Best Of
Re: Does metal radiator cover affect performance? Absorbs heat or passes it along?
Cutting the lid where you marked it seems an easy immediate remedy for cat and masters. Cats are finicky though. He may like to walk the plank to find his optimal temperature zone😁. Obviously which end you leave him will impact the propensity for a warm seat.
Shield you could probably hook on from the inside. I would lean toward sheet metal or aluminum over an insulating material. Trying to enhance convection, not seriously reduce conduction and radiation.
Re: Can a new steam system be installed in a new residential house?
Obviously, installing these systems is labor intensive. Which is why they mostly went out of style around world war two time. My dream is always been to build one from scratch. Give me the check and I will be right there!!!!!!
Re: help design plan for hydronic and wetback on fireplace
Safety first! Most of the wood heat system these day are open unpressurized systems, to avoid steam explosions.
Typically we see outdoor type wood burners to keep the mess and smell outdoors, like this. Basically a fire under or in a barrel surrounded with water, open to the atmosphere.
Back in the 1970 there were many add on or add in products. The Hydro Heat was a tubular wood rack that went into the fire place, build the fire on top, to heat the water. Weld or bend, I would not use threaded connections.
I build a number of barrel stoves with coils wrapped around the outside.
What size fireplace and how much heat are you needing?
I would pipe any fireplace heat exchanger to a buffer or storage tank. This give you some overheat protection and storage to run through a no- fire condition. With a tank next to or above you can thermo siphon without needing a powered pump.
Pump from the tank to the heat emitters.
With any homemade device you need to be careful not to pull too much heat from the fire which will cool the gases and form creosote quickly. I like to keep a thermometer on the stove or stove pipe to keep an eye on burn temperature.l
Here are some examples of how much heat you could expect from various wood types. Dry wood is much more user friendly, more heat, less creosote potential.
The distribution loop from the tank to the heat emitters can be as simple or complicated as you want. A back up boiler ties in downstream of the tank
I would start with a calculation of how much heat the building requires. Do you want to heat 100% with wood, or depend on a supplemental source?
Do the system need to be automatically controlled, if the fire dies the back up kicks in?
Some ideas here on technology, formulas, piping and control options.
The 850 page! "bible" of Renewable Systems with all the info from load calculation to final design
Go to the "boiler room" at a website called The Hearth, lots of homebuilders over there. www.hearth.com
hot_rod
Re: Need a shorter 1/2" black pipe extension
The elbow near the bottom ,right side.. Chewed up and I think I see teflon tape around the union .. Looks like there was a problem . Hate to see you put in the work twice …
Big Ed_4
Re: Gas boiler won't shut off - Slantfin S-90 DP
@Multiman that's why a real tech would use a meter and test things. Shooting the parts cannon seldom works and gets expensive.
It would be unlikely to get multiple bad thermostats.
But, hopefully the problem is fixed
Re: Blower motor shaking but not starting
I readjusted where the blower mower was sitting and I think I have smooth rolling.
when I turned the power back on, it seemed to spin on OK but like I said earlier, it sometimes sporadic when it stalls Let’s let this sit for a couple hours and I’ll come back and tell you either way if had success or not.
Either way I want to say thank you so much because it is amazing how a bunch of people who don’t even know me are willing to spend some time and give me a hand. Thank you so much!
Re: I'm getting solar panels. I'll let you know how it goes in this discussion thread.
Typically the designer/installer runs a simulation for you system. Shows what you expect vs what you use.
This is for a Thermal system, Valentin has PV sim programs.
hot_rod
Re: I'm getting solar panels. I'll let you know how it goes in this discussion thread.
Q: So the "bank" resets every year and I get to pick the reset time, and I want the reset time to be a time when there is no balance, is that about it?
A: Yep, that's the short answer for yearly net metering if the utility allows you to make a one-time change to the net metering month.
Re: Collapsing steam in main radiator slow to heat
Is that the old equalizer tht was left in place? Not an issue if it is. Does the supply from the boiler coming up into the tee? And the top of the tee feeds the new header.
I would disconnect the problem rad and take the elbow or valve (whatever is at the top of the riser off) and dump a bunch of water down it. Maybe even use a garden hose if you can and flush it out. Worth a try
Either the boiler isn't running long enough to heat the problem rad or something isn't picthed right is my guess.
