Snow Melting Control

Tim Doran_2

Looking for help. What options are there for controling a 5500 sqft snow melt project? Customer wants fully automatic, hands off control. What is the best control and strategy and who offers the best support? This is my first one so I want to be sure I am doing it right.

It will be in stained and stamped concrete, reasonably flat, insulated, seems pretty straight forward but I want to cover all of the bases. Any advice?

Ted

DaveGateway

> Looking for help. What options are there for

> controling a 5500 sqft snow melt project?

> Customer wants fully automatic, hands off

> control. What is the best control and strategy

> and who offers the best support? This is my first

> one so I want to be sure I am doing it right.

> It will be in stained and stamped concrete,

> reasonably flat, insulated, seems pretty straight

> forward but I want to cover all of the bases. Any

> advice?

>

> Ted

DaveGateway

Snowmelt

Tekmar 661 w/ 090 senser ought to get you where you want to be.

Jay_5

snowmelting control

I would recommend installing the tekmar 667 control, with the 090 automatic snow ice detector and 091 sensor socket. The control requires the use of a variable speed injection mixing pump to protect the boiler and the concrete slab from thermal stress.
(FYI the 661 control has been discontinued.) For more information, please call us at tekmar 250-545-7749.

J

Robert O'Connor_7

Snow Melt?

Something to think about is controling the water/snow after it's melted. I've found most of the snowmelt jobs around me fail to address this and therefore create a nusiance with ice forming in the public areas and to make matters worse the HO's lay down ALOT of salt which usually ends up ruining the area were it runs off to. I did a job three years ago where most of the cost was designed around the water control....Robert O'Connor/NJ

Paul Rohrs_2

Snowmelt

Good questions!

It is not necessarily just the melting of the snow, it is also a question of drainage as well. A category III snowmelt system is sized for melting AND evaporation, it is a question of BTU load, coupled with slab protection that needs to be addressed.

Is this a residence or commercial job? If it is a residence, also wire in a manual shut off. It has been my experience that when Joe Homeowner goes away for a week, two weeks, etc, the fuel bill associated with melting (and evaporating) snowice gets their attention very quickly. (It might save you and an electrician a trip)

5500 sqft is quite a load. Over a million BTU's by my design method. Multiple manifolds with supplyreturn piping willbe a must. Wirsbo's Snow & Ice melting design manual is a MUST READ.

Since proplyene glycol is a must, maybe pursue a service contract for the first few years (or build that into your initial install cost) to monitor the PH levels, and to check the boiler operation, system pressure, and so on.

Regards,

PR

hydronicsmike

Pauli!!

Good to read your stuff. How have you been?

DaveGateway

Yes Jay.

It WAS a 667 I used. I guess I need to update my old info.

Tom

hydronicsmike

661 --> 665

Tom,

The 661 is now a 665 and does not provide Boiler Control or Mixing for Boiler or Slab Protection.
The 667 has all that.

661 is now 665 and 662 is now 667 (if Variable Speed Injection Mixing!).
Hope this helps.

Paul Rohrs_2

Hey Mike!!

Doing really well. Busy Busy Busy.


Where are you going to be training this year? I'll plan on attending those sessions. Or.......maybe another Wetstock event coming up so that I can buy You dinner.

Regards,

PR

hydronicsmike

Pauli!

I don't think I'll get to go near NE this year, but am hoping to catch next Wetstock, once I know where it is and when. Hope we can get together there. Would be great.

Am glad you're busy. You must have taken over more than half of NEs Heating Biz by now.