Best Of
Re: TurboMax 30-3 or HTP Superstor Ultra-Max MSSU-45 Help!
Hi, It looks like a leak from the plumbing above the tank caused the problem. Getting warranty might be difficult.
Yours, Larry
Re: Is a cap a must?
The UL 1777 listing requires a rain cap. It does not have to be the one offered by the liner mfr. However, if you make a custom one, you must follow NFPA 211.
Water is the #1 enemy of masonry, esp. chimneys. It breaks down the mortar, softens the brick, stone or terra cotta. The Terra cotta tiles, if made to ASTM C-315, which many are not, does have a vitreous inner and outer face that is water resistant. However, the 1" thick ends are very porous, very hygroscopic clay. These very vulnerable ends are bedded in ordinary Portlance cement (OPC)-based mortar. This mortar absorbs more water than old lime mortar but unlike lime, does not facilitate drying. This, moisture gets trapped in the flue joints. Vapor diffusion drives it inwards towards the drier interior where it encounters the outer face of the flue tile and finding no bridge but instead a capillary break so it condenses and, by gravity, drains down into the lower parts of the chimney where it can take decades to manifest the damage. As you burn, acidic flue gases condense on the walls of the flue, thus resulting in liquid acid draining down into those vulnerable OPC mortar joints. Basic chemistry: acid + base > salt + water. The mortar is converted into sand and salt. Rain keeps these acids and salts soluble so they can migrate. The salt is drawn by osmosis to the exterior face of the chimney where it concentrates as efflorescence. Salt attracts water so an insidious cycle of water, acid and salt conspire to convert the chimney mortar into sand and salt. Thus, you are ledt with a stack of bricks sitting on salty dirt. The 'mortar' has lost its bond so the masonry is no longer intact. It will eventually become unstable and fail.
That is why you keep water out of masonry.
Two short videos this week
Two short videos this week How to Prevent 33% of Boiler Accidents With One Simple Test and Using Thermal Cameras to Find Problems
Using Thermal Cameras to Find Problems Thermal Master sent me a thermal camera to try and I share some ways it can help you in the field
How to Prevent 33% of Boiler Accidents With One Simple Test is about the low water cutoff and how important it is to test
Re: Lochinvar burner cleaning
A nylon brush works quite well and the 1/4 turn shut off makes a great sprayer. Attach the condensate drain to a shop vac and spray away. Also, good use of old credit cards for between the tubes.
Re: Central A/C refrigerant leak - 12 year old Lennox system
the drier can be installed inside near the air handler. That prevents the rusting.
pecmsg
Re: Monoflow/Reverse Return Piping Question
If you can't find Monoflow you could use regular tees with a valve between the tees but why bother?
Reverse return is better and is self-balancing to some extent.
Dont forget with reverse return you can decrease the pipe size of the supply pipe as you take load off and the same with the return the pipe increases as you add load.
Monoflow you have to run the same size all the way around full size. Reverse return has more pipe but the cost is offset somewhat with smaller pipe.
Re: Just wondering
What gave me/us the most problems? The panic of customers in the month of October. This is the month in my area where and when the weather would change, and all manner of need for our services came charging in all at once. I started to call the month of October "A month of Mondays."
Intplm.
Re: Just wondering
Yes October/November. They knew they had a problem and hoped it would magicly heal over the summer
Re: Replacing 30 year old Vesta oil boiler….
I like the fact that you have a good contractor that has already completed work for you in the past and you were satisfied enough to call them back again. I might call and ask them if they are an Energy Kinetics dealer. Although Burnham makes a good product, the American Made EK products use some energy saving technology that has proven to lower operating costs. The EK boilers can also provide domestic hot water at a lower cost than a propane or electric water heater.








