering for installation details.
When this thin cork is used as an underlayment it has a vapor barrier built into it.
Perhaps a liquid sealer then the tiles or planks?
I used cork tiles in a Tiny Home build and it had a thin wood backer to it.
hot_rod
Re: Tekmar 289
I installed a 289 about a month ago. It's a pretty device with a modern user interface. The big improvement is that it's (finally!) wi-fi enabled. I wanted to take advantage of the pressure transducer input but it's a separate purchase from Tekmar which was backordered and I just received it. I don't think the transducer will help me very much but it's basically a sight glass into the pressure rise and fall and I think it will be interesting to monitor that remotely so I will install it.
I enjoyed the simplicity of the 279, and the 269 for that matter, but Watts had to do something to compete with the functionality of the Heat-Timer MPC and the sudden demand for this Runwise system that's popping up in NYC buildings. Did you have a specific question?
JohnNY
Re: She canna take any more, Cap'n! She's gonna blow!
Until recently, we had a 40 gallon plain steel compression tank serving two 100+ gallon systems with two WGO-5 boilers. I also installed an Airtrol ATF-12 a year or two ago thanks to the knowledge of the good people on this site.
The 40-gallon tank was big enough that I could set our static pressure to 18 psi (just for plenty of margin in a 2-story house) and not have the hot pressure exceed 22 psi or so.
But since we may soon need new boilers and I didn't have confidence in my fellow condo owners to be able to manage the compression tank and Airtrol in future, I reluctantly joined the "modern" age and recently took out the steel compression tank and installed an oversized SX-40V diaphragm tank. The SX-40V has been doing well, with only 4-5 psi pressure gains when both boilers are hot. I have static set at 15, and the hot pressure never exceeds 20. Air elimination is now done by Caleffi Minicals piped into the integral air separator ports on the boilers. Eventually when the boilers are replaced, we'll upgrade to micro-bubble air separators on the supplies.
So if you are going to add a tank anyway, you might want to consider going "whole hog" and just piping in something like an SX-40V (you should do your own sizing first, obviously). Using the Supply House online calculator, it recommended an SX-30V, but I went one size up to buy a little extra margin, and I'm happy I did, as the price difference is minimal.
jesmed1
Re: Why pull through airhandlers?
My bet is on the heat strips. Getting them to the place with the best chance of always getting air, even if the door is off or something, leaves the suck side for the AC coil.
ratio
Re: She canna take any more, Cap'n! She's gonna blow!
At this point I just want to see if I can make the existing compression tank work! Replacing it with expansion tanks(s) would take some re-piping. If I need to I will. Or there are 30 gallon compression tanks. $$$$.
I do appreciate all the comments and questions. I really do.
Thank you all.
—Eric
Re: She canna take any more, Cap'n! She's gonna blow!
A compression tank system is considered an "air management" type of system. So you or some device needs to size and manage the air bubble. As you have learned it is not always as easy as it sounds.
Any hydro pneumatic type of expansion vessel is an air removal system. You can have, and do want efficient air removal devices with these tanks.
In either case make sure you have about 5 psi positive pressure at the highest point in the system.
High point X .433 then add 3-5 psi to that. Without adequate fill pressure you could trap an air pocket and have circulation issues.
hot_rod
Re: She canna take any more, Cap'n! She's gonna blow!
but Jamie— even if there were an air separator, it’s not like there is any water flowing from the tank over to it.
It would still take quite some time for the air to diffuse into the water, through that stagnant water through the pipe all the way to the air separator, no?
Re: Roll up the sleeves on this one
Yes it was two separate living spaces. 2000 sq ft 1st floor and the same for the second. Customer is making the whole building one house. The plan is to keep the two boiler systems. They plan on doing the first floor, living there while the 2nd is being worked on. Once the ceiling comes down we can trace the pipes out to see what boiler did what floor. The 95% of the radiators have the Webster Vari valve on the steam supply. All rads have traps that need to be refreshed. Luckily it looks like the vent traps and condensate hasn't been butchered.
