Welcome! Here are the website rules, as well as some tips for using this forum.
Need to contact us? Visit https://heatinghelp.com/contact-us/.
Click here to Find a Contractor in your area.

Auto water feed location?

st heat
st heat Member Posts: 28
in THE MAIN WALL
does the water feed connect to the 12" tapping on the bottom of the air scrubber as does the exp. tank?

Comments

  • RianS
    RianS Member Posts: 104
    Auto water feed location?

    I have been installing pump away systems for years now with great success. New systems, replacement boilers and even repiping existing systems using pump away. Recently we did a replacement system with an indirect. It is copper fin baseboard. Out of boiler we installed a 1.25x12" nipple into a full flow ball valve. Then went to 1" copper up to floor joists. 90deg elbow, 12" of copper, Spirovent with auto feed and exp. tank hanging off the bottom. Then 18" of copper into Webstone flange for pump. On the return, the LWC is at the floor joists then a purge setup at the boiler level then back into boiler. The problem we have with this install is the system over fills in a short time. I am pretty sure it is because the auto feed is on the suction side of the pump. Am I on the right track here? We have installed many systems like this without this problem. I have seen many drawings that are piped the same way. Any ideas would be great. Thanks in advance. Rian S.
  • RianS
    RianS Member Posts: 104


    ST, yes it does. Out of the bottom of the Spirovent is a 1/2" tee. The auto feed is connected to the branch and the exp tank is on the bottom of the tee.
  • st heat
    st heat Member Posts: 28
    auto feeder

    did you check the expansion tank press when not connected?
    with good exp. tank press.the sys. pump would not cause a pressure drop in that zone. st
  • Mark Wright
    Mark Wright Member Posts: 18


    Make sure the pressure feed valve is set correctly also. 12 Psi is norm but could be different.
  • escaseadjug1793177
    escaseadjug1793177 Member Posts: 22


    Ditto on the auto fill valve. Try backing the screw out and draining some water out.
  • RianS
    RianS Member Posts: 104


    ST, you know that is something I didnt think of checking. New exp tank and all, I guess I will need to check them all before installing them. It was one of those late Saturday installs and we just wanted to get home. We just shut off the supply until I could get back.
  • Norm Harvey
    Norm Harvey Member Posts: 684


    I have a little set up for checking the fill pressure of a peticular feeder.

    I have an IPS ballvalve befpre the feeder, then an IPS tee with a plug on the branch, then the feeder/backflow.

    I can temporarily install a guage in the branch with the ballvalve closed and set the feed pressure. Then I remove the guage and reinstall the plug.

    For the cost of a 1/2 tee, space nipple, and plug it gives you another convenience.

    There was an error rendering this rich post.

  • Mark Eatherton
    Mark Eatherton Member Posts: 5,858
    The droop.

    Siggy shows it in his drawing on page 183, figure 7-9 of Modern Hydronic Heating.

    If your pump is as close to the PONPC as it can possibly be, then there is no droop. Every time your pump starts from a dead start, this droop is exagerated, and the pressure reducing valves "see's" this quick droop of pressure and injects a shot of water into the system. Pretty soon, your pressure is at the relief valves release threshold, and badaboom, badabing, it cuts loose. I've also seen this problem exasperated by high pressure drop coils in DHW tanks, ala Amtrol Boiler Mates,

    As I have posted before, we don't put a make up on the system (at the request of our insurance company), but we include a low water cut off (code required) and in some cases, a low pressure cut out).

    If you have a leak in the system you WANT to know about it, because they never get better, only worse.

    To the best of my knowledge, make up connections are NOT a code requirement on closed loop heating systems.

    ME

    There was an error rendering this rich post.

  • RianS
    RianS Member Posts: 104


    Thats a great idea Norm. I will try that next time. Thanks
  • st heat
    st heat Member Posts: 28
    pressure

    it took us years to get into that habbit but we check em all.also put a tee with a boiler drain on top of them so you can check them without dropping the tank for future but also check your feeder setting.
  • Mark Wright
    Mark Wright Member Posts: 18


    That test set-up is a great idea!!!!! I will probably now make my own...thanks!!
  • Mark Wright
    Mark Wright Member Posts: 18


    You could always check the pressure on the expansion tank with a tire gauge to make sure it is as it should be too!!
  • tim smith
    tim smith Member Posts: 2,807
    Requirement of auto fill valve

    Here in Seattle, we use the adopted ASME code. In our verbage it is required to have an automatic means of feed water for our boilers, in turn that is why we have to install a reduced pressure backflow device also. I don't know if the fill requirement is an adopted addendum or in the ASME code. ?? Tim
This discussion has been closed.

Categories