ESBE Thermetic valve working great

Mad Dog_2

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Working perfectly in this 200 yr old Long Island Farmhouse. Always extremely happy with ESBE products. Mad Dog

Mad Dog_2

Great idea Clam....Mad Dog

PC7060

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/198722/esbe-thermetic-valve-working-great

Thanks for sharing Matt, nice work as always. How are you using the valve? Second lower temp zone or return water tempering?

clammy

Thanks Matt there's always those who strive to know that they did all they could do get it right the first time and not have issue appear for others to ponder years later . Cause and effect and time being no one will see the issue of low return temp till after issue appear and there's usually more then one and everyone scratches there head and wonders duh. while p /s and great for gravity conversion and differing gpm rates from system to boiler flow rates it does nothing to protect a cast iron boiler upon start up and until above fuel gas condensation temps by the simple addition of a thermic valve removes all guess work and protects the boiler a wise addition to any gravity conversion of course there's a few other tricks to protect from low return temps but the ebse thermic valve is a no brainer and automatic and does it all without anybody knowing it s beautiful . a old adage i was told over seas long ago when it comes to cast iron boilers and large system weather gravity or trv s maintain the kettle and reset the system those germans smart hydronically just gotta think a bit as to why and what they avoid by doing so like stepping over a dollar to pick up a penny . There's a reason .

Always a pleasure to give ya some helping advice as if ya need it .

peace and good luck clammy

Mad Dog_2

Return water. It's an ancient gravity HW system..3" supplies & returns. Mad Dog

Kaos

That is pretty nice work and definitely the right way to deal with low RWT in high mass systems.

I'm trying to figure out how the dollars of it works out down there as around me the common conversion is to replace the gravity setup with a modcon (Veissman vitodens is pretty common).

Comes with a pump built in, straight connection to the existing pipes. About the only addition needed is a dirtmag. No need for anything external, thermostat connects to the modcon directly.

The hard part is drilling through the 2' thick foundation and lugging the existing lump of steel out.

I know modcons are more but labor is expensive, so is that nice copper piping and even that thermosatic valve.

Most older houses with new windows tend not to need 180F water, with outdoor reset so you get decent condensation and better efficiency most of the season. Plus since the heating water temp is stable, there is no banging of the old pipes each time the boiler cycles.

Am I missing something?

Steamhead

@Kaos said "Am I missing something?"

Yes- serviceability and longevity.

Around here, parts for mod-cons can be hard to get, and no one stocks them. Plus, there is no standardization across different brands and models, so everything has to come from the warehouse or, more often, the factory. Customers are not happy if we have to tell them they won't have heat for two or three weeks.

Then, where a cast-iron boiler would last for decades, the mod-con might last 10-15 years. And by that time, parts might not be available at all.

I like to be able to show up, diagnose the problem, and fix it using standardized parts that I have on the truck. And our customers appreciate that we can do this.

Kaos

I can see that for commercial setting.

In a residential setting, that is a harder sell. Fair point that there is no standardization and it is problematic. These things are pretty reliable though, occasional flame sensor is easy swap and same day part from local suppliers.

Since they are pretty common around me, means the cost math works out somewhere. Just form simple BOM and install cost, it looks like cheaper overall plus you can charge more since it is a higher efficiency unit.

Steamhead

You must be in a better location. We've had some experience with mod-cons that we don't want to repeat. If someone else wants to deal with this, let them.

Mad Dog_2

I love Viessmans & Laars mod cons, but they require annual cleaning. The Landlord is not interested in the extra expenses & maintenance. Mad Dog