Contractor needs a double check on EDR

ChrisJ

Ok I have to know.
How did you mark this thread as "answered" ? I've been trying to figure this out for weeks and it's killing me.

KC_Jones

So the baseboard hot water circuit is heated by steam? That is unusual usually a hot water leg off a steam boiler uses the boiler water. Does the thermostat control boiler firing? You say for a heat call it opens an actuator, does it fire the boiler also? This is definitely an unusual system. I think you should post some of this under a new thread with a more appropriate title to get some pros with more experience to chime in. Once you touch this you own it and if it doesn't work right after...well you know. We all have opinions, but this looks like a lot more than a boiler replacement. How is the system working now? Is it quiet, heat evenly etc. What are the homeowners expectations?

JudySweetland

ChrisJ said:

Ok I have to know.
How did you mark this thread as "answered" ? I've been trying to figure this out for weeks and it's killing me.

I did not mean to mark the thread as being answered, just your post. I clicked on answered at the bottom list after your post. The others are Flag, Quote, off topic, etc. Did i freaking click something i should not have? LOL

ChrisJ

That's odd. I don't have an "answered" nor do I ever? I checked on threads I've started and it's the same.

JudySweetland

KC_Jones said:

So the baseboard hot water circuit is heated by steam? That is unusual usually a hot water leg off a steam boiler uses the boiler water. Does the thermostat control boiler firing? You say for a heat call it opens an actuator, does it fire the boiler also? This is definitely an unusual system. I think you should post some of this under a new thread with a more appropriate title to get some pros with more experience to chime in. Once you touch this you own it and if it doesn't work right after...well you know. We all have opinions, but this looks like a lot more than a boiler replacement. How is the system working now? Is it quiet, heat evenly etc. What are the homeowners expectations?

This HW circuit has steam that goes to a brazed plate heat exchanger that has 4 female connections. The pipe i mentioned goes into the ht exch INLET HOT which also has a vacuum breaker on this pipe. The OUTLET COLD CONNECTION HAS A HEADERED pipe that goes to a small reservoir that has a temp gauge attached at one end and the other end has the probe that comes from the Hoffman 1140 thermo valve. The INLET COLD connection id for the leg coming back from the baseboards. The last connection is the HOT OUTLET which goes to a thermodisc trap and a #75 steam vent! If u r confused welcome to the party! The system's HWH circuit has worked intermittently over the past 4 or 5 years, the steam heat is noisy, hammers but does heat well. The homeowner knows this is a bit of a cluster and will take time and money to root out all the troubles. They are as patient as saints.

JudySweetland

ChrisJ said:

That's odd. I don't have an "answered" nor do I ever? I checked on threads I've started and it's the same.

If u can see this screen shot look toward the bottom

ChrisJ

Weird.
Wonder why I never have that. I feel left out.

Dave0176

I think a Weil McLain EG65 with 654 sq ft with two 3" risers into a 4" drop header would heat nicely. I size all my boilers to the EDR.

JudySweetland

ChrisJ said:

Weird.
Wonder why I never have that. I feel left out.

Naw, don't feel left out, just special!

JudySweetland

Dave0176 said:

I think a Weil McLain EG65 with 654 sq ft with two 3" risers into a 4" drop header would heat nicely. I size all my boilers to the EDR.

Thanks for the info. I'll have a look.

KC_Jones

The only reason I asked about the noise etc. is if all you do is replace the boiler and do a little clean up, that probably won't make a huge change in the operation of the system. As long as the homeowner is patient you might be okay. I think a full system evaluation is due. You may want to come up with a final result with all the bells and whistles and use that as an ending point. Then make a list of what should be done now versus what can be done later. I am guessing there is some budgetary constraint by the homeowner? This as near as I can tell is a situation that needs a comprehensive plan in place before you start work. Not really sure what your plans are at this point just stating my opinion on this. You may even want to present pros and cons of certain aspects of the system that they currently have versus some changes that could be made fore improvement. That hot water system sounds overly complicated to me, but again I am no expert. The beauty of steam is simplicity and you may want to consider that in your decision making with respect to some of the complicated aspects of this system. Just my $.02 worth.

JudySweetland

KC_Jones said:

The only reason I asked about the noise etc. is if all you do is replace the boiler and do a little clean up, that probably won't make a huge change in the operation of the system. As long as the homeowner is patient you might be okay. I think a full system evaluation is due. You may want to come up with a final result with all the bells and whistles and use that as an ending point. Then make a list of what should be done now versus what can be done later. I am guessing there is some budgetary constraint by the homeowner? This as near as I can tell is a situation that needs a comprehensive plan in place before you start work. Not really sure what your plans are at this point just stating my opinion on this. You may even want to present pros and cons of certain aspects of the system that they currently have versus some changes that could be made fore improvement. That hot water system sounds overly complicated to me, but again I am no expert. The beauty of steam is simplicity and you may want to consider that in your decision making with respect to some of the complicated aspects of this system. Just my $.02 worth.

I appreciate your advice and agree with you all the way. I am not sure why the hw heating circuit is so complicated either.

nicholas bonham-carter

Considering the complexity of some of the questions here, "answered" is a long way off. Maybe Dan can explain this feature, and then turn it off.--NBC