Felt like Dave Palmer - tiny boiler room

Boilerpro_3

on the relief valve, but I bet your surmise is right. Sometimes codes seem to not make much sense when reality sets in.
I think that with the good piping techniques of pumping away and proper water velocity through the boiler, few systems need an air scoop or microbubble remover. My own old American Standard with cast iron rads is piped with the conventional compression tank connected to the relief valve tapping and built in air seperator. I've never had any air in the system. I used to install microbubble removers, but found they really aren't necessary. I just use a good ole B&G IAS. They work great with pumping away.

Thanks for the compliment! From a top notch installer like you, it means an awful lot! I hope to be posting some pictures soon of that job when it is completed. Been working on it non stop since May 15 (except 2 weeks vacation and a few days for other customers) and hope to have it finished in about 3 weeks.


Boilerpro

Unknown

Thanks for jinxing me Dave .

This was one of the tightest spots I ever had to install a boiler . And its always on a Friday . I was thinking of how envious I was of your 5 by 5 room Dave . It looks like a good chunk of the town has houses and boiler rooms just like this one . Fun times ahead .

The room itself measured out to 22 inches wide by 46 inches in length . There were 2 cold and one hot pipe going into the ground where the boiler had to pass , as well as a 1/2 pipe going directly into the floor as the boiler and relief valve drain . Of course the drain didnt work . Not to mention 2 3/4 heating pipes coming out of the wall , in the way of everything . It took my partner Brian about 3 hours to rip this one out ( hey , he volunteered to do it ) . A one man job to say the least . It was a comedy act - how do you fit 2 250 lb. men in a boiler closet ? You don't .

Unknown

We used a wet base

Thermo Dynamics boiler . It just barely fit throught the doorway . The coil bolts got the boiler stuck , so we tried to pull the coil and bolts - no luck . So we used wee bit of pressure - 5 or 6 mule kicks got it through the doorway . Then the fun part , hoping we didnt kink or break any of the pipes in the floor when we maneuvered the boiler in place on 8 inch blocks . They held fine . I finally had the piping done by 4 - I dont want to see another 1/2 fitting , pipe , flux , solder , torch , for a year... or at least the weekend .

J.C.A._3

Captain Shoehorn Sails Again !!!!

Were you standing on your cohort's back to finish this one?Talk about 2lbs of 5#*! in a one pound bag !

God bless you, it looks good too ! I'm jealous.(just kidding, I've done my shoehorne share and really enjoy the spaces I'm given, or telling someone I'm taking!) Chris

kevin coppinger_4

a S -series eh...

Or is it an CWL...I didn't relize you guys did steel...I have put in a couple of those....pretty good for the $$$$$. Did you go for the 5 gal/min coil or the 3.5? Definately easier to clean from the top. I sometimes envy your work closets....kpc

ScottMP

Ron

I am sorry, no matter how hard you try and make your self belive differently, .... These are closets you are working in Pal. I know you want to feel you are working in a mechanical room, but its a CLOSET !! My GOD I am 46 x 22.

And they gave you this job on a Friday ???

I vote Ron Jr. for the first Wallie Hall of Fame recipient.

Scott

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Mad Dog

an absolutely miserable

spot Ron - but that's your specialty. Those of us who've done boilers in Levittown belong to a club that has many unwilling members - but someone's gotta do it right? MD

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Boilerpro_3

Twas Wondering.....

about the relief valve/ air vent installation location. I thought that that set up was no longer allowed by codes. I thought the relief valve had to be immediately connected to the boiler with no extra fittings in between.

Not trying to be picky, but I would love to use the built in air separators on boilers, but most use the same tapping for the relief valve and the vent/ tank connection, so I end up doing it like this....

Dave Palmer_3

sorry Pal

We did one yesterday where the boiler was already gone,lights,owner gave us a cooler of water and soda. And the best part was the bulkhead was 6 feet from my van. Sorry Ron had to rub it in,have a great weekend and go to the beach, Dave

Unknown

I gave my partner all the room he needed

He wired it up and installed the fluepipe and the oil line . I felt just like he did when I was piping the boiler - very bored . Thanks Chris .

jerrygb46_3

shoehorn blr rm

Another great job Ron,Next generation ob mech will praise your work when they must service them WELL DONE!!!

Unknown

Yes , it was a CWL

The salesman originally sold a Burnham RSA 110 , but when I saw the paperwork and the closet it was going into , I made sure we installed a wet base . I was thinking a WBV 3 woulda fit in there easier though . The coil was already in the boiler , Im not sure what GPM it was . I dont think hot water was gonna be a problem in this house though , the water pressure was on the way low side . Thanks Kevin

Unknown

Thank you Scott

Seeing the work that Chris , yourself and your crew do , that is great to hear . The homeowner told me that many of their neighbors had their boilers replaced , and they didnt have any of the problems we ran into . I would love to see the boilers they used to fit in this space easily . I bet every one of them is a small dry based tin can . Not the best option . And yep , its quite often a hanging GE , a steamer , or something like this on Friday .

Heres one we had to cancel on Monday - my runner up to tightest fit of a boiler . It is a 7 or 8 section Dunkirk , sandwiched between a chimney and a bathroom sink . Theres only about 2 feet of space between the front of the boiler and the wall it faces , so maneuvering it out to split it is out of the question . Oh yeah , we also have to cut all 5 of those pipes and 2 oil lines in front of the boiler going into the floor . Theyre all hooked into zones in the crawlspace and have to be repiped , as well as repipe an aquabooster in the crawl , and disconnect the heat from the garage . And its about a 30 foot crawl to get to the pipes - in a wet area . They wanted this one done in one day , I cancelled it .

Unknown

Oh yeah

I always try to keep it easy to service . The relief valve piping coulda been turned to get to the top easier , but all in all , it aint too bad to vacuum out if needs be . Thanks Jerry .

Unknown

Ahh , I love those jobs

Now that is what I call a " Friday " job . The homeowner at this job gave us water and Snapples all day , but with this humidity and the water off , we still went out to 7-11 twice for double gulps . You know its Triple H weather when you drink about 2 gallons of fluid and don't have to pee all day .

Unknown

Yes , someones gotta do it

I'm hoping theyre aint too many more replacements like this one - I think they take off a month of my life each job . Next one I'm gonna suggest they either cut the wall out to get to the boiler easier , or make it a 2 day job . Thanks Matt .

Unknown

First let me say

You do excellent work Boilerpro . Its like looking into a trick mirror , seeing the same image repeated . Very nice .

I know youre not trying to be picky , but where would I be able to mount an airscoop in this cubby hole ? Most need 18 inches up and 18 inches across before you install the scoop . A job like this you have to go into it thinking " compromise " . I was going to install the air vent at the top of the riser pipe , but I thought there wouldn't be enough room for the 2 circs and the expansion tank . So I put it on the relief tapping , like we have done on thousands of other boilers in tight spots . Airscoops do have their place on systems , but in a house with 2 baseboard zones on the 1st floor , it would be overkill .

I was wondering why the relief piping would be a code issue ? If the reasoning is that there might be a buildup that might block the relief because of the extra black fittings - how would that happen in a closed system ? Case in point - look at a blowdown on a LWCO . Sure there is rust in the 3/4 black pipes , but even after decades of blowing fresh water across it , they are nowhere near the point of being closed off totally . Maybe there is another reason for the code ?

jerrygb46_3

Nice paint job!!!

B. Tice

I second that motion........

that Ron is the first Hall of Fame recipient. I would need about 5 days for that, let alone one!!!

Mark J Strawcutter

IAS vs built-in

Aren't you concerned that you'll get a bunch of air gathered in the built-in separator with noplace to go?

Could that not cause problems - like fracture of the casting in that area?

Mark