Best Of
Re: Copper pipe radiator design
There certainly are steam only radiators that have the sections only connected at the bottom that work. Black iron is much better than copper because it has more mass and less thermal conductivity so it will heat and cool more slowly.
mattmia2
Re: Makeup water causing boiler failure due to thermal shock
Will thermal shock hurt a boiler and how much thermal shock? Who knows?
We were told in school that you could drain and refill a steel boiler with cold water but don't do it with CI. That's good enough for me.
I also have had the experience that @retiredguy mentioned about draining a boiler that the steam is connected to another operating boiler.
You will only do that one time believe me. The idle boiler is cold and the steam rushing in condenses and causes hammer. 1700 times a volume reduction it is a noise you never forget. It is a lot more powerful than you would think.
But as far as thermal shock why take the chance?
It will not help the boiler, it will cause stress to the cast iron.
We had a CI boiler Smith 2500 that the lwco failed. My coworker showed up and the boiler was red hot and glowing. He went back the next day after it had cooled and the boiler held water. He installed a new LWCO and fired it up and made steam. No leaks so we let it run.
A few days later it puked water all over.
Re: How to delete boiler coil and replace it with a HPWH
Good decision. As you can see, using a boiler for hot water results in a LOT of extra pipes and hassle.
If you are unsure of what can be hacked out of there, find a knowledgeable plumber to help you.
Re: Splitting existing forced hot water gas boiler into more zones
Thanks for all your input Ed!
I read the book.
I've decided that for this heating season I'll close down the dampers on the radiators in the main house, and run the zone off a sensor in the piano room.
Next season I plan on doing it the right way. Changing the setup to pump away, and adding a zone circulator for the piano room. That way future changes (hopefully radiant floor heat in the kitchen once a renovation happens) will be to a much more conventional system, without an oddball combination of zone valves and zone circulators.
sre92
Re: Hot water heater not working after boiler was cleaned
got it fixed, turns out the new circulator was working so I put another one on and flushed the system with 22 psi for about 10 minutes and that did the trick. Thanks for all the help.
hiaku112
Re: Service for an old HydroTherm HC125B boiler in Westchester County NY
You've been dealing with salesmen rather than techs. Where in Westchester County are you located? We might know someone………..
Re: New House, New Problems- Introduction and seeking help on new to me steam
@wwrenchh Im in the Detroit area if you are looking for someone to go over your system and need help.
Re: Corroded connectors on new boiler.
OP the good news is that this is fixable. The bad news is that the company that made this indirect water heater went out of business on the 3rd. (it's not a boiler in your photo, and its a leak on the domestic side, so no boiler water involved with the leak)
It doesn't matter what language the people that made the pipe nipples speak, you can get a leak free connection there. These are generally regarded as good tanks, despite the company going under
GGross