Best Of
Re: Can a new steam system be installed in a new residential house?
Good question! No. The building has a boiler. So I guess it was a whole system…minus a boiler. I cheated.
JohnNY
Re: Copper pipe radiator design
@Intplm. , after doing some math, I give you credit and I think I'm going in that direction. The piping only would cost me almost $300. I actually have a small baseboard radiator already that is wrongly sized for where it's installed, I could put that in the bathroom and swap it out with a more appropriate size in the original location.
Re: Viessmann Vitocal AWHP for hydronic baseboards or retrofit floor heating?
I would first do a heat-load for the home
Make any energy upgrades, you can. The lower the heat load the better tir the hp and energy cost going forward Then determine how much fin tube you have. The actual fin, not just the enclosure
Then use an output chart to see how the fin tube matches the heat load
Dual fuel is a good option if the HP cannot make the load in the coldest periods
I have that exact HP in my shop. With radiant slabs I can run the system 115f or lower
hot_rod
Re: New build radiant infloor 3 out of 5 loops not getting flow
Just to be sure. When you tried blowing through them, did you have the other end opened, for sure? If you did it one at a time , and only took off the line you are using, maybe something is crossed. In the bad situation you are in, I would take every line off and use air on each one to make sure both ends are open. I have a hard time believing you had that many loops get that compromised.
Rick
Re: Expensive Check Valve
I added a pump to the zone that wasn't heating and installed a pump controller. And I left the existing zone valves operable at hr's suggestion that they provide a reliable check valve.
The hard part was the wiring: I only wanted the pump to come on after the zone valve was open. At first, I thought about adding a RIB (Relay In a Box), but then thought that I could do it with just the bare bones pump control and came up with this. Seems to work fine.
Re: steam radiator leaking water from the vent
unless it’s the makeup water valve on a steam boiler. Eventually it would certainly increase the pressure in the system! Right about the time water started shooting out the vents 😅
Re: Baseboard heaters lukewarm despite boiler being hot
the circ inside the boiler needs to be a non ECM type
It has a tekmar variable speed control operating it, so only the old style PSC pump will work
Grundfos 15-58, 007, Wilo Star 21, etc
In a bind you could jut wire a cord to the pump inside the boiler and let it run until you troubleshoot the control
hot_rod
Re: smart thermostats
ok guys I ran new 18/5 to two thermostats on first floor and used the taco power connector for the one the second floor working perfectly so far Taco sr503 with 15va transformer handling the load
DaveM
Why steam heat worked in morning but didnt after. Understanding air vent drop away pressure
I had the hardest time understanding air vent drop away pressure. I read @DanHolohan writings about it but it didnt click. Then it did. I hope this video helps you understand how air vents work on a steam system and the drop away pressure.
