What's your favorite thing about this installation? (Brooklyn, NY)

JohnNY

I was called to find out if anything can be done to get more heat and hot water out of this 3-month old installation in a coveted neighborhood in a beautiful NYC home. The homeowners are concerned the contractor's plumber may have put in an undersized unit.
This is a 100,000 BTU unit in a 2,500 square foot house.

What's your favorite element of this installation?

Is it the expansion tank that's about to pull apart the copper fittings to which it's connected to the boiler?
Is it the spill switch screwed to the side of the boiler?
How about the single wall pipe in a forced draft flue?
The flue termination cozily nestled between the kitchen windows of not one but two unsuspecting families?
Maybe you like the NRF-22 pump on the tankless coil pumping into...a mixing valve!
Is it the wiring?
Is it the Chinese writing detailing exactly....well, I don't know.

Someone paid for this. It drives me friggin' crazy.

MASTER MAN MECHANICAL

you cant make this stuff up. how the heck is that joint on male adapter not leaking. WOW

Gordy

I want to see a picture of your expression when you set eyes on that.
I bet you love the soldering skills.

Well everything else is entertaining to say the least.

Docfletcher

If your talking about the joint after the ball valve from the expansion tank tilted at 40 degrees or so? That whole area gets 1st place for wacko.

R2.0

That's a Weil McClane CGt - I just put an identical unit in my house. But Holee Jeebus that's a mess!

You also missed the Boiler Room Temp safety Switch sitting on top of the boiler. That's supposed to go up near the ceiling to **** down the boiler if there is an issue with the room overheating. I wouldn't be surprised if they were having cycling problems from the switch opening due to sitting on top of the boiler.

If you need manuals fast let me know - I have electronic versions of almost everything in that install.

aldefed

My wife is from Taiwan and the writing means "first floor".

JStar

I know that this may not be the place for this kind of discussion, BUT...

Why is a different language "bad"?

R2.0

JStar said:

I know that this may not be the place for this kind of discussion, BUT...

Why is a different language "bad"?

Because it's customary when writing notes regarding the system configuration/operation to use a languageb that the owner's understand, It would be like handing over an O&M manual in French when you aren't in Quebec.

Mark N

How do you know the owner doesn't speak or read Chinese?

Gordy

If Alfred's post is true which I have no clue. Then maybe the installer needed the Taiwan version of that manual.

KC_Jones

I am just guessing here, but I would say my favorite part is that you are there now and going to fix it?! Why do so few people take pride in their work anymore? And to be honest I don't know hot water heating at all so I don't know what I am looking at just know it looks terrible.

R2.0

Mark N said:

How do you know the owner doesn't speak or read Chinese?

That is an excellent point.

Paul Pollets

Poor workmanship, to say the least. Why put a Vile McLain in a high end home??

Paul48

I'm not blaming the homeowner.......but, there is no way they got references, and looked at other jobs done by that contractor. That is the one, of a couple ways that they could have protected themselves. It is the easiest way. The other is taking the couple months to learn how that boiler should be installed.

Robert O'Connor_12

I wasn't aware that boiler came with a spill switch. Roll out yes. Looks like a part from a forced air furnace.

JohnNY

I said "spill switch" but the reality is it's a high-temp switch as R2.0 said. Same concept.

And for the record, the owner doesn't speak Chinese, Taiwanese, or anything other than English.

Infer what you will, @JStar‌, and let me know if you'd like to accuse me of being some kind of racist.

nicholas bonham-carter

Now Now, let us not put unintended meanings into others words.
It is true that the notes on the pipes should be in a language readable by the occupants!
let us remember that we are all of the same fraternity of heating professionals, and of course are extremely shocked by the bad installation here, which could flood the basement, while the occupants have inferior heat.--NBC

Robert O'Connor_12

@ JohnNY, I never saw one of those (high-temp switchs) before. Probably cause I never did a CGt . interesting......

Paul48

There's absolutely nothing wrong with a different language. Unless you are called in to figure out a mess, and can't read the notes written in that language. That would be frustrating enough to comment on.

JStar

JohnNY said:

I said "spill switch" but the reality is it's a high-temp switch as R2.0 said. Same concept.

And for the record, the owner doesn't speak Chinese, Taiwanese, or anything other than English.

Infer what you will, @JStar‌, and let me know if you'd like to accuse me of being some kind of racist.

I say a lot of things that sound racist without realizing it. That doesn't make me racist. It makes me unaware of how racism feels to the people it affects. This is not a personal attack. It's just not fair to categorize a different language as criteria for criticism. I don't really care how the statement was intended (I believe very strongly in freedom of speech). The problem I have is that it's a socially acceptable form of passive racism; like speaking Chinese somehow correlates with doing poor work. I would feel exactly the same way if you were praising the last "plumber"; implying that any one culture can be represented by a single person.

You may not agree with me. I just found it incredibly odd to specifically spotlight that item.

SWEI

Does the original installer hold any kind of license in any jurisdiction? This one would be worth reporting in my book.

JohnNY

When I told the client that they need to get the original installers back and get them to reinstall the boiler according to manufacturer's instructions and in compliance with local Codes, the response was they couldn't communicate with the guys and they didn't want them back. That they knew something was wrong but just didn't realize what they were looking at.