Have You Ever Made A Mistake?

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Alan (California Radiant) Forbes
Alan (California Radiant) Forbes Posts: 4,882
in THE MAIN WALL

I installed this Viessmann Vitodens (172K BTU) in 1997; replaced an old Hydrotherm. In-slab radiant, ~4,000 [], 18' ceilings, floor to ceiling single pane glass windows. The house is suspended in mid air over a steep ravine. An architect's dream, a heating contractor's nightmare.

Back then, the max. temperature you could get from a Vitodens was 167℉. That year - 1997 - we had a particularly cold winter and the boiler just couldn't keep the house warm, even running at max. setpoint.

Luckily, we haven't had winters as severe, but the owners never called me back. They tore my stickers off the boiler and pump control module. Since then, the husband and wife died and the daughter has moved in. The boiler is still working even though there's been a lack of maintenance, but her insurance company is making her get a new one.

Imagine running that high a temperature water in the slab. Bare slab or tile mostly; carpet in the bedrooms.

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8.33 lbs./gal. x 60 min./hr. x 20°ΔT = 10,000 BTU's/hour

Two btu per sq ft for degree difference for a slab

Comments

  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Posts: 21,301

    Add supplemental baseboard?

    mattmia2
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Posts: 18,351

    or panel radiators or even hydroair.

  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Posts: 18,351

    has the neutralizer dissolved all of the calcium?

    also not so common to have a neutralizer in 1997.

    everyone but the architect's nightmare.

  • kcopp
    kcopp Posts: 4,732

    Curious why the insurance company is requiring a replacement?

    How do you plan on rectifying the situation?

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