Cool Tool (Steamhead)

Steamhead

at NAPA auto parts stores for less than $100. Or order online at www.raytek-northamerica.com .

Here I'm measuring the return, again with the boiler off- 83 degrees. Delta-T tends to equalize when the boiler is off- it's 10 degrees when the boiler is running. This with the slower circulation achieved by changing the B&G 100 to a Taco 005. It will be interesting to see what happens after I install the B&G NRF-9.

Outside temperature was 24 degrees when I took these readings. Indoors was 62- I don't need it to be higher. Radiators measured 89 degrees.

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Steamhead

Raytek MiniTemp

is a point-and-shoot infrared thermometer. The MT4, shown, has a built-in laser aiming device- the MT2 does not. Here, I'm measuring the temperature of the flow pipe on my gravity-converted hot water system- 89 degrees. The boiler was off at the time.

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Don_2

What!!

How can you afford that thing? I thought you already spent
all your money on those antique phone....hehehe

Steamhead

Nope

that's why I negotiated with that guy! Have to have something left over for cool tools ;-)

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Boilerpro

Hey Steamhead

Twas wondering at what load does your system run that 10F delta tee. The delta tee changes with the heating load on thesystem. In cold weather you will see a higher delta tee and in warmer weather a lower delta tee.

Boilerpro

jim f

accuracy

i purchased one of those in the summer to check suction line temps on ac systems to calculate superheat....found it very inaccurate compared to my strap on temp sensor...wondering if this was due to outside temps or copper??? but i have used it to check delta t's across supply and return temps in hydro-air systems with good luck
jim f.
milford, ct.

Chris_4

Jim

If you are using it to check copper, you should put a piece of black electrical tape on the copper before reading the temp, otherwise you will get inaccurate readings from the copper.

Chris

John@Reliable

Jim, I find that you must

only use on painted pipe or fittings if copper. I spray what I want to check w/a quick shoot of flat black paint. John@Reliable

Steamhead

Good question!

I've never done a full heat-loss on this house- kind of like the shoemaker's kids having the worst shoes in town, eh? All in good time. I did reduce the firing rate from .85 to .75 GPH this past fall, since the burner was really short-cycling with the increased heat-transfer efficiency brought on by the smaller circ.

The delta-t can be measured across a radiator too, not just on the mains. This can give you an idea of just what's going on inside the rad, and how much heat is going into the room. As I write this, it's 27 degrees outside and 62 inside, and the last rad on the long loop is 91 degrees at the inlet and 81 at the outlet. This averages out to 86 degrees, which would put out about 75 BTU per square foot EDR. The rad is 52.5 square feet, so the room is getting 3937.5 BTU per hour.

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