Wye Strainer for HX

The information sheet on the GEA heat exchanger says "A water strainer MUST be installed in the water
inlet circuit (16-20 mesh minimum, 20-40 meshrecommended)

I looked at a Watts: 777SI, S777SI | Wye Strainer-Standard Screen: #20 mesh, 304 stainless steel. Are these the fittings I would want? These specs are minimum for GEA but I did not find ones with finer mesh. Does brass or cast iron matter? Cast is obviously less money.

my y,strainers came from flatplate they are brass, i dont think brass or cast would matter, they do catch alot of misc debris in the strainer, that would otherwise end up in the hx

Thanks Tom, I will check with GEA on their strainers. At the cost of a HX the strainers seem reasonable.

tell me more about the info sheet, please, and where to find it.

my GEA 5x12 x 70 plate HX came without an info sheet

I'm going to have Caleffi DirtCal dirt removers on both sides of the HX, which should capture a lot, especially on a multi-pass basis, but I sure don't want to plug up my HX, given what it cost

Morning Trevor,

The link is http://www.flatplate.com/pdf/hydronic/FPbrochure9-99.pdf

Thanks- so it says 16-20 mesh minimum, 20-40 ideal. I think that at 16 mesh, that'd catch particles down to roughly 0.05 inch

here's the link to the Caleffi DirtCal specs-- the units I am going to use both on the primary loop and the tank side of the plate HX-- they look like they'll catch a lot more crud, of all sizes, at least on a multi-pass circulating basis, and with less head loss, than any Wye strainer

http://www.caleffi.nl/en_NL/caleffi/Files/files_sidebar_home/01137_en.pdf

I like the fact that they catch the finer particles, have less head loss than a strainer, and can be cleaned without even shutting down

hopefully I will be dealing with a clean enough system, being a new install, that the fact that the Dirtcal won't necessarily catch all particles on the first pass (like a strainer would) won't gunk up my plate HX in the early operation (and actually, I'll be operating the boiler and primary side for a while on their own before even plumbing in the HX and storage.

reactions/ suggestions as to whether I'm on an OK track?

Trevor, will the Garn supplied filter do the same service?

Whoops, spoke without thinking, if I remember correctly the supplied filter is for filtering the fill water.

Sawyer,
is Sawyer as in Sawyer county?
shouldn't you be getting ready for the big hunt?
I missed what the heat exchanger was going to be used for?
keep posting what you do for the connection and filtering/straining of the heat exchanger.
I have a 60 plate exchanger that still needs to be installed and would like to do it right the first time.

I don't happen to know what filter comes with the Garn.

I tend to think that if you fabbed up your system without the plate HX, and started pumping the water round and round through the Caleffi-type units on each side for an extended time, draining the crud that collects in the bottom of the caleffi, and then installed the plate HX after doing that for a while, you'd have a pretty clean system by the time you install the HX

that's what I am anticipating I'll try to do

but that's just my thinking- I am not a pro, and I'll invite input from the real pros as to whether I am "on to" a potentially good approach or headed for trouble...

Hey Topo, I was getting ready for the season! Now it's over and the sawmill will be up and running today. I have some spruce logs to saw for the Garn enclosure.

I am in Iron county, up by Hurley.

I am using an AIC Model LA14-50, 3/4 NPT inch connection - 50 plate 8 long by 3.5 wide by 5.5 inches for my workshop 32,000btu load, a GEA-5x12- 50 plate, 1-1/4” NPT, for the 90,000btu house load. I will post the installation when I start.

I don't think you will regret the filter if it saves the HX from plugging and slowly raising the head. With the Caleffi specs it seems to remove a lot more particles which in this case the more the better!

anyone,
Where is the best place to purchase Caleffi DirtCal dirt seperators?

Remember, folks: a separator is not a filter.

Dirt separators catch a percentage of dirt on each pass, eventually cleaning the water. A filter catches 100% of dirt down to a certain size, on the first pass.

A separator might let you use a larger-mesh filter, but it does not replace a filter for catching big particles which can clog passages in heat exchangers.

Joe

Joe, are you suggesting not to use a seperator? Are they necessary in your opinion? Would a filter be a good addition to a system that had straqiners on the HX. I hate to spend more money than I have to, but I do not want to damage system components either.

They are two different things. If I were going to do one or the other, I would put in a strainer (a strainer is a type of filter). Adding a separator is not necessary, but it helps to keep the water clean.

It's sort of like the air situation. You need to vent the air out when you fill the system, and purge the large bubbles from the lines. That's the equivalent of what the strainer does. Having a micro-bubble remover in addition is a good idea, as well - it will continuously remove bubbles from the lines. That's the equivalent of what the dirt separator does.

The strainer is certainly more important, but adding a dirt separator (even a settling chamber, if nothing else) is a beneficial addition to the system.

Joe

Thanks for the clarification Joe!

Joe- (and Hot Rod)

Assuming an all-new and relatively methodical install with a relative minimum of crud in the system--

and

assuming that I have my boiler tied to a water-air HX, via primary-secondary, all up and running for a few weeks with a Caleffir Dirt Cal dirt separator installed in the main primary loop, before I eventually hook in the storage via another secondary loop with my plate HX (which will be pretty clean, and with its own Caleffi Dirt Cal on the tank side of the plate HX)

Can I hope that I do not need to buy screen filters in addition to the Dirt Cal Separators (I hope)

Thanks!

Most systems out there do not have any sort of dirt/sediment protection. Whether you want to run without, is up to you.

The best bet is to prevent sediment from getting into the system, in the first place, which implies some sort of protection between the well and the water feed into the system.

Flush and clean the system after assembly, and possibly consider a water treatment chemical.

Joe

Trevor, have you checked your seperator to see what if any particles are present?

no, and I can't yet. with the "rest of life" I've got nearly all my parts at least for the non-storage side of my system (and mostly for the storage, too, other than the piping in-between), and put much but not all of it together; but have not had time to bolt it all together and get it all running.... arghhh...

I'll probably run my boiler and primary without storage first, and let it run for a while to see how much crud, flux, and who knows what else comes out in the Caleffi- and then drain it all out, then re-fill with filtered, softened water (from a friendly nearby person with such items in their own domestic system, which I do not have) and boiler treatment.... then fill my storage with filtered and softened water