Hopefully this will help people save some time and headaches during their installs. Any suggestions as to a good format? I would appreciate anyone’s help with this.
Any improvement to the insulation of your building(s), storage tank(s) and piping will help you conserve energy/fuel/time/labor, and your money. A good investment!
Before you decide on boiler size, it is recommended that you complete a heat loss calculation on your building(s) to establish required BTUs.
The only foolish question is the one that is not asked. Ask them all in the boiler room at Hearth.com. Great bunch of people here.
Component checklist.
1. Shut off valves on each side of all components for isolation purposes if needed.
2. Return boiler protection valve.
3. Air purging equipment for pressurized system.
4. Seperate, building code approved, chimneys for each heating appliance.
5. Properly sized expansion tank(s).
6. Pressure relief valve(s).
7. Purge valve(s).
8. Circulation pump(s), correctly sized.
Do’s and don’ts.
1. Do check and build to meet or exceed local/state building code.
2. Do check with insurance company about requirements/cost etc.
3. Do correctly orient your circulator pump and bypass valve (boiler protection valve).
4. Do run pipes level if piping storage tanks in parralel if you want even flow.
1. Don’t weld cast fittings.
2. Don’t place closly spaced tee’s too close to an elbow.
3. Don’t reduce pipe size from boiler too much. This can result in inadequate heat movement.
Advice / suggestions.
Run pipes to the high points with vents with a slight grade to the high points. Use proper filling and purging process of boiler and storage.
Install Low point drains. Its real easy to pipe things up and then have no easy way to drain any low loops. They dont have to be full size with ball valve, the fittings set up for key coin vents take a standard 1/8†NPT plugs, either that or there are couplings and tees sold with drain caps.
If using black iron DIY, make certain that your threader is equipped with sharp and adjusted dies.
Buy a small supply of close and short nipples of the chosen diameter. Use Megalok and Monster tape on all fittings.
If piping with copper, use the bernzomatic TS 4000 with Map/Pro gas or similar. Plumb your directional fitting in the correct orientation.
Think about the routing of your smoke pipe. Meet building code required clearances. Add heat shields for added safety. Keep in mind it might need to come apart again for cleaning in the future.
Get dry wood. Burn dry wood. Get at least one year ahead on your supply. Two years is better. Then stay ahead.
Discuss your end result with your installer. They need to understand how YOU want your system. Otherwise you may get an undesirable result.
Locktite 55 thread sealing cord is really really useful when dealing with European to US fittings.
Think about it before doing it. Setup your piping to use a common purge point (single boiler drain). Keep it neat, easier to figure out what’s going on.
Buy your black iron fittings where the pros go. I spent time swapping out porous Chinese ells, tees, unions. Pros can’t afford to redo like I did.
Please post a reply with any suggestions you have. Thank you.
Any improvement to the insulation of your building(s), storage tank(s) and piping will help you conserve energy/fuel/time/labor, and your money. A good investment!
Before you decide on boiler size, it is recommended that you complete a heat loss calculation on your building(s) to establish required BTUs.
The only foolish question is the one that is not asked. Ask them all in the boiler room at Hearth.com. Great bunch of people here.
Component checklist.
1. Shut off valves on each side of all components for isolation purposes if needed.
2. Return boiler protection valve.
3. Air purging equipment for pressurized system.
4. Seperate, building code approved, chimneys for each heating appliance.
5. Properly sized expansion tank(s).
6. Pressure relief valve(s).
7. Purge valve(s).
8. Circulation pump(s), correctly sized.
Do’s and don’ts.
1. Do check and build to meet or exceed local/state building code.
2. Do check with insurance company about requirements/cost etc.
3. Do correctly orient your circulator pump and bypass valve (boiler protection valve).
4. Do run pipes level if piping storage tanks in parralel if you want even flow.
1. Don’t weld cast fittings.
2. Don’t place closly spaced tee’s too close to an elbow.
3. Don’t reduce pipe size from boiler too much. This can result in inadequate heat movement.
Advice / suggestions.
Run pipes to the high points with vents with a slight grade to the high points. Use proper filling and purging process of boiler and storage.
Install Low point drains. Its real easy to pipe things up and then have no easy way to drain any low loops. They dont have to be full size with ball valve, the fittings set up for key coin vents take a standard 1/8†NPT plugs, either that or there are couplings and tees sold with drain caps.
If using black iron DIY, make certain that your threader is equipped with sharp and adjusted dies.
Buy a small supply of close and short nipples of the chosen diameter. Use Megalok and Monster tape on all fittings.
If piping with copper, use the bernzomatic TS 4000 with Map/Pro gas or similar. Plumb your directional fitting in the correct orientation.
Think about the routing of your smoke pipe. Meet building code required clearances. Add heat shields for added safety. Keep in mind it might need to come apart again for cleaning in the future.
Get dry wood. Burn dry wood. Get at least one year ahead on your supply. Two years is better. Then stay ahead.
Discuss your end result with your installer. They need to understand how YOU want your system. Otherwise you may get an undesirable result.
Locktite 55 thread sealing cord is really really useful when dealing with European to US fittings.
Think about it before doing it. Setup your piping to use a common purge point (single boiler drain). Keep it neat, easier to figure out what’s going on.
Buy your black iron fittings where the pros go. I spent time swapping out porous Chinese ells, tees, unions. Pros can’t afford to redo like I did.
Please post a reply with any suggestions you have. Thank you.