Always on a holiday...

FranklinD

Hello out there in Heatingland. I woke up on this Thanksgiving to an outside temp of -2*f, and my phone ringing.

My mom's house is cold, but when she stands next to the boiler, it's hot (a WM 176k gas boiler on an old gravity system, installed in 1997).

Disclaimer: I'm no heating expert, I'm a heavy equipment mechanic by trade.

I went over to take a look, and sure enough, the lil tiny NRF22 (I think) pump isn't running...until I gave it a whack. And it sounds awful. The system is circulating by gravity, but must be restricted by the newer, smaller, near-boiler piping.

Fortunately for us, I still have the Taco 007 that came with my new boiler sitting on the shelf in my basement. And the company that installed her boiler put isolation valves on the pump. Hooray!

She's back up and heating now, and tomorrow I'll see about figuring out the right size pump and finding one, but the Taco will work for now.

It never fails to happen when it's inconvenient, eh?

Happy Thanksgiving to all the great people who frequent this site...I'd know absolutely nothing (instead of next to nothing) without you folks.

Gordy

https://heatinghelp.com/systems-help-center/sizing-circulators-for-old-gravity-hot-water-systems/

Yup had that with my sewer line. Every year for about 4 years she would back up on a holiday, or weekend. Tree roots.

FranklinD

Yes indeed! She had the same issue for several years...every turkey day like clockwork with family visiting. She's on a clay tile lateral shared with 2 other homes. Always tree roots. Hasn't happened since everybody moved out and she's got the house to herself. Funny.

And you bet, I know what size the boiler is in her house, but I guarantee no heat loss has ever been done. Lots of rooms in that old 3 story house. It's on my to-do list, and as of this morning has moved right to the top! I'm curious to see if the boiler is oversized and by how much. There's a LOT of cast iron in that house.

David Nadle

This year be thankful for having the skills and equipment on hand.

FranklinD

Oh, yes sir, I am very thankful. I have a job I like going to, a house that I enjoy working on, but first and foremost, the kids are happy and healthy.

It seems as though this year I have attended too many fundraisers for friends' families who had disastrous health issues only to find out their insurance didn't cover large parts of it...or just plain couldn't work to support themselves during treatment.

We have a coworker out at the municipal landfill scale house that has to take 3-4 months off due to being ill from her treatments...everyone in the shop and street dept's donated their remaining vacation days this year to her and her family to help out. It was a very nice thing to see. I don't think the administration expected so many to give.

As long as we're healthy, that's all I can ask. Everything is possible from there on out.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, and can relax at least a little bit today.

And by the way, that taco 007 pump curve lines up pretty well for mom's system and boiler needs...just going to leave it and see how it does.

Ironman

The Taco 007 is a direct cross reference for the NRF22. Leave it in there and you'll be fine.

icesailor

That Taco 007 is like that Eveready Bunny. It can take a licking and keep on ticking. It will probably still be ticking when your mother has passed.