Hydropulse A-100

amuller

This boiler made in 1981 and still serviceable.....hard to imagine a more efficient boiler, but it could be quieter (!).



It's on a radiator system being converted to thermostatic rad valves.



My concern is that the literature puts a lot of emphasis on minimum flow rates through the boiler, so what happens on a warm day when all the rad valves close.  What's the best way to handle this?  Pri-Sec pumping (I don't like the extra power consumption of two pumps, but....)?  A bypass with a spring-loaded valve?  Or?



Is a flow switch needed to protect the boiler from a pump no-start?



Thanks for any suggestions.

Slimpickins

Wow

A Hydropulse that lasted 30 yrs, I'd say you got your moneys worth. Why go to all the trouble on a piece of equipment at the end of its expected service life? A Hydropulse is a primitive boiler compared to all the features of a new mod con. Put in a new mod/con, hook up the outdoor reset,  pri/sec it and add an ECM pump for your radiator loop and you have a top of the line system. Plus, you would sleep better without that tug boat sound resonating though out the house.

amuller

Hydropulse A-100

Thanks, Slim.  Logically, I suppose you are right.



But it's an interesting piece of equipment, and part of the character of the property.  Nostalgia, maybe.  A relic from a previous cycle of interest in efficiency....

bob_46

Miracle boiler

If I walked into a customers house and saw a 1981 Pulse and the

owner asked me to touch it I would run out to the truck , get my

48" slack-tube manometer and hang myself. If that boiler is original

I'll bet it's like my favorite ax. A couple of handles and a new head or two

but she's a sweetheart. *~

amuller

Hydropulse A-100 (negativity)

Ok, this is all very fine.  But how about telling me what you would  expect to find actually wrong with one of these boilers.....?

Mark Eatherton

Oh, where to begin...

Somewhere in the depths of my boiler journals, lies a certificate that shows I am authorized to work on THIS appliance.



I no sooner got authorized to work on them, and decided I didn't EVER want to work on them. Too many moving parts. Too many irritated customers.



Reed valves, gas valve, cam motors, sequencer, spark plug, spark ignition module/coil. I know I'm forgetting something... other than the usual aquastats, relays etc...



Oh, and then there's the bottom of the combustion chamber, where acidic condensate lays around, eating through the cast iron... and the rotted out floor drain that has been receiving the acidic condensate all these years.



Did I mention the noise ? ;-) I know a guy who's neighbor sued him because of the noise...



The combustion chamber/process is designed after the German V2 pulse rocket motor. The only good thing about that, is that during the WW2, the English could HEAR the rockets coming from a LONG ways away, and could seek shelter before they hit.



Nasally, twangy bull moose in heat comes to mind...



Other than that, great piece of equipment. NOT



ME

Jean-David Beyer

German V2 pulse rocket

I think the V2 was a regular liquid fuelled rocket. The V1 was the one with the pulse-jet engine in it.

amuller

Pulse things....

Yep.  The V-1 was a cruise missile powered by a pulse jet.  The V-2 was a ballistic missile, rocked powered.  The US military cloned the V-1 late in WW2 and there are reports of them being planned for use against Japan.



Anyone have experience with the Fulton pulse boilers?



http://www.fulton.com/products/hot-water-boilers.php?ptc=hw

Mark Eatherton

V1, V2, somewhere around there...

I sit corrected...



Vee Juan it is. :-)





URRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr (said with a nasally twang)



ME

Tim McElwain

Sometime when time permits

I have an interesting story about the buzz bomb and a British engineer named Thomas Green. I actually have some manuscripts (hand drawn engineering specs) on a pulse combustion engine that Green and a young German engineer named Werner Van Braun who worked for Mercedes were developing before WW II.



Pulse combustion was a great idea but was always a noisy way to do things. The Lennox Pulse Combustion Furnace and the Hydro-Pulse were way ahead of there time and they paid the price for being out front on new concepts. I have serviced a lot of both in my day and must say properly maintained and cared for they are still up and running. I know of at least 10 hydro-pulse boilers in one condo complex still up and running. They are gone completely through once a year faithfully.



The other units of those days Amana Heat Transfer Module, Heatmaker early version before Trianco and others paved the way for what we have today as Mod/Con applications.



When American engineers began to look at European ideas and develop them for use in America we were on our way to better things at least in the way of efficiency. I have my own thoughts on that.

tim smith

Re: Hydropulse and longevity

We worked on these for 20+ yrs. They were installed in some structures that was built to the highest standards at the time??? I always found these units to be somewhat of a marvel. The pulses made some noise but on the most part, if kept clean, they needed very little repair. I disagree they have a lot of parts. Originally they had a mechanical timer/switch control for ignition. Then they went to the Heatcraft control. The sequence of firing was quite unique. First the space ship fan would start, go through pre purge, then spark plug igniter would start and gas would open to mixing chamber. Small disc flappers were what created the pulse firing. After igntion, a proof of firing pressure switch would prove and shut off fan and the pulse ignition is what created the pressure for flue gasses to be forced out the flue in a downfire configuration.  The primary maintenance items we found was replacing the fibrous flapper discs, (which too tweazers to get in and out), clean spark plug and make sure mix chamber gasket was sealed properly and keep condensate drain clear. Again, if you think about it, when running, there were no moving parts except for these fiber 3/4" appx discs in mixing chamber. No power consumption except 24v .05 amps to gas valve and control module. No power to a combustion fan, no other power users, quite an amazing little machine. With all that said, our technology today is so much better but I still think they were a bit of a Marvel. Tim