New Slant/Fin Intrepid with EZ Gas burner

New Hampshire DIYer

A huge THANK YOU to everyone here at Strictly Steam for all the advice. When my aging Weil McLain EG-75 gas boiler started leaking last winter, I spent many hours on HH learning about my system. Thanks to all of you I re-pitched radiators to eliminate banging, installed an "antler" of Gortons to improve main venting, insulated the fittings on my mains, figured my EDR, discovered that my existing boiler was 30% over-sized, but, most importantly, purchased a Slant/Fin Intrepid TR-40 with a Carlin power gas burner and had my plumber install it with a drop header and auxiliary 3 lb pressure gauge. My plumber initially reacted to the Slant/Fin name by scoffing and calling it a "Home Depot brand", but changed his tune when our local supply house started carrying them. The install was not without its setbacks, mostly because Slant/Fin shipped the unit with an oil burner by mistake (another example of how SF seems to have amnesia or something when it comes to gas; their website says absolutely nothing about the Intrepid being gas-certified). But when that got corrected, everything fired up perfectly. This morning it was +6 degrees F outside--not too far from the design temperature for Concord NH of minus 2--and the unit brought the house up from a 4 degree overnight setback in 35 minutes. The pressure gauge barely lifts above zero. My house is a big old antique--9' ceilings, 7' high double-hung windows, stone foundation, etc.--but with blown-in insulation and good-quality storm windows it does pretty well.

Again, many thanks for helping out this eager but ignorant homeowner with your years of experience. I'm a steam convert now!

SWEI

Congratulations on the new boiler. Can't seem to get the photo to open, though.

Steamhead

Yes, something is wrong with the photo- it can't seem to decide if it's a .pdf or a .jpg . Looking forward to seeing it!

New Hampshire DIYer

Photo should work now.

Steamhead

Looks good from what I can see in the pic. I'm assuming there is a barometric draft regulator (swinging disc) on the smoke pipe somewhere?

New Hampshire DIYer

Hmmm...there is no barometric draft on the smoke pipe. I asked the installer about that and was told I didn't need one. Thoughts?

JeffM

NH DIYer, I've got an EZ-Gas on a steam system in an old house not far from you (Manchester NH). I'd be interested to know for future work who tuned the EZ-Gas for you, as I haven't found many techs near me who are familiar with them. Feel free to PM me through this site. Thanks!

Steamhead

Unless the draft is low enough all the time- say less than -.04"wc. or so, even on the coldest day of the year- you need a barometric. Those old chimneys were built for coal boilers, and they usually develop lots of draft. If the draft is too high, it will pull the heat out of the boiler and reduce its efficiency.

The proper barometric on a gas unit is a double-swing type such as the Field MG-1. That boiler has a 7-inch smoke pipe connection- I'd use an 8-inch barometric with a chimney like that, to make sure the draft was still under control when it gets real cold. Nothing like seeing an undersized barometric pegged open on a cold day.

You also need a blocked-flue safety switch (a.k.a. "spill switch") such as the Field FTS-1 for line voltage or the SSK-3 kit for 24 volt service. These mount to the barometric and stop the burner if hot flue gases reach them. Both the blocked-flue switch and the double-swing barometric are Code requirements.

vaporvac

You need one! Double-swing barometric draft regulator with the proper spill switch. Slantfin is very clear about this in their instruction manual. Did you get the proper install manuals for the gas conversion burner? They are different and tech support will send you the pdfs. Anyone in that dept can help you. Here's a pic of mine before it was finished; the spill switch goes directly under the dwbd. I looks like a flying saucer. Make sure you get the correct one.
How did he think it didn't need this! Geez! It's code in any case. I used a T instead of what they provided as I thought it was easier. I'm just a homeowner, but like you I designed and built my system with the help and copious advise from this board. Colleen
P.S. I'd love a close look at your equalizer piping.
P.p.s. WE don't mean to bring you down. Nice drop header and you'll love the SF! I used the Reillo burner for a bunch of reasons, but it's wonderful boiler. I'm so enjoying mine.

Fred

My, My, My, both of these installs look Great!

vaporvac

Thank you, Fred. That's very sweet of you to say. I'll have to post pics of the finished install once my Vstats are hooked up.

New Hampshire DIYer

Thanks for your comments @vaporvac‌. Here's a photo of the equalizer.

vaporvac

I'm hoping the pros will jump in...I'm wondering why they did the two ells instead of swinging the header to the back and then going vertical, or angling it before going vertical. I was just warned about that on my install as it can lead to water hammer at the least. If you don't have issues I guess it's OK, but there may be other issues of which I'm not aware.

Fred

I would have angled the equalizer too.

New Hampshire DIYer

Yeah, I can see what you mean, but we wanted to re-use the pre-existing 3" header and attached equalizer so we wouldn't have to waste all that nice cast iron. I've never had any water hammer so i didn't think it would matter. They tied into the bottom of the equalizer and ran new CI for the return.

New Hampshire DIYer

Thanks for your comments @vaporvac, @Fred, and @Steamhead. Here's another question: As you can see from the photo, there is a sticker on my Intrepid indicating the correct water level, but it seems very high to me. When I set the water level that high, the water in the glass surges crazily and the low pressure gauge shakes and fluctuates wildly. But when I draw it down to a more "normal" level (like halfway up the sight glass), everything calms down--that is, during a heating cycle, the gauge needle quivers only slightly and registers just an ounce or so of pressure; the water in the sight glass bobs up and down gently. The boiler has been thoroughly skimmed. The sticker is misplaced, right?

Fred

That Normal water level should be at half the sight glass, 2/3's the way up at most.

vaporvac

My Intrepids are similarly high...I always wondered about it. The pro who hooked up my burners said to keep it high, but I also have some pretty tall risers and double drop-headers to keep the steam dry. In my case I don't think it matters for those reasons. I thought it may be suggested due to the smaller water volume, to be certain it doesn't get into a low-water situation as I don't have any sort of condensate tank. That said, I've been keeping it lower without any problems since I thought it may still need a bit more chest space. Yours is well piped, but may still need some skimming (although your water looks good.)

Did you ever get the DSBDraft and spill switch installed?

Fred

I just looked at the owner's manual for the Intrepid and it says the Normal water level should be 25-1/2 inches up from the floor. Page 10, Figure 9

New Hampshire DIYer

Yeah, I know @Fred, 25 1/2" would put it right about halfway on the sight glass which makes the sticker more suspect. I have opted for a deeper chest.
I haven't installed the barometric draft as yet, @vaporvac. The chimney is lined in 7" stainless, same as the smoke pipe, and the chimney is internal to the house, so I'm hoping @Steamhead's warning that a big old chimney might play havoc with the draft isn't a pressing concern. Still, I need to circle back with the plumber and see about it again. The system was inspected by a pretty picky local inspector, so I also wonder why he didn't catch it.

Fred

Did the installer, by any chance put thee Hartford loop up to high and is now trying to compenste for that by raising the Normal water level? The Hartford loop should be about 2' below the normal water level.

vaporvac

I have the same situation and still needed it per Slantfin. The spill switch sits under it and shuts off the burner in case of blockage so you don't die. It senses temp change. Do you have something else to do that in case of a blockage?

I set my water level lower and no problems...my hartford loop is correct. I think it's in case of slow returns.

Fred

Putting the Normal water level that high, reducing the size of the steam chest and creating a situation where the water (especially when boiling) is so close to the risers where it can be sucked up just doesn't seem like a good fix for possible slow returns.

vaporvac

Yeah Fred, I didn't understand or agree with it, so I'm at 25 1/2 ". However, I never saw any problems with my water level before I made the change this year. At least not after I did some good skimmings and wandings.

nicholas bonham-carter

What is the height of that wet return in relation to the waterline height-hopefully below?--NBC

Fred

I noticed his boiler is raised from the floor also, so his Normal water line should be 25-1/2 inches from the bottom of the boiler.

New Hampshire DIYer

My plumber did the connections, but I planned the installation, demolished the old boiler and put the new one in place. When I set the boiler, I carefully measured 25 1/2" from the bottom of the "feet" of the boiler per the Slant/Fin manual to ensure that this was 2" above the existing Hartford loop close nipple. The wet return is 10" below the waterline.

Fred

Then there is no reason to move the Normal water level above half way up the glass. The installer didn't design the boiler and, as you have seen, it operates correctly at half full. Move the sticker where it belongs and consider your job done! Easy, Easy fix, contrary to others who come to this site.

If for any reason, you see that you have slow returns (which I doubt) fix that problem by flushing the wet returns out or replacing them is they are too clogged to get open. In your case, the wet return is very short and most of it looks new already. Dry returns rarely, if ever, get clogged.

New Hampshire DIYer

Thanks @Fred. Good to know about the dry returns; I was wondering about that. I've flushed out the wet return (what there is left of the old one) so I'm sure there's not much muck in there. When the boiler is at the end of a steam cycle, the water level has dropped by an inch or more--almost to the point where it triggers the LWCO. After the heating call is satisfied and the boiler shuts down, the water level gradually (5 min?) returns to the original level. The TR-40 only has 8.8 gallons of water in it, so it seems normal to me that the water level should sink accordingly when it makes steam.

Fred

New Hampshire DIYer said:

Thanks @Fred. Good to know about the dry returns; I was wondering about that. I've flushed out the wet return (what there is left of the old one) so I'm sure there's not much muck in there. When the boiler is at the end of a steam cycle, the water level has dropped by an inch or more--almost to the point where it triggers the LWCO. After the heating call is satisfied and the boiler shuts down, the water level gradually (5 min?) returns to the original level. The TR-40 only has 8.8 gallons of water in it, so it seems normal to me that the water level should sink accordingly when it makes steam.

This sounds totally normal and the fact that the water level returns to normal in 5 or 10 minutes certianly indicates there is no slow return issue.

vaporvac

This is what happens to my Intrepids as well, so i guess it's normal.

vaporvac

I also noticed that SF has their probe LWCO, skim port and NWL all at 25.5". I think most of the others have the skim port higher than the water line and the LWCO lower.

Fred

vaporvac said:

I also noticed that SF has their probe LWCO, skim port and NWL all at 25.5". I think most of the others have the skim port higher than the water line and the LWCO lower.

Yea, doesn't S/F have some kind of special power skim? EDIT: on the Intrepid

vaporvac

I think that's on their Galaxy model, unless I totally misunderstood the skimming directions for the Intrepids. I really wonder how it works and why all their boilers don't have it. I would think such a feature would spread like wildfire.