2 expansion tanks are better than 1

Unknown

a 3 zone boiler with aquabooster . This was the first time I saw this - a diaphragm tank screwed into a compression tank . Truly innovative . Both tanks were waterlogged when we ripped them out .

Unknown

Burnham V83

with the Beckett Burner and Burnham cover . This is around the 4th or 5th install we used the Beckett , and it is much quieter than the Riello , which we use often . Thanks Charlie Masone from Beckett for showing us the difference . As with most of our installs , the homeowner's bedroom is very close by to the boiler - right above it on the next floor . Making the system as quiet as possible is top priority .

The boiler was a 3 zone with 5 separate returns . We decided to tee everything up at the celing and make it as clean as possible . We also repiped the aquabooster - a futile attempt , it's time is almost over .

Steamhead

Ron, how did you manage

with all that room to work in ;-)

Nice job, as always.

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tombig

Ron

I don't know you but I've seen your "ship in bottle" nearly impossible changeouts. Steamheads question popped into my head instantly before I read his post. I guess you would call that a "tank ON tank installation".

Keep up the good work. TG

Unknown

Good phrase

" Tank On Tank " . I hooked up the pump to drain the system , and after a minute or so thinking it was in a good vacuum , I took out the lower tank to give it some air . I still got hit with water in the face .

I feel like I'm being spoiled when we get these wide open basements . The path in was pretty tough though . I still don't understand how a house can be built without consideration of moving things up and down the stairs . I don't envy whoever has to replace the oil tank .

Thanks Tom and Steamhead .

D.J.

Ron, I was just wondering what type of air separator you used and location of it as well as exp. tank location too, (on supply piping after circulators?)

Unknown

On this job

and most of the others I installed with the Burnham , I use a long 1 1/4 inch nipple , reducer and air can at the top of the pipe out of the supply ( it's hard to see on this job ) . From the feedback I'm getting , this setup ain't doing the trick , so now we're gonna be using airscoops . This was today's install , in a tiny boiler room . I tried the method Jim Frazen recommended - point the airscoop back and come foward over the airscoop with the zones . This way works real good if you have the head room - the flowvalves were up over 6 foot .

The expansion tank is on the supply piping between the boiler and circ manifold .

We have such a diversity of heating systems out there - it's great to experiment day to day .

D.J.

Ron,thanks for your reply, i thought there might have been something about the burnham boiler that didn't require the air scoop but thought piping one in was just required or better anyway? It's also hard to tell but did you use a taco vortech separator or a regular air scoop on today's install picture? I'm planning on trying out the taco vortech not only for better air removal but to not have to allow for an 18" lead in pipe to an air scoop for a compact area install.(any luck w/ the taco vortech?.)Thanks,Dan.

jweglarz@hotmail.com

boiler install

burnham shows the feeder piped under expansion tank or point of no pressure change as they call it. is there any diference if it is piped into the return? also b&g feeders recomend only using a feeder to fill system then close feeder valve after installation does that make any sense? does anyone follow their recomendations?

kevin coppinger_4

The taco vortech...

is ok....clearly better than a traditional air scoop...but for about the same money you can do a Spirovent and get a 25 yr. warranty.I have a couple vortechs out there and not real happy w/ how they hold up, they leak and start to rust. Just 1 guys' opinion.kpc

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tim smith_2

B&G fill valve

B&G came out with that blurb in their paperwork about 3 years ago due to a suit for a fill valve flooding a place I think. We cannot use B&G fill valves in Seattle due to that blurb about shutting them off. The code here is that boiler must be equipped with a automatic feeder and that note in the paperwork makes them exactly not an auto feeder. So we use Taco instead. Still have 10 or 15 B&G fill valves hanging around in a box gathering dust.

Glenn Harrison_2

The story behind the B&G fill valves is...

in short there have been cases of boilers blowing up due to leaking and then the fill valve dumping cold water onto hot sections. For this reason, they do not list there fill valves as a saftey device. It's only purpose is to make it easier to fill the boiler to the proper pressure without over filling it. The safest way is to install a low water cut off (LWCO) on the boiler and turn of the water supply once the system is filled and bled. This applies to all brands of fill valves, but I only use B&G so I don't know what the other manufacturers print, but if they don't, they should print they're recomendations the same way.

By the way, I was told by a B&G rep that the lawsuit involved B&G, the boiler manufacturer, and every contractor that ever worked on the system that blew. Keep that in mind the next time you install a fill valve without a LWCO and leave the water turned on.

Glenn Harrison_2

The deal with B&G fill valves is...

there have been cases of boilers blowing up due to systems leaking and then the fill valve dumping cold water on a hot boiler sections, so B&G does not list there fill valves as saftey devices. They are only meant as convience devices so that it is easier to fill the system to the right pressure without ovefilling. The correct way to set up a system is to install a Low Water Cut Off (LWCO) on the boiler, fill and bleed the boiler, and shut of the water supply to the boiler.

By the way, I was told by a B&G rep that in the lawsuit, B&G, the boiler manufacturer, and every contractor that worked on the system was sued by the homeowner. Think about that the next time you insall a feed valve and leave the water turned on.

I'm supprised to hear Taco doesn't put the same statements in their instructions, especially since they make LWCO's also.

I've attached the B&G instructions for reference.