Best Of
Re: My pressure gauge is between 20 to 25 right at the marker. Is that too high!
Well done.
You have a fixed volume in the system that contains the boiler, the piping, the radiators. If you fill up that volume with water and stuff too much water into it, the pressure will climb because there is no more space. Likewise, if you drain a bit of water, the pressure must fall as the volume remains the same and you have less water in the same volume.
The expansion tank creates another variable. It has a bladder in the middle so that when the boiler heats the water in the system, it must expand slightly. The tank absorbs most of this expansion by moving the bladder slightly within the tank and increases the volume of the system.
When the tank fails, the bladder in the middle deteriorated and the air cushion on the bottom of the tank is now gone. So, the tank becomes part of the fixed volume of the system and doesn't allow any "cushion" to prevent the pressure from climbing too high.
The first and fastest way to check the expansion tank is to simply push on the pin in the shreader valve on the bottom of the tank. It's just like the valve stem on a car tire. Just push it very briefly. You will either get all air or you will get air with a bunch of water. If the latter, the tank needs replacement. If the former, the problem lies elswhere.
Keep an eye on the pressure and see if it slowly climbs toward 30 over the next week.
LRCCBJ
Re: System 2000, nearly double the cost of Weil McLain, is it worth it?
We put a System 2000 in an older house with mediocre insulation. It is also our hot water supply.
The summer savings were jaw-dropping. Also, the basement was cooler, so reduced AC cost. This is not applicable to you as you are running electric hot water.
Our winter savings is high too, maybe closer to 50%. But we replaced a WW2 boiler that was failing. And added a fresh air intake. And added 2 zones so can keep the upstairs cooler.
I would highly recommend the fresh air intake. More efficient. And makes the house less drafty. And runs quieter.
»»That 2-year pay-back period quoted is not possible, especially if you are replacing a newish boiler and running electric water.
Greening
Re: need advice on scary steam boiler - no water in sight glass, running high pressure
What mattmia2 says.
Most of the systems we see look like this. The system needs to be evaluated and serviced. Anyone buying a home should employ a plumber to evaluate and service their heating system. Continued operation of a system that's not properly serviced can be hazardous.
Any new homeowner without knowledge of heating systems simply has to find someone competent to evaluate and service what they purchased. Contrary to many of these comments, there is no indication here of costly problems.
A heating system with neglected maintenance cannot be evaluated without seeing the system.
Re: need advice on scary steam boiler - no water in sight glass, running high pressure
It looks rough but if it isn't leaking someone that knows what they are doing can probably clean it and get it working properly.
mattmia2
Re: need advice on scary steam boiler - no water in sight glass, running high pressure
Probably the gauge glass is clogged at the bottom and not displaying the true water level. Or the valve is shut because the glass was leaking, it looks incredibly bad.
But because of that you don't know the water level and you should be scared.
Forget leveling the radiators, that doesn't do anything anyway. If it were my house I would shut it down until I could get it serviced by a professional.
I like homeowners to know how their systems work and even to be able to do some simple maintenance on them, but this boiler is too scary to mess with.
That radiator has an air relief vent of a hot water system on it I think. Inappropriate for steam.
Re: Seeking your thoughts regarding a boiler/system upgrade for a small 1980s ranch.
I am not a heating pro, just a homeowner/engineer. The very knowledgeable heating pros here will give you good advice. Meanwhile, a few questions and thoughts.
One important factor is going to be your type of radiation. You say mid-80's construction, so I'm assuming baseboard radiators? How many linear feet? And where in the country are you, as your local climate will affect how much heat you need.
We have two cast iron boilers in our 100-year-old 4-unit building with cast iron radiators in the Boston area, and the cast iron boilers work well with high-water-volume, high flow rate systems with big old pipes and cast iron radiators. But they can be problematic on systems with smaller water volumes and lower flow rates through smaller diameter pipes and baseboards. Especially if you split one relatively small zone (900 sq ft) into even smaller zones. The boiler heats the relatively small volume/low flow rate of water very quickly, then short-cycles on the high limit, resulting in inefficient operation.
With 900 square feet, you're unlikely to need more than, say 30,000 BTU/hr depending on where you are and how much insulation/air sealing you have. That already puts you in the very low end of cast iron natural gas boilers. And if you are going to split zones, you may want to reduce the output even further. So I'm guessing the heating pros may recommend a modulating condensing boiler that can reduce output further for smaller zones.
But meanwhile, if you can answer the questions about your radiation type, linear footage, and your location, that will help them give you better answers.
jesmed1
Re: Why would my pressure relief drip leg leak a little?
I could not read the details on that relief valve, but it reminds me of a Temperature Pressure relief valve for a water heater. Steam is hot enough to cause a temperature element to open slightly during a run cycle. Check that the pressure setting for that valve is 15 PSI.
As far as short cycling is concerned, you can add a Time Delay to the gas valve circuit that will prevent the burner from operating until the 5 or 10 minute adjustable delay is satisfied. The boiler will then be able to operate at a much lower pressure and use less fuel. Higher pressure = more energy used.
Here is one other post about this idea
and this one
Bur not everyone agrees, so you choose. higher gas bill with higher pressure, short cycling with lower pressure, or lower pressure with time delay.
I hope this helps.
Re: Installing wifi-smart thermostat with 2-3 wires hydronic heat-only
TR100VA004 is a multi-tap (480/277/240/120 volt) primary 24 volt secondary, TR100VA002 is a single-tap 120 volt primary, Other than that, they're identical. You should be able to use either one, be sure to cap off the unused primary taps individually if you use the 004.
ratio
Re: Packing Heat
Are we discussing supplying entire heating demand with solar thermal? Or saving $$$ by harvesting some sun? There are practical methods to do the latter. The question then becomes where is it worth the bother?
jumper
Re: Packing Heat
The night cooling effect is quite real — I've had a bucket of water get a skin of ice on it overnight, camping in the desert in New Mexico in July… but it does assume a very clear sky. Cloud cover, or even haze, will have a big effect.
