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Ourdee
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 29, 2019 - 12:45 pm: | 
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I used to maintain a boiler for a multi unit rental property I lived in. It was originally a coal fired two boiler system. Some time before my watch it was converted to gas and one boiler was used for the whole system. The interesting bit was a water heater was used to preheat any water added to the system when it got low. I was told it saved on buildup in the boiler, So, I always made sure the water I added was heated prior to input. The thermostat was in the unit right above the boiler. The tenants had been there for years and ran the heat high while keeping windows open in the winter and sitting around in shorts like it was summer. I hooked up a bypass system in my unit. It allowed me to reroute to a thermostat in my unit with a flip of a switch by my thermostat. All the tenants were now able to close their windows in the winter. I still kept it toasty, but the days of being in an oven were over. The heat was paid in the rentals. |
Sifo
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 29, 2019 - 01:15 pm: |
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My system has 4 zones for the house and one zone for the hot water tank. Very comfortable system. Probably not the most efficient, but comfortable! |
Court
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 29, 2019 - 01:33 pm: |
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OK . . while we are telling hot water stories . . . I've got one to toss into the mix.
About 5 years ago . . . I was going to visit a couple of the mutant offspring in Portland, OR and . . . . owing to the habit of putting steeping hot water in my coffee mug to warm it before getting in the car . . . I had the hot water going full blast.
I headed to the airport and returned 10 days later . . . walking into my condo that had about 17 units fed off a bank of very large commercial hot water heaters.
As I walked in the door . . . the hot water was full on . . . steam rolling into the air and the laminate fronts of all the cabinets were curled like Goldilocks' hair.
Holy cow . . . I had walked out and forgot to turn it off. At this point, I'm just figuring the cost of replacing the cabinets into the next months' food budget . . . shut the water off and took off for another work trip.
I came home 3 days later and the cabinets looked like brand new.
Too this day . . . I'm not quite certain how this all worked . . . but it proved that having limitless hot water can have at least one down side.
I'm in the process of having all new cabinets installer here . . . . they will all be solid Walnut . . . and I've got this high zoot Navien NCB-240E Condensing Boiler . . . so there is no telling how much damage I can do now.
:-)
We are all idiots in our own special ways. |
Ourdee
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 29, 2019 - 02:50 pm: |
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I want to see pictures after they are installed. It sounds gorgeous. My favorite wood for furniture is walnut.
We are all idiots in our own special ways. " but some animals are more equal than others ". And I have some special ways. |
Hughlysses
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 29, 2019 - 03:04 pm: |
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As I walked in the door . . . the hot water was full on . . . steam rolling into the air and the laminate fronts of all the cabinets were curled like Goldilocks' hair.
Man, that could have gone MUCH worse. |
Court
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 29, 2019 - 04:16 pm: |
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>>>>Man, that could have gone MUCH worse.
You are light years beyond correct. . . .
All I could think about . . . . as I lamented buying new cabinets (they were pretty much Home Depot stuff . . my only salvation) was how damn lucky I was that it hadn't been discovered by the neighbor 2 floors below me.
(Message edited by Court on January 29, 2019) |
Aesquire
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 29, 2019 - 10:52 pm: |
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https://9gag.com/gag/aWYGm9K
pipe insulation tool, very neat.
But the comments! Dang. I was cheering for SMOD before. Now?
SMOD in 2020! |
Etennuly
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2019 - 08:40 am: |
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But the valve and gage are exposed. What to do there? |
Aesquire
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2019 - 10:00 am: |
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Call it good enough.
If you were doing cryogenic fluids, you'd need to insulate the valve body & remote the handle. Ditto gauges. Or steam.
I insulated the exposed copper pipe in my underfloor heating system. I left the Pex & valves alone, and a foot long section right by the stairs, so I could stop & feel that the temperatures were as expected. The heat loss to the basement and warm up time went down. I wasn't unhappy to have some radiant heat in the basement, just to keep the pipes from freezing.
I also insulated the hot water pipes, and the cold pipe to the water heater up a few feet.
Basement temps drop into the mid 40s on sub zero days. |
Ourdee
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2019 - 01:13 pm: |
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But the valve and gage are exposed. What to do there?
If it is in an extremely cold area, you can box them in with wood or foam board for the box material. Glue the box together around it. Make the lid two layers thick with 2 sizes of board so that it sit inside and on top of the walls. If needed, put straw in the box for insulation. A quick and dirty insulation technique would be spraying triple expanding polyurethane foam on them. |
Airbozo
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2019 - 05:00 pm: |
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Just catching up here...
Setting the temp on this tankless water heater is a bit of guess work as there are 2 adjustments, flame and flow.
Not sure how many know this, but tankless water heaters have a "rate of rise" value that is dependent on the "rate of flow". Obviously the higher the better, especially if you live in cold areas. The model we have has the following spec: 3.7 GPM (14 l/min) at a 45°F (25°C) rise.
That might not seem like a lot, but realistically at the flow rate we use, we are getting close to 90 degrees on a good day. When the temperature is at or below freezing outside for a couple of days, morning showers tend to get just hot enough with everything adjusted right (our main waterline runs across the creek). During warm months, we have to warn people about the kitchen sink. The shower has a temperature limiter.
I keep at least one spare thermocouple on hand. The cost to overnight one is highway robbery.
Court, I did something similar with the hot water. 2 Years ago we were without water for 2 days (close to 4 with no power) and I got up the first morning and turned the shower on and nothing. I forgot to turn it off and headed to work. Came home to a steam room and a very sweaty house. Spent 2 weeks trying to clean all the walls and ceilings and I still see some streaks on the walls... |
Court
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2019 - 05:42 pm: |
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Part of the reason that I do not mind being an idiot . . . the company is so damn good.
:-) |
Tootal
| | Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2019 - 12:10 am: |
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The difference between ignorance and stupidity is that you can fix ignorance, if you're not stupid! |
Airbozo
| | Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2019 - 11:43 am: |
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2 years later the SO still gives me that sideways "you're an idiot" look as she points out a streak running down the wall I somehow missed...
At least she is humored by it. |
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