Best Of
Re: Plan Review: Basement Hydronic Convector Wall (DIY)
it a surface area game with a radiant panel. The wall has a lot of sq ft, so it will run at a lower temperature than a panel radiator. And two, in this case the selling feature, it is invisible. No obstruction in the living space to furnish around.
The heat output of any radiant panel is predictable. In this case the formula is near identical to a panel radiator.
Although some panel radiators have a convection component. Space between the chambers with a finned metal partition. That will factor into the output.
It will also move dust around
The output from a radiant wall, ceiling, or floor are fairly close. The ceiling and walls can run higher surface temperatures= higher output compared to a floor panel.
The walls have a slight edge over a ceiling as you will get some temperature stratification with ceiling radiant, lowering it’s output a bit compared to a wall
Some of the old electric radiant ceilings ran pretty hot. Too warm to keep your hand in for a long period. Being tall, they make my head uncomfortably warm.
hot_rod
Re: Condensate tank pump noise/leak
that’s a sign of a seal leak.
as far as the noise it has to be opened to know.
pecmsg
Re: Adding thermal purge to oil boiler with 2 zones
A Hydrostat 3250 plus would give you thermal purge, and if you change the well, LWCO. It also gives you circulator hold off and economy features, and indicator lights…and a more accurate temperature thermistor.
Seems like a better way to go, and like @HVACNUT said, anyone can easily work on it/troubleshoot. Not much more money than anything you make yourself.
Becket used to have a control that did this.
And of course this is SOP for an Energy Kinetics.
Re: Nest thermostat
Is the Nest hooked up two wire or three wire? Do you have a common "C" wire hooked to the Nest?
Re: Why Your Classroom Unit Ventilator Blows Cold Air and Why Thats Normal, this weeks video
In theory, a univent is a wonderful thing — when it's working properly as described. Except for that decidedly cool draught. And having been on both sides of the equation, I can't say that I was happy with the cool draught when I was teaching in spaces with univents…
But, they are cheap to install and relatively efficient.
Really old schools — and I had some to deal with in Vermont — had steam radiators on the walls. Nice and cozy and warm. Ventilation (these were farming communities, and you do need ventilation!) was provided by air outlet grilles in each room which went into a flue which extended through the roof — that pulled the stale air out quite nicely, and infiltration through the windows was the makeup air. Many times those flues had radiators in the bottom to help increase the draught.
Efficiency was… um… poor. But they worked.
Re: Adding thermal purge to oil boiler with 2 zones
my system is a single zone so that's how i get away with it. Maybe you could setup the purge zone to be the second priority and so it wouldn't ever starve the other zone during a purge. Starts to get a little needlessly complex at this point,, and a proper aquastat starts to make sense but since you have a strap on in place already it might make sense.
This sounds like old tech but you could always run off one thermostat and just send heat to both zones at the same time, and just adjust flow on the zone without the thermostat, then your boiler will run all at once, everyone gets heat, purge, done. It could help with short cycling. That's basically how my system works, my thermostat is downstairs and I just have a balancing valve on pipes going to the upstairs and downstairs, i just choke whatever gets too hot. Makes my runs longer and longer in between.
Please note i am not a plumber or hydronic expert, i have no training. I am just a home owner attempting to save money where i can!
Re: Sizing a replacement steam boiler
If you have 305 sq ft of radiation that is all you need to know. Forget about BTUs. The boiler rating plate or spec sheet will show how many sq feet the boiler is rated for you don't need to do any conversions or add the pickup factor that is already done by the boiler mfg.
But your calculation of 305 x 240 x 1.33 is correct.
But just use the sq ft rating it is easier.
For Burnham the Steam Max STMX125 is 125,000 input will do 321 square feet of steam. They also have the Independence, but I would stay away from that one.
I am not a Burnham fan however, but the steam max is supposed to be a good boiler
Single most important thing is to INSIST the installer follows the boiler mFG piping diagram. Don't assume he knows this. You will hear "I have been doing this for 20, 30, 40 years yada yada.
Be careful we get horror stories on here weekly that need to be re installed.
And make sure they install a skim tapping and skim the boiler if needed.
You mentioned Brooklyn so maybe @JohnNY , @EzzyT or @Mad Dog_2 . I don't know if they all work in your area.
Re: Where should cut in pressure be set to
Make sure you test the operation of the P trol after adjustment. If the cut in is to low the boiler may not restart and you may have to tweak the setting up slightly. If you haven't cleaned the pigtail that is also something that should be done every couple of years.
Re: Lwco shuts off when boiler overfilled?
Totally agree. And it is surprising how "little" overfill will do this. In many installations the pressure switch and the LWCO (and maybe other safeties) will be wired all in series (there are other way to do this, but this is very common indeed). So — I'd say everything worked the way it was supposed to work.