Best Of
Re: cast iron boiler summer settings
I'm only guessing but are you located in the southern hemisphere?
I need to turn my thinking cap around the other way, if that is the case.
Based on the age of the boiler and the way you are heating water there are several things you can do. Thew lowest cost option would be to determine what is the aquastat that is the low limit on your boiler.
On newer models that have a triple aquastat relay like the the Honeywell L8124 it is easy to find. It says LOW on the dial. First find the DIFF and turn that to the lowest setting. Now turn that LOW dial to 140°. See if that boiler temperature produces enough hot water. If you find that water is not hot enough for taking a shower, then turn the setting to 145° to see if that is good enough. keep turning up the dial until your boiler can produce the needed hot water. The idea here is that the lower the boiler temperature is the less stand-by loss up the chimney there will be.
In most of the north east USA and Canada the cost of heating water with electricity is usually more expensive. (but not always) I
If your boiler is very old you may find that there are two or three individual aquastats that will perform that function that may look like this
The two aquastat wiring diagram will have the high limit, that is usually located near the top of the boiler to shut off the burner when the water temperature goes above that setting. That is always the higher temperature setting aquastat. there is no need to adjust that. The other aquastat will be the combination LOW limit/revers. This one has 3 wires connected to it. This is the one you want to set to 140°.
Some older models (pre 1960) may have three aquastats. the high limit, the low limit and a reverse aquastat to allow priority for the DHW. To determine which one is the reverse aquastat, you can look at the mercury bulb inside it to see if the wires are on the opposite side of the High and Low limit.
What ever wiring design you have, all you need to do is to lower the LOW temperature to 140°
The high limit does not come into play for DHW. Only for space heating
If you have the separate aquastat relay and you open it up and find that there is a differential adjustment, set that to 10°
Hope this info helps
Mr. Ed
Re: Pex sizing
you don't nee particularly thick insulation on the tubing. you can get the tubes and insulation already stuffed in to corrugated drain tile.
mattmia2
Re: Steam Near Boiler Piping
You could also use a street ell instead of an ell and close nipple at the hartford loop. In reality in a 1 pipe system the longer nipple would be fine. The close nipple is used to minimize the surface of the water in that riser so if steam gets down that riser it is less likely to hammer. The only way steam would get down there is if it had to push through to the return to equalize the pressure in the supply and return. Since the supply and return are directly connected out in the system in a 1 pipe system, the pressures will be more or less the same and that never is going to happen. Maybe it could happen with a false waterline or something like that.
mattmia2
Re: Steam Near Boiler Piping
Length of the orange nipple does not matter. Anything goes below the water line. As far as combining the 2 1 1/2 returns into 1 that is fine as well.
The overhead returns carry steam and water, so they are larger when you drop below the water line they are wet returns and the smaller pipe is fine.
Should work well Congrats.
Re: Calculating head in primary loop and recommended replacement circulator
I suspect there are many over pumped systems out there.
If you trust the numbers from the man and @HydronicMike 13 gpm range, less than 5’, then a 0014 is way off curve for the job
Over pumping leads to high flow velocity, which often presents as noise. Does the boiler short cycle, on and off a lot during a load?
Check the delta across the boiler S&R to get an idea of actual run conditions.
hot_rod
Re: New press
@PC7060 Yes, but the rings get you out of a lot of jams. With just the tool, you can only work on one plane; the rings offer innumerable angles.
Re: Issues with steam system after work completed
I think I figured out a good comparison.
We decided to remove your sewer line and not replace it because it's too difficult, but it's ok because we installed a bathroom fan.
The boiler is piped correctly because someone else did it.
Please call the guys others listed above.
ChrisJ
Re: Steam Near Boiler Piping
" My plan would be to combine both return lines (both 1 ½”) at the ceiling and drop them down to the Hartford Loop. Would there be any issues combining both of the returns to one at that point in the system? "
NO !! If this is a 'One Pipe' system the returns should be connected way below the water line at the wet return level. You need steam isolation at the end of the returns.
Youtube, the "Silent Steam Team" videos, many example installs. Looks like you are trying to build it like the manual shows, Good !!!
Is this a 'Close' nipple ?
109A_5
Beautiful cleaned up American Radiator
Been a while since I posted, but mostly as it’s been a while since I needed to (or unnecessarily chose to) work on our system… but as I’ve fired things up for the first time this year, felt like a good time to get a picture of the beautiful American Radiator beast I bought, cleaned up, and installed last year.
JShep
Re: Steam Training in New England
That's who I worked for but I worked for a smaller branch in MA. 1992-2001