Bunch of questions about my boiler

Burt Eiseman

There should be no problems with shutting off your pilot light every summer if you use a dehumidifier. The pilot light helps keep the condensation to a minimum.

GTMtnBiker

Questions about my boiler


Hi,
I'm a homeowner in Mass and moved into a house about 1.5 years ago with a FHW gas boiler system. Previously, I had FHA systems and I have to say that I prefer FHW by far. Anyway, I have some questions that I'm hoping that you can help me with.

My system is a Weil-McLain Gold CGa 140K BTU gas, 2 zones. It was installed by Chuck Laverty plumbing prior to the previous owner putting the house on the market. The installation looks neat & professional. The company used the crimp copper fittings which you don't see too often. I would have preferred that the owner did not replace the boiler and instead give the next house owner a credit because I would have gotten a more efficient boiler. I think my unit is 81% which seems kind of low in this day and age.

1. I was surprised that the unit has a pilot instead of using spark ignition. A pilot is simpler but seems wasteful. Any issues with me turning off the gas at the end of the heating season and re-lighting at the start of the heating season? I do run a dehumidifier in the basement during the summer.

2. Do people put pipe insulation on the heating pipes? With the amount of pipes I have in the boiler room, it feels like one big radiator. I have begun putting good quality pipe insulation to cut down on the heat loss. I've noticed that in the pictures that people show of their jobs on this site, I just about never see any pipe insulation. In a way, it's a shame to cover up nice work.

3. What do people think of a product called "Becket HeatManager"? I guess it helps you save some energy by delaying the boiler firing if the water is still sufficiently hot. I'm not sure if it would be useful for my system. When my system calls for heat, the circulator will run and it appears that when the boiler temp drops below 150, the boiler fires until it reaches 180. The controller is a Taco SR506.

4. In my house, I have two zones. One for the first floor and one for the second floor. The first floor is a bit larger due to a family room attached to the back of the house. The family room tends to be a few degrees cooler for various reasons that I'm trying to resolve (e.g, better weatherstripping, caulking, etc). Since we spend a lot of time in the room, I'm thinking of putting it on a separate zone. One plumber wants to use zone control valves to put it on a separate loop so the amount of additional piping is kept to a minimum. Another plumber votes for a separate circulator pump and isolating it as a separate zone. Are there advantages to doing it one way versus the other?

5. My boiler has an automatic water feed. If there are no leaks in the system, does a boiler ever need more water? The concern that I have is when I go on a vacation in the winter, I like to shutoff the main water supply to prevent the possibility of a water leak when I'm not there. I also turn down the house temp from 70 to 60. Is it an issue to shut off the water main?

Thanks,
--Bill

Unknown

what are the reason for

What are the reason for cooler room? Are the radiators differnet from the main home and in the addition? There's usually a uneven heating when having copper fins with cast iron system. If this is the case, yes, having the addition on its zone will work with a zone valve, piped and wired properly. The existing pump is usually large enough for the whole system...
If you need to run the dehumidfier, then I rathered to have the pilot system to keep the boiler dry at all the time...

GTMtnBiker

What are the reasons for the cooler room?

The house was built around 1966 and the family room was an add-on done a few years after (1970). The first floor consists of two loops. One loop for the living room (~13'x23') and another loop for the rest of the first floor (~28'x23') plus family room (~18x~20). The family room is at the tail end of the loop.

It seems that it's a lot for one loop to service.

The family room tends to be cooler than the rest of the house for several reasons:
1. It's on the north side of the house.
2. There's a large massive fireplace whose chimney is on the exterior wall.
3. There is a basement under the family room which is completely separate from the basement under the main house. It's also unheated.

The radiators are all the same, Slant-fin copper tubes ith aluminum? fins.

Unknown

those are...

Those are good reasons for cooler room esp with fireplace and its damper not 100 percent closed... The seperated zone on its own thermostat will help balance the heating loads... Most importantly, do the heat loss clac and make sure there enough baseboard in the aforementioned zone.... I rathered have cast iron baseboard for this set up...

Norm Harvey

1) Its ok to shut off gas if your using a dehumidifier, though I wonder which costs more to operate.

2) Often the pics we show each other are pre-insulation so that we can show off. By all means insulate!

3) Im not entirely sure of its compatibility with your system, what is the make and model of your operating controls?

4) Controling with valves or circulators doesnt matter all that much, both are still pulling from the same boiler water, a circ would give you more Gallons per Minute flow for that zone at the operating cost of an added circulator which is minimal. Either or in my opinion, I tend to like valves.

5)You can shut off the main (make sure you have a backflow preventer on the line) But as with any unoccupied property either have someone checking it, or an alarm. Most low water cut off devices have alarm contacts that can be wired in to your home security system if you have one. I have a few customers with rental properties that have ADT monitoring their low water cut offs.



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GTMtnBiker

Reasons for the cooler room

There's actually a woodstove inside the fireplace. The stovepipe goes through where the damper was and there's a metal plate covering the throat. It's a very thin sheet metal.

The right way to do this would be to have a mason come in and redo the opening to fit the woodstove flue properly but that won't be cheap. Plus, the whole chimney needs repointing since I do get some water in the fireplace when there is wind-driven or heavy rain. I'm inclined to rip out the fireplace and put a new insulated wall in place. The house already has 2 other fireplaces so going from 3 to 2 is not a big deal.

GTMtnBiker

Response to Norm's questions

1. Regardless of whether the pilot is on/off, I have to run the dehumidifier or the basement will be too damp. I thought I would save a few bucks by shutting off the pilot.

3. My operating controls are: Taco SR506 with Taco 007 circulator pumps.

4. One advantage of Zone valves in my case would be that I would not have to touch the return manifold. This is because the plumber did not provide for expansion capability unlike the supply manifold. I would have to cut the copper return pipe, unscrew the 90 CI elbow, extend out the manifold and reconnect.

5. Yes, there's a backflow preventer on the boiler water supply line.

Thanks for the help.