It all started with a boom......Heating system update....

[classicguywi]

Let me share with you a story that happened over this holiday season.

At 10pm the first night the heat was on this fall, there was a boom so loud in the house that we thought that something had exploded. Running from our bed and inspecting the house we found nothing wrong but the standing pilot on our 50 year old Hydrotherm boiler had went out. Not being able to find anything wrong I re-lit it and as we headed off to bed just a the boiler fired the same thing happened again. Running down to the boiler room discovered that the boiler was indeed in worse shape than once thought. Immediately we set to work cleaning, repairing and replacing parts that were worn out, however this was a thermopile boiler and was growing long in the beard and was becoming less and less reliable. We had come home a few times to the boiler shut down and the pilot out. Despite replacing the thermo-coupler and the thermo-pile we had indeed come to say goodbye to our old friend the Hydrotherm.

Flash Forward, After contacting a few local heating contractors and coming back with bids not in the thousands but in the ten thousand plus range I decided that it is nothing more that copper pipe and a few basic math calcs all explained in the installation manual.

SO.....

Over the course of two weekends I hung, cut, soldered, split, wired, and so fourth the new system. What type you may ask, well it is a U.S. Boiler Company model K2. After working with a friend to do the field adjustment to run on our Propane gas it has been running for 2 weeks and let me just say that our usage has plummeted and our house has never been warmer or more comfortable.

This was a challenge that we took on head first and have gone above and beyond what we were planing on doing, including splitting the house into two zones with a future expansion planed for a third, went to a 93% efficient, and also relocated the boiler into a place that is easier to service.

Hope that everyone had a less eventful Christmas and New Years than we did here in Cascade.

~Mike

 

[chachp]

That's impressive!

<span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;">Do you do that kind of work for a living?  It looks so professional and I bet that takes up much less space than the old one.</span>

 

[tomturbomatic]

Congratulations!

I admire all who can do more with their hands than eat and write.

 

[rp2813]

WOW!

With all of those ball valves, knobs, regulators and associated wiring, I'd never have tackled that job in a million years!

 

I'll wager your finished product looks cleaner and better than if it had been done by some HVAC flunky.

 

You should be very proud of yourself!  And it must be very satisfying to enjoy the warmth and comfort your new system is providing with much greater efficiency.

 

Congratulations!  Really impressive!

 

[travis]

I am also impressed.  Someday, when my thirty year old Hydrotherm pops, I will do the same.  I was advised not to go with a high efficiency boiler with my cast iron piping and radiators though.  They said the aluminum boilers tended to get plugged with debris.  What I have now is 83% efficient, I will cope.

 

[toploader55]

WOW !!!

That's one Incredible Installation.

You're a Pro. No question about it.

 

[gusherb]

Wow!

That looks like it was done by a very talented professional!

Idk what you do with your new boiler but the newer mod/con boilers like yours tend not to like setbacks and use equal or less gas when NOT setback at all as they do take a very long time to recover especially when sized correctly.

 

[appnut]

Mike, I'm extremely impressed!!!  Congratulations on accomplishing a world-class type of product. 

 

[classicguywi]

thank you all !

Previous to this install I had done plumbing work but nothing like this... it was a daunting challenge but it was well worth it and in the end despite a few tiny leaks it was a fun project.

 

[appnut]

We posted simultaneously!! 

 

[classicguywi]

I see that!

To answer what I do for a living, I manage a few properties for my boss as well as a full time student studying to become a Pre-K - Grade 6 teacher

I have herd that these types of boilers are not recommended for cast iron however some that I talked to said that it was not a problem as long as there are good sediment traps installed on the boiler loop.

I will also dig around and see if I can come up with any pictures of our original hydrotherm.

 

[a440]

Great job Mike!
Such a clean install!
Here's to a warm and toasty winter!
Cheers!

 

[askolover]

Jealous!

That looks great!  maybe I should get you to come here and install our eventual hydronic system!

 

[beekeyknee]

Air Vent

Hey Mike,

That air vent that's setting on top of the air purger on the main line; what brand is that? My parents have an old one that's not working properly and hasn't for years. It either stops up or when I push down on the valve under the cap to free it, air will release and then water starts to leak from it for several days until it plugs up again. Years ago I wrote down the information on it before it became illegible. It's an American Float Type Air Vent No. 700. Max W.P. 30 P.S.I. Made by American Tube and Controls.

From what I can tell by doing searches, American Tube and Controls is now called Amtrol. The threads on the vent are very fine and from what I've been reading I'm guessing it's 1/8" NPT. The stem that goes down into the purger is pretty small. The boiler came from Sears and it's nearly 50 years old. The cabinet that goes over the boiler is tall and narrow, dark grey and has a light grey door that snaps on the end of the cabinet. There's air vents on the edges of the door and a badge on the top right hand side that reads, "Sears Automatic Heat". It's a pretty nice old system, but that air vent is really a problem. I was looking for a picture of the boiler on the internet but I can't seem to find one.

I know it's hard for you to tell me w/o looking at it, but if I can figure out the thread size I think I could replace it. All I would have to do is shut off the two big valves that go into and out of the boiler, put a hose on the boiler, run it to a floor drain, drain the water out of the boiler, take the old vent off the purger, replace it with the proper one, turn the water back on to fill the boiler back up and purge any excess air that gets caught in the radiators upstairs with a bleed screw. If you or anyone else has any advise I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks,

Brian

 

[countryguy]

Job well done! Your install looks very neat and easy to service. I had a hot water heating system installed 5 years ago to replace the baseboard electric system. There are 5 zones - main living area, bathroom, basement and 2 bedrooms. The boiler is only 83% efficient as the heating contractor did not think that the extra cost for a higher efficient boiler would get returned in fuel savings. I hear compliments all the time from contractors that I've had in the home for other work when they see the system. One of them had to take pics because he was so impressed....I thought he was going to have an orgasm on the spot from his response LOL

Gary

 

[classicguywi]

Air Vent and inside the case....

Thank you again for the great responce, I took a few more pictures today including the control and inside the case thought that everyone would enjoy a glimps inside.

I am also happy to report in the wonderful cold snap that we have been having the house is staying nice and warm, unlike last year, it was a struggle to stay at 60 deg with the old unit.

Brain I have included an up-close picture of the installed air emitter as well as a new one that I was able to pick up at the local menards (honeywell part in the plumbing dept) when our other boiler needed a new one (saved for parts). It should just be an easy replacement however the system might have to be unpressurized and drained before replacement. Also it can be a pain to refill the system depending on the way it is set up. This is the one that is now carried at our local store.... http://www.menards.com/main/heating...utomatic-vent-valve/p-2010216.htm?cm_vc=PDPZ1
Hope that it helps!

askolover if i was closer to Tenn I would gladly help you, sadly I am not.

Gary I had the same response from my friend that came to do the adjustment for LP and the initial fire.

 

[beekeyknee]

Mike,

That first picture is almost an exact duplicate of the one I was referring to. I realize the system will have to be drained or at least partially drained to do the job unless I want a fountain in the basement. By shutting the two main valves that go to the boiler I believe I can drain the boiler its self w/o draining the whole system. It wouldn't hurt to flush out the boiler before shutting off the water supply, as it hasn't be flushed since the 1980's. I'm sure there is sediment in the bottom of it by now. I was the last one that did it then.

So it looks like 1/8" NPT is the size I need. If I attempt this I definitely will wait until spring. Now is not the time to be messing with a furnace unless absolutely necessary. Thanks for the reply and nice work.

Brian

 

[mayguy]

Great job on the project.

I would love to have hot water heat on our home.. But be too much work to add it. Hope the next house will have it.

 

[wayupnorth]

I have hot water heat baseboard but it is oil. Buy 2 tanks of oil once a year and now it drops 50 cents per gallon since September when I filled the tanks, usually the cheapest time. My boiler is almost 20 years old, still pretty much efficient, and I definitely would like to replace it with something more efficient when mine dies. I dont have natural gas and propane still is high, so its oil for now.