My Hartford loop

jeeeepster

Hi everyone,

I am in the middle of installing a Burnham IN5 gas Steam boiler. Thanks to all the wonderful info that I have found on this board things are progressing slowly but surely. So now my question in regards to setting up my Hartford loop. The minimum specs for my boiler is to do it in 1 1/4" pipe. Are there any advantages to doing it in 1 1/2" or 2" pipe for that matter. The return tapping on the boiler is 2" and on the part of my equalizer after my 3" header I Have it reduced to 2". My wet return that runs along my basement floor is 1 1/4" copper.

Also the the place where I tap into the return for my water feed , does it matter on which side of the Hartford loop it is? The installation manual shows it on the side of the equalizer. I don't see where it would be a problem if I put it on the wet return side of the loop.

Thanks in advance for all you help.

Rod

Fresh Water Entry Point

Hi- The 3 inch header and the 2 inch equalizer is a good combination and while you can get a wet return that is too small I don’t believe making it larger than the “spected” 1 1/4 inch gains any advantage. (A 1 1/4 inch wet return will support 1100 sq.ft. Of EDR - Burnham Heating Helper)

 As to where to input your boiler makeup water there seems to be some controversy on this. One group favors putting in on the equalizer side of the Hartford Loop as this way it will mix quickly with the boiler water when you turn on the burner and therefore the dissolved excess oxygen is driven off sooner. The second group favors the wet return side of the loop as they feel there is risk of thermal shock to the boiler resulting from introducing cold water to the system at the base of the equalizer. As the highly qualified pros seem to be split to both sides, take your choice. I think you have to keep both cautions in mind and it depends a lot on each individual boiler’s piping.  Example: If the base of the boiler’s equalizer loop extended laterally a short way rather  than going straight back into the boiler this would allow for more mixing before the cold water entered the boiler.

- Rod

jeeeepster

Water fill piping

Thanks Rod. The way my loop is set up it would be easier to pipe my make up water line on the side of the wet return so I guess I will go that route unless any one else decides to chime in and give me a good reason not to.

Jean-David Beyer

I have a question.

Is there a reason not to use hot (domestic) water instead of cold to supply the makeup water? This might reduce the risk of thermal shock to the boiler. You might not want to use softened water but the piping might be arranged to avoid that.

Hap_Hazzard

Hot Make-up Water

From what I've read, it's okay as long as you're not using an automatic water feeder. In the manual that comes with the Hydrolevel VXT, it says the maximum fluid temperature is 150° F. That was enough to discourage me from hooking it up to my water heater. Then I read an article Dan wrote about a flooded boiler caused by a water feeder on a hot water line.



But as far as I know it's okay to do it manually, but most people who advocate it cite deoxygenation and demineralization rather than avoiding thermal shock as the main advantage.

Hap_Hazzard

Depending on where your supply pipe connects...

You might find that adding water to the wet return stirs up a lot of the crud that tends to accumulate there and flushes it into the boiler. I ran a water line to my mud leg solely for purging the sediment, and it works great, but I flush it into a bucket instead of my boiler.

Beck13

Carrying boilers

Estimating boiler job. Any tricks getting 800lb boiler up 4 steps through a doorway with limited space???