Eko 60 1000gal storage HELP!!!

[taxidermist]

I just cant seem to grasp how my system will pull heat from my tanks after the boiler shuts down. I understand you have a pump in the house but is this running all the time or dose it come on when my forced air furnace blower comes on ???


My set up

eko 60 shop install 140 ft to house 2 -500 gal lp tanks stacked horizontal in basement. Side arm dhw forced air furnace

Also if my underground is 1" pex and my pumps are 1" do I need to plumb anything larger than 1"


Thank you for any help as my brain is smoked from all this researching

Rob

 

[jebatty]

Look at the sticky post Simplest Pressurized Storage Solution. It should get you a long way to answering your questions. Then come back with specifics if still any issues. Good luck.

 

[taxidermist]

I have looked at every piping layout on this site a billion times but still struggling with how it draws from storage with out sending it all the way back to the boiler thru a shut off pump and back? Is the pump that is plumbed after the storage tank always on or dose it come on when the forced air furnace calls for heat?

 

[jebatty]

Doesn't the Theory of Operation in the sticky post answer those questions? I'm wondering how it could be stated better than it is? Try tracing it out on paper with arrows in each mode of operation. That might help.

An "off" circ pump does permit circulation through the pump - it does not block the flow of water.

 

[stee6043]

I had the same struggles initially. Eventually it will "click" for you! First, you need seperate pumps for your heat zone and your circ. At least this is the way I'm doing it. A thermostat in my home controls the heat zone pump. The EKO controls the circ pump. Circ charges storage (hot in the top, cold off the bottom). When a zone calls for heat you have another pump for that zone come on a pull hot from the top of storage and put cold back in the bottom. Both pumps can be running at the same time, you'll just be sending less to storage and more to heat zones.

That may not have helped. But like they said above if you draw it with arrows it helps.

 

[Nofossil]

I have looked at every piping layout on this site a billion times but still struggling with how it draws from storage with out sending it all the way back to the boiler thru a shut off pump and back? Is the pump that is plumbed after the storage tank always on or dose it come on when the forced air furnace calls for heat?

This is a fair question, and one that has been raised before. There are three things that would tend to avaoid this, as drawn and conceived:

1) The flow resistance through storage should be MUCH less than through the boiler(s). Storage is typically plumbed with 1" or larger fittings.

2) The tees are oriented to favor flow through storage as opposed to the boiler(s).

3) The integral check valves in the boiler circs will also provide a bit of additional resistance to ghost flow.

The heat load circulator should be relatively small, and the pressure drop across storage during storage-based operation should be extremely low, providing almost no incentive for ghost flow through the boilers.

I don't get into this in the sticky, but for optimum performance, you would probably want to run the load loop at an extremely slow flow rate most of the time in order to increase the temperature drop and maintain a higher level of stratification in storage.

Adding a spring type check valve to the boiler side would guarantee no ghost flow at the expense of adding some flow restriction for the boiler circulator(s).

 

[taxidermist]

Stee6043 and Nofossil thank you I think with a head full of ideas and a bit overwelmed I am slowly getting things.

Jebatty, Bear with me I am a hands on learner not one that figures things out from a instruction guide. I was hoping someone could lay it out and spoon feed me if you will. I have traveled to Leaddogs place and spent the day with him learning and I learned alot but there is still a lot of learning to do before the snow flys.


Thank you,
Rob

 

[Nofossil]

Stee6043 and Nofossil thank you I think with a head full of ideas and a bit overwelmed I am slowly getting things.

Jebatty, Bear with me I am a hands on learner not one that figures things out from a instruction guide. I was hoping someone could lay it out and spoon feed me if you will. I have traveled to Leaddogs place and spent the day with him learning and I learned alot but there is still a lot of learning to do before the snow flys.


Thank you,
Rob

If it's any consolation, my head hurt a lot while I was trying to wrap my brain around my system. A little like learning to ride a bicycle - it hurts a bit, but once you have it it seems easy. I'll second jebatty's suggestion that you print out the schematic and trace flow with a pencil for each operating mode. It will click - don't give up hope. It's easier to strain your brain than re-plumb. I've done both. As I teach my corporate clients: "Plan carefully, execute quickly". Nearly all people and organizations start projects too soon, and end up spending a lot of time fixing mistakes.

 

[cvanhat]

it is pretty simple from what i understand.you should have one pump supplying your eko. then another pump on the hot side between the stoage tanks and where you are pumping it to. (existing furnace or heating loops ect) from what i understand at the local plumbing shop is that water will not flow through a pump that is not running.therefore if the eko pump is not on then the water will flow back to the storage tank, and the pump will pull out of the storage tanks. i hope this is right!!