Best Of
Re: Fixing the gurgling at the end of my Steam Mains
that….was….hard….
to line it all up.
Better not leak!!
Re: Cheap, Easy, And Invisible DIY Solar Thermal?
You may want to also ask over at GreenBuildingAdvisor.com, which has members that are much more attuned to alternative energy.
Re: Cheap, Easy, And Invisible DIY Solar Thermal?
The way to think about a solar collector is not how hot it gets, but how much heat it collects. They're not the same thing, and the difference is important. The DIY solar world is full of collectors that got plenty hot but didn't deliver much heat.
I agree with Jamie that passive solar is probably going to be more effective. The biggest mistake you can make though is to assume it will somehow just work, it needs to be engineered. That means doing year-round energy modeling. I'd recommend software like BeOpt to get you started. The two big drawbacks of passive solar are first that there's no way to turn it off, you have to worry about preventing overheating. The second is that the amount of sun you get doesn't line up with the seasons. The day where the sun is lowest in the sky is December 21, the coldest day of the winter is typically six weeks later on February 1. On February 1 the sun is going to take the same path through the sky as on November 7, which is typically a much warmer day. September 21 — which is cooling season where I live — has the same sun angle as March 21, which is heating season.
Passive solar advocates will say, "position overhangs so that they block the sun in the summer and allow the sun in during the winter." When you start doing the math you'll realize that it's impossible to do this completely.
Re: Cheap, Easy, And Invisible DIY Solar Thermal?
Quality vs quantity is the way we compared evac tubes to flat plate collectors. While the tubes did supply a bit higher temperature the amount the supplied was much lower. Comparing equal foot print.
hot_rod
Re: original circulator sized too small?
I would surely go with the Caleffi Discal or SpiroVent to make all those micro bubbles crash into the element inside the vent that causes them to make larger (more buoyant) so the can easily float to the top of the air vent chamber. Then the vent will open to let out that air. Noe your current boiler feed and expansion tank piping needs to be redesigned, you may as well just get new Extrol 60 for your system and make it look like this.
The new feed line will enter at the same location as the expansion tank so not to have the pressure of the tank and the auto feed working against each other. (see new copper feed). You can just place a set of circulator flanges connected to a 5-1/2" long x 1-1/4" pipe nipple to replace the existing circulator. No repiping needed. Just a set of flanges and a a couple of full face flange gaskets.
Re: Steam device to be identified
@jeje59350 , read the article I linked to above. I'll bet it explains much about that system.
Re: Steam device to be identified
@jeje59350 , welcome to HeatingHelp. It looks like I'm going to have to visit Paris at some point.
A "boiler return trap" is basically a pressure-powered pump that comes into play if the steam pressure gets too high for condensate (water) to return to the boiler by gravity. These were pretty common in the States, and were used mostly on Vapor systems, which were 2-pipe steam systems that ran with a maximum pressure of 8 ounces (roughly 40 millibars) or so.
Where does that pipe go that comes down from the bottom of the device? Does it connect to the return line? Are there any check (one-way) valves in the piping under the device?
Also, you might be interested in this article:
Re: Debate me Bro-3/8 inch pex 150 foot lenths AOK for high delta T radiant
fair question. dont have the tools on my cell but IIRC the pressure loss in 150' of 3/8 is still more than 300' of 1/2. so i was anticipating that i wouldnt amp up the circulator and the flow rate would be lower than target but i would be counting on high delta T to get the btus out and i have always 0referred that strategy even with 1/2 inch.
i can see from post below you share my affection dor 3/8. and they aint going broke selling it dor essentially the same price as 1/2.
and , to be fair, it is the pressure delivery at flow numbers on the plumbing side that warn folks off but i shower with 3/8 pex and im happy. i have to admit i chickened out running it on hot side to showers in 4 story building although i wanted to to cut the time to get hot to the shower head. if i would have had easier access to the chase i would have tried it .
so my occams razor take on the 'industry' is not even that they tell folks to do qhat is profitable to them but that they have given up on thinking about the best ways to so things and go the easy way for them. that includes the industry letting us down with regards to speaking out against bad regulation instead of just going along .
brian
