Best Of
Re: O.E. Vapor System
@Mad Dog_2 indeed there were grab hooks, when I first saw that my back hurt just looking at it to lift that thing up there!
Re: Indirect water heater as steam(water) to hydro zone HX (poor heat transfer)
You could just drop an endoscope camera down the TPV orifice. But that doesn't seem as interesting as cutting it open
bjohnhy
Re: I'm trying to learn
Having A I interpret what a photo of a gauge is reading is subject to interpretation.
Are you using A I Artificial Intelligence or A I Actual Intelligence
I prefer Actual Intelligence myself.
With the information from your gauge I can see that the static pressure in your system at the boiler location is a hair under 15 PSI. Static pressure is the pressure that equals the weight of one square inch column of water will exert on a one square inch section of that gauge location.
Here is an illustration that helps understand Pounds per Square Inch (PSI). If you take one pound of water and place it in a container that is 1" x 1" it would fill that container up to the 28" mark. That is one pound of water whether it is horizontal or vertical or in any other position. That is always going to be one pound of water regardless of the dimensions.
Re: Radiant slab operation, as the slab warms
Since I had the spreadsheet all set up (and I'm no less of a hermit on Sunday than on Saturday) I decided to run some more simulations. This time I'm modeling three different control strategies for keeping the inside at a constant temperature:
- Thermostat in the air
- Thermostat in the slab
- Outdoor reset of the boiler
All of the assumptions are the same as yesterday's model, except the outdoor temperature is now assumed to vary over the day, peaking at 40F at 2pm and hitting a low of 20F at 2AM.
First up, the thermostat in the air:
The control strategy is very simple: if the air temperature is above the thermostat set point (70F), turn off the boiler, otherwise have it on and applying its full load to the slab.
This has very good temperature stability, with a minimum temperature of 69.9 and a maximum of 70.0.
Strange events
I have lived in my house for thirty years, and have been tuning up my 1969 Williamson fuel oil furnace for 29 of those years. I've never had a problem with the furnace, until this year.
I put in new igniter tips in the fall of 2024 and had the transformer checked. it was at only 80% of strength, so I ordered a replacement and installed it this fall, along with a new injector tip (85 degree, W code, where as usually I use and A or B code). I also installed two new filters in the fuel line. I reset the points to spec and the furnace ran fine, for two or three cycles. and then the reset button popped.
resetting the button had no effect. the furnace refused to fire. I am getting fuel oil, because if I open the inspection door I can see and smell the fine oil mist. I also know the CAD sensor works because does shut down the system when it doesn't fire. The fuel pump will run, but the ignitors will not fire.
I have checked all the wiring between the internal junction box and the pump motor and the transformer. All wires have been cut off, stripped and reconnected.
What will get the furnace to fire is if I loosen the two screws near the firebox on the transformer, flop the transformer back and push down on the contacts, push up on the contacts and reseat the transformer, feeling the spring pressure from the contacts. When I push down the reset button the furnace will fire 95% of the time. Occasionally i have had to perform the procedure twice, but rarely.
I ordered a new transformer from the same company and installed it, thinking that is where the issue lies. I still have the same problem.
First thing in the morning I have to restart the furnace, and it usually lasts through three or four cycles, and needs to be reset in the early afternoon.
I thought about the box between the thermostat and the transformer being bad, but it will consistently fire the pump, but not the transformer, although both are wired together to the box.
I have been dealing with this since the season started.
I know the three tings required: Fuel, air and ignition. I don't believe handling the transformer affects the fuel or the air, but I am out of ideas.
Any suggestions?
Re: Something Just Doesn't sound right about this
Good to see the McDonalds Coffee. That's the most important thing before starting work No coffee I go home.
