So… how do I turn it on?

SteamtoHotWater

Please post any responses/advice in the new discussion.
Thanks.

A few months ago, the forum helped me draw my diagram. Then, five weeks ago, I started demo on my old steam boiler and its myriad of pipes. Then, I built my new boiler wall and ran PEX and aluminum plates though my first floor/basement joists. Next, comes the second floor. But that’s going to have to wait a bit. Currently, the house has no heat whatsoever and it’s getting cold out there. It’s go time.

It pretty much looks like the diagram. I’ll have to upload a real photo later. There’s PEX going to the bottom, first floor, manifold supply and return. There’s wiring connecting the Taco ZVC and Taco circulator to the Laars. There’s also wiring connecting the ZVC to the first floor zone valve and thermostat. The water inlet is connected, though off. The gas is connected, though off. The ventilation is connected. Everything is connected - hopefully correctly.
So how do I turn it on?
The Laars manual is understandably a little vague - I imagine every install can be very different. Other than opening the water inlet, opening the gas and hitting the power switch, what should I be doing?
Are there some best practices and procedures I should be following. I’d sincerely appreciate any professional experience and wisdom to guide me.

hot_rod

Turn in the boiler?
The relay  box needs to wire to the TT terminal in the boiler

SteamtoHotWater

hot_rod said:

The relay  box needs to wire to the TT terminal in the boiler

Already done.

hot_rod said:

Turn in the boiler?

I more meant, what's a good procedure for turning on the entire system for the first time.
Something like(?):

1. Turn on the water
   
2. Turn on gas
   
3. Turn on boiler
   
4. Bleed air
   
5. Adjust circulator
   
6. Check combustion CO2
   
7. etc…
   

Looking for: do this before that, and don't forget to check this after doing that, and "In my experience, it's best to never…"

Jamie Hall

Have you purged the air out of all your piping?

SteamtoHotWater

Jamie Hall said:

Have you purged the air out of all your piping?

Nope.

MikeAmann

1) OPEN where the air will bleed out. You have zones, so you will do one at a time.
2) Turn on water - slow fill.
3) Check for leaks.
4) Lather, rinse, repeat.

SteamtoHotWater

MikeAmann said:

1) OPEN where the air will bleed out. You have zones, so you will do one at a time.
2) Turn on water - slow fill.
3) Check for leaks.
4) Lather, rinse, repeat.

During this procedure - is water flowing though the boiler? Or do I have those valves shut off?

MikeAmann

You have to purge all of the air out - boiler included.

hot_rod

Purge, then bring the system up to 12 psi. Some boilers will not fire until they have some pressure.

SteamtoHotWater

MikeAmann said:

You have to purge all of the air out - boiler included.

While I'm purging the air out, boiler included, is the boiler itself is actively powered on?

hot_rod said:

Purge, then bring the system up to 12 psi. Some boilers will not fire until they have some pressure.

Sorry to be a complete newb, but does mean just letting water flow into the entire system until the Laar's pressure gauge reads 12 psi?

SteamtoHotWater

I'm officially confused on purging. I've got purging instructions from Uponor and from Laars. Do I purge from the manifold and then purge from the boiler? Or does one purging procedure supersede the other?
"To ensure proper system performance, it is important to fill and purge the system at the boiler or at the manifold."
Is it really my preference? Purge at the boiler or the manifold?

neilc

you were going to post a picture of your system,
your diagram shows purges at manifolds, vents at the boiler, air scoop, and around the near boiler piping,
how close are the 2, diagram and boiler?

post a picture of the boiler and circ(s), air sep and tank, and air vents,
all in one distant shot, maybe from 2 angles,
post a picture of your manifolds, they do have purge ports, correct?

fill system to 20 psi, keep the fill valve set to 20 for now,
start burping it around the boiler, at the boiler vent, and the safety valve also,
for the manifolds, open the zone valves manually,
then valve off the supply or return to a manifold, and purge each loop individually,

keep the boiler turned off till all purging, burping is complete, and and water is circulating and air vents stop hissing,
set your pressure back down to 12, 15,
now start that boiler,

SteamtoHotWater

neilc said:

you were going to post a picture of your system

Yeah, the basement is a disaster. It's hard to even walk down there right now. I gotta seriously clean before I can even attempt to turn on the system.

neilc said:

how close are the 2, diagram and boiler?

Pretty darned close -other than the diagram not showing wiring.

neilc said:

post a picture of the boiler and circ(s), air sep and tank, and air vents,
all in one distant shot, maybe from 2 angles,

I will, once I get everything out of the way. Again, the diagram is really representative of the install .

neilc said:

they do have purge ports, correct?

They do.

neilc said:

fill system to 20 psi, keep the fill valve set to 20 for now,
start burping it around the boiler, at the boiler vent, and the safety valve also,
for the manifolds, open the zone valves manually,
then valve off the supply or return to a manifold, and purge each loop individually,

keep the boiler turned off till all purging, burping is complete, and and water is circulating and air vents stop hissing,
set your pressure back down to 12, 15,
now start that boiler,

Okay, all this seems like a plan. Though, I don't understand how I'm supposed to control the fill pressure. I was just going to turn on the cold water supply valve (on the left with the wye strainer) and let the system fill with water. Should I be doing something else?

neilc

uh, yeah, well, ya gotta turn the water on,
what are you doing about domestic hot?
the valve at the Y is shown isolating the domestic also,
I'll assume domestic by other, and you're going for heating,

before filling, was the tank checked for air pressure?
you want to air up to the same value you expect to cold fill to, 12 PSI(adj),
tank needs to be disconnected from system pressure to check air press,
you show isolation, and tank drain, good to go,

Fill,
turn on the water, just above the expansion tank you show the pressure reducing fill
valve(prfv), that's likely set to 12, maybe 15,
do you have any pressure gages piped into the system?
diagram only seems to show temperatures,
turning boiler on will display pressure, and boiler will protect itself in case of low water level, or pressure,
you could crank down on the prfv to raise up to 20,
count the turns in, so you can back out to 12 when done purging,

clean your basement, post pictures

SteamtoHotWater

neilc said:

clean your basement, post pictures

Done. Since people were asking for an actual photo, instead of just the diagram, I decided to just make a new thread.

Let's call this thread closed.