Wilo Bronze (Star S 16BFX)

archibald tuttle

Looking for bronze circulator for floor radiant that is all polybutyl on an indirect tank.  just trying to eliminate all the sources of iron corrosion of which the circulator is the last one -- until the stainless indirect tank isn't [stainless] anymore.  I think i can live with that.



So i feel like there should be plenty of flanged bronze circulators around but i see that, whilst i've been staying on the cheap with cast iron, that most bronze choices have G Nut unions (or the same sort I've been chasing for TACO 3350 pressure reducing valves), although none of them seem to specify the size convention for the union.  This remains a difficult thing to spec.



But i digress.  I assume this is maybe because many of these are used in domestic recirc or direct domestic hotwater making or . . . or do europeans like to use that format for their heating pumps as well?



I think i would prefer flanged with shutoffs.  But i notice that many companies seem to be superceding their bronze stuff with stainless -- no doubt because of the new lead free stuff that. I guess the stainless circulators, at least the more universal sizes, aren't coming in too much more than the bronze in cost although i really like the bronze and they performed well in this more oxygen rich older hydronic installs.



So i reckon there must be some of the old stuff - and i found a wilo star 16BFX for $129 on ebay with flanges which is pretty reasonable.



The cast iron grundfos i got on there now is closer to a star 21BFX but i think that it is overkill. I've been having a little bit of venting trouble upon refill so i've just been running it on high speed - that might be superstition but i feel like it is a little less likely to get airbound on high speed. But I'm going to try it on medium for a couple days which would be about the same curve as high on the Wilo 16BFX



Because i can use the indirect to reset temp. this is a very vanilla constant circ. application so i don't need any delta T or delta P approach. Just wondering what you think of the Wilo Star's - never used one, always grundfos.  Biggest pain if i change is they appear to use different ring sizes.  so doesn't taco which is why i've been stuck in grundfos world for a while.  This is getting like cellphone chargers.  gotta keep three different ones on hand.



Or is anyone aware of any other pacel of stranded leadful flanged bronze circulators, single or triple speed  that might be appropriate for heating application but are being remaindered.



thanx.



brian



If you know

SWEI

High copper prices

drove the cost of bronze to the point where stainless was competitive in price.  Throw in a few brittleness issues with early lead-free alloys and the historic unpredictability of the copper market and voila!  Stainless starts to look pretty good.



I have not seen any issues with oxygen-rich water.  Chlorides get a bit tricky depending on the particular stainless alloy used.

archibald tuttle

i use coppa

it costs money because it saves money, etc. etc.



got it. don't get me started on copper [too late]. the crown butte 'gold' mine outside of yellowstone they made such a stink about was actually a copper mine with a modest gold credit in the ore. i wish they would have just run over the folks lying in front of the bulldozers [well metaphorically anyway, its really way more important to make mines than martyrs]. everyone who complains about the cost of oil hasn't bought any copper or copper laden metals lately.



glad to know you haven't experienced much compromise of the stainless in non-barrier service. meanwhile might nab a few of the lead-full bronze pumps at a discount. i've been really happy with the few bronze pumps i have had in service. but i use stainless [too] it cost money because it saves money, etc., etc.

Steamhead

Brian

we have a few of these pumps. Get in touch if you're interested. 

SWEI

Leaded Brass

presents widely varying risks when exposed to different water chemistries.



Check out the prices of ProPress in thinwall 304 stainless and compare them with copper.



A large part of our local economy is derived from copper mining.  It's getting more and more expensive to pull the stuff out of the ground.  Copper is nearly irreplaceable for conveying electrical current and signals.  We have viable options for carrying water.