PLUMBING question

[VTVt]

HELLO all... regarding my OPB maxim 250.... currently have one inch pex directly into my indoor boiler...

RECAP <<<BUT had the issues with water RETURNING quicker than FEEDING due to my indoor boiler has two main zones, which each have a taco 007 on the returns... and of course the maxim is only feeding with one 009 so we had higher return and thus OVERFLOW of water outside... FIXED that by RESTRICTING the return using ball valve, thus return and feed rate were compatible, keeping 12 to 14 lbs of water in my building which therefore allows for heat of my water baseboard system... so far so good there - now the new problem... which I expected anyway....)))))

NOW...... my indoor oil boiler is a 260 btu unit.... old.... heating 5 to 6 thousand sq ft.... of 17 rooms including 13 zone valves for those rooms.... the boiler itself has TWO main zones - one to each end of the building.... one side of the building was keeping 68-72 with no problems... the other side was low on cold days at 60 degrees.... after some thought, and after looking at my returns on my indoor boiler, decided the problem was that the main return for that side of the building pipes back into my indoor boiler where the water as opposed to the other side of the buildings return which has the DRAIN in that line which of course is now my return to the Outside boiler .... so one side was returning fast to the outside boiler, one side was getting bogged down returning into the inside boiler and therefore I decided the FLOW was not enough to move heat to that end of the bldg... SO as a solution added a pipe (via a "T") at the lower end of that bldg return that goes over to the OUTSIDE boiler return line and Ts in there too.... THUS both returns on my indoor boiler have some access to returning to the OSB without first mixing inside my boiler... SO OKAY this seemed to help keep the colder side warmer BUT as I suspected may have slowed down the return rate on the other side... so ON A COLD day they all stay only warm instead of one very hot and one cold.....

WEll of course I suspected when it got cold out (teens and below) that my outdoor stove RUNNING ON ONE LINE just aint gonna do it....

I am only using HALF my stove since only one line is hooked up.

SO I am thinking I need to run TWO INS AND TWO OUTS..... BUT WHERE?

SO HERE IS THE PLUMBING QUESTION:::

RIght now my IN goes into the top of my boiler / at the pressure valve.

My return is at the bottom where my drain was.....
""
I am thinking that SURE I CAN ""T"" ANOTHER FEED LINE at the TOP OF THE ONE I HAVE GOING IN THERE NOW.... BUT BUT BUT .... TWO ONE INCH lines pumping into my 3/4 pressure valve line.... UMMMM do not really think I will get anymore water....

SO how else can I get the 2 nd line in if not there?

I thought maybe T it into one of my feeds on my boiler.... ??

I definitely need to be using my ENTIRE outdoor boiler not just half....

also side note.... my outdoor boiler set to 185 was hitting my indoor boiler at 165 after doing my d. hot water, (i tried bypassing HW and it didnt make much of a difference) my indoor boiler temp gauge READS 100 to 120 depending on outdoor temps... my incoming outdoor water mixes into the boiler with my return water etc and lowers it a lot..... so I need MORE hot coming in.... and more cold going out, not just mixing in....

THANKS.

PS no help from dealer as they just do not understand any of the issues I had or am having....
I say I NEED MORE WATER COMING IN they say BIGGER TACO PUMP .....
I KNOW this is not the answer as FASTER MOVING WATER >..... IS NOT> MORE WATER!!

 

[Eric Johnson]

Faster water may not be more water, but it may be more heat. I don't know--that's not my area of expertise. I do know that flow has some impact on system performance, so I wouldn't discount their advice out of hand.

How many tapped outlets do you have on the top of your boiler? Most have a 3/4 or 1-inch hole for the pressure relief valve as well as a 1/2-inch or larger hole for the line to the pressure tank. Most boilers also have a few holes for things like aquastats, etc. And most supply/return lines are 1.25-2.00 inches in diameter. So you should have plenty of places to put in a second line. You can use the pressure relief valve hole, for example. Just tee off it and put the PR valve in one side and the new line into the other.

On an old boiler that big, I'd be surprised if there aren't at least two big tapped holes for supply and an equal number for return.

 

[VTVt]

HELLO.... we are using the pressure relief valve for the line now.... the pressure tank line is off another I do believe and does not have its own hole in the boiler.... the cold water feed is on the return line ..... so there are no other places to put the water IN that I see.... there are some BOLT HEAD looking things around it but I would have no idea what they are for where they go....

I am thinking maybe T right into the zone feeds coming out of the boiler? will be a 3/4 in from pex into the 1 1/4 feeds on boiler.... this may bring water TO the rooms better than putting it in the oil burner first as it mixes with all the cold water returning there first.... but I will have to turn off the Inside boiler as it may kick on since the water in the boiler will register as low temp if the OPB is coming in to feed line rather than into boiler via PRvalve.....

then i need to run new 60 feet of pex line, a ball valve, a check valve and a T...... and a pump for the OPB for that line.... maybe 400 dollars later I will get heat.... sigh sigh

 

[VTVt]

I did talk with CB that suggested we try bigger pump first... so could do that, see what happens... thanks.

 

[Jim Post]

I piped my my wood boiler into the return line of my LP boiler using closely spaced TEES. This has worked beautifully for me. When a zone is calling, the hot water from the wood boiler flows through the LP boiler and out to the zone then back to the wood boiler. When all the zones are satisfied the water circulates thru the closely spaced T back to the wood boiler avoiding the LP boiler and zones completely. This summer I am going to be modifying my piping to a primary secondary arrangement but still plan to use closely spaced Tees to make the connections... Read Dan Holohan's "Pumping Away" book for some really good info on hot water heating or go to Heating Help . com and check out The Wall. Lot's of good info there.

jp

 

[pybyr]

or get or borrow John Siegenthaler's Modern Hydronic Heating. if you read and absorb that, you will be ahead of most "pros"

 

[Eric Johnson]

Glad to see you guys visiting The Wall. I've learned so much there over the past few years. It's really a great resource, and we've picked up some really good members from there, as well.