COLD TANKS QUESTION

[jimdeq]

I am wondering how to supply hot water to my heating zones if my storage tanks are cold. Heres the scenario. If my boiler is cold and my tanks are cold and I make a fire with a zone calling for heat,do I have to wait until my tanks charge to be able to deliver hot water to the coil in my forced air furnace? I have a aqua stat on the boiler that turns on the boiler circ when boiler is hot. I have a grundfos alpha that supplies 3 zones on zone valves. I have a aqua stat threaded into the top portion of my pressurized storage and a aqua stat threaded into the bottom of my propane water heater equiped with sidearm heat exchanger. I dont understand how to control my pumps/zoning if my tanks are cold? Do I have to wait until my tanks have useable water temps or is there a different way? Thanks fellas.

 

[Hunderliggur]

Look a the "Simplest pressurized storage..." sticky. The wood and fossil are plumbed in parallel with the tank. If the zone calls for heat it gets it directly from the boiler(s). If the boiler is running and no call for heat, it goes to storage.

 

[jimdeq]

I am following the Simplest,but I dont have a backup boiler,just a forced air furnace. Should I try to set it up so hot water can go directly to the zones from the boiler if the tanks are cold? This is what I dont understand how to do?

 

[stee6043]

I have this exact setup. Basically you just plumb your HX manifolds to be before your tank (upstream supply, downstream return). No call for heat means heat goes to tanks. A call for heat sends heat to your hx. This, of course, assumes you have a separate circ for your hx (as I do).

 

[jimdeq]

OK stee,so does that mean that if a zone is calling that most of the flow will come from boiler and some flow will still come out of storage.

 

[2.beans]

with a separate circulator on the hx all the "flow" should be from the wood boiler.

 

[sdrobertson]

OK stee,so does that mean that if a zone is calling that most of the flow will come from boiler and some flow will still come out of storage.

Yes as you will have a circ on the boiler, and one on the zone being heated. If the boiler is running and water is flowing to the manifold then the zone will take boiler water and move it through the circ controlling the zone. If the boiler is not flowing water, then the zone circ will take the water from the storage. Water is lazy, it will take the easiest path it can.

 

[stee6043]

OK stee,so does that mean that if a zone is calling that most of the flow will come from boiler and some flow will still come out of storage.

Like the others said your flow will come from the boiler and go to the zones first since you have that circ running. The only time you might still get some flow from storage AND the boiler is if your storage temps are so low that the Danfoss valve is forcing a lot of your boiler supply back to return to keep it up to temp. This is why I typically do not run any heat loads during my first two days of burning each year. Get those tanks up to temp first and then let the system run like a champ...