Best Of
Re: Honeywell Heat Generator No. 1
I have a heat generator too! No gauges anywhere on my set up though. It has been pretty interesting figuring out how to keep it runnin with the limited information out there. 100% gravity is so nice, no power! Might not look the greatest, but they sure don’t make anything like they used too.
oktfirre
Re: Paint on inside of fireplace box
Find a restoration company that sand blasts with walnut shell to remove the paint then get a mason to install a damper and inspect the chimney. Changing the size of the firebox by relining with firebrick could change the drafting up the chimney .
gunn308
Re: Paint on inside of fireplace box
We built our house and put in a Majestic contractors fireplace. Several years later we tore it out and replaced it with a RSF fireplace. Your best bet is to demo the fireplace which is only a vent to the outside for the warm air in your house. Our fireplace/firebox heats our 20x20 living room to the upper 70s no problem. An unsealed fireplace is a waste of money all around.
This mornings scenery
CTH3
Re: Paint on inside of fireplace box
that may only be approved with a insert.
you need it professionally inspected.
pecmsg
Re: Paint on inside of fireplace box
thank you both so much . I have heard back from the realtor who reached out to the seller and they painted it with regular house paint. The inside of the chimney is not painted. I wondered about sanding it off then trying to have the inside of the firebox lined….there is no damper on chimney opening so I have to deal with that too. We have a very good sheet metal company that I am going to contact to at the very least close up the hole with a damper. Two owners back (based on old pics) had an insert that looks to have been vented via a tube run up through the chimney. We don’t have many chimney repair people in my area it I will try
Re: Paint on inside of fireplace box
Just about the time I think I've seen pretty much everything…
First thing to do is to check and see what they did to the chimney, if anything. Folks brilliant enough to have painted the fireplace may have done something equally clever to the chimney. If they have, you're pretty much in the position of having to start all over.
I know of no easily commercially available paint which is sufficiently high heat to be usable in a firebox. What's on there will, in time, burn off — but in the meantime it will be produce fumes which you really don't want to breathe. The problem with removal, however, is that firebrick is slightly porous — so you can't simply scrape it off.
I really don't know what to say, except to talk to a really good chimney repair and sweep company.
Re: Leaking new vents?
Just for the kicks, while waiting for the steam expert's advice, I experimented with @ethicalpaul 's foil tape. The boiler is no longer short-cycling. In fact, it runs all the way until the thermostat stops it. The vaporstat, which is an older mercury "teeter-totter" model that starts rattling before it shuts down, never moves.
This way it takes about 40 minutes for a 20 sqf, 9-section radiator to completely heat up. I am not sure if that's normal, but it feels like a long time.
Re: Radiant Panel?
That is the smart WiFi plug it plugs into. Here’s how it looks in the app.
Re: Radiant Panel?
Because this is for such a small space as a mudroom, I would avoid touching the main system. I would go for a small electric wall heater. I recommend the "Envi Wall Heater." It is 500 watts and a standard 120V plug-in heater. Used as supplemental heating, it will bump this rooms BTU up enough. I have one mounted in my upstairs hall which never got its own cast iron rad (old builders guides I've read from the early 20th century stated one should have been installed in the upstairs hallway).
With the thermostat engaged, costs come to $0.04 per hour with my local electric utility rates ($.161 per kwh). Even if I leave it on full blast 24/7, costs come to $0.07 per hour. I have all my supplemental heaters connected to smart plugs with energy monitoring so I can see exact cost.
Re: Real efficiency gain potential vs sales fantasy vs as installed efficiency.
Minor thoughts. Disregard at you pleasure…
The thing to remember is that we should, properly, be looking at the total system efficiency, or at least total from the delivery of X amount of energy to the facility in question to final output, which is — or should be — the comfort. We often don't do that. In hot water, for instance, we don't usually investigate the tradeoff between piping design and pump requirements. In forced air, we a very casual about duct losses vs. blower power or heat loss. And so on.
We tend to concentrate on one piece (such as the boiler or furnace) and draw conclusions or recommendations. Or we worry about gains in pump design, but not flow conditions. And so on.
As several above have pointed out, the major gains in individual component efficiency are well known and generally applied. Most of the minor gains still available come at a pretty stiff cost.
And nothing can compensate for poor installation of improper use of controls…