Remotely filling boiler help

[thinktwicez71]

I need some help or ideas on how to fill my boiler from a external tank for the first time. I have access to a few big 250 gallon totes so getting water to my house isn't an issue . I don't want to fill it from my house water simply because I don't have a water softener here yet and my water is extremely hard at 33 grains per gallon. I plan on getting a softener this summer but this doesn't help me out for now . I have access to the water at the farm next door which they have a huge softening system , or my sisters city water in town that could have some chlorine in it . Any ideas how to go about doing this ?

 

[BoiledOver]

Maybe you can rent a softener tank from Culligan or another outfit. When loading a large amount, it is best to take it slow to allow the resin to collect the hard stuff.

 

[thinktwicez71]

I just mean once I have enough water in totes that is already softened , how do I get it into my boiler system ? Pump it in though a boiler drain ?


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[maple1]

Get it higher than the boiler, and let it run in by gravity - hooked to a boiler drain down low on the boiler/system. And make sure there is an open spot up high on the system/boiler for the air to come out - and to let you know when it is full, when water comes out of it.

 

[thinktwicez71]

OK thanks that's what I was looking for , didn't know if I should go that way , or pump it in somehow

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[maple1]

No idea what your boiler situation is - but if you simply can't get the water tank high enough to gravity flow, you would then need to pump it somehow. I would use a very low capacity pump though - slow & easy.

 

[thinktwicez71]

My boiler setup isn't 100% finished yet I still have some piping left to do , basically I built a 20x20 workshop to process deer in out back of my house about 95 feet away , I have a 2 year old thermo control boiler I bought that I put in there , 1" Thermopex installed in the ground . My house is just a single wide trailer that I have a main loop under it going to my sidearm first and then back to the furnace . On the primary loop under the house I will install 2 closely spaced tees going to my furnace coil about 35 feet away with its own pump hooked to a taco pump control box . The top of the boiler in the building is about 1-2 feet below the coil in the house and 2-3 feet below the sidearm in the house . The pipes in the building have to go up 10 feet to the ceiling , then along the wall 20 feet then down to connect to the Thermopex comming out of the floor to the house .


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[thinktwicez71]

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[thinktwicez71]

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[thinktwicez71]

And yes I know these older types of wood boilers are frowned upon , but I live in the country and work on a farm with about 6000 acres to get wood from , and my closest non family neighbor is a mile away , free heat

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[thinktwicez71]

I have 3 options for my fill water

1. - my house well water with no softener and 33 grains per gallon hardness and most likely iron in it.
2. - my sisters city water from town , could contain chlorine 9 grains per gallon hardness and no iron .
3 - farm well water with softener , 13 grains per gallon hardness , most likely iron .

What one would you go with for a closed system boiler .


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[maple1]

Any idea what their pH's are?

 

[thinktwicez71]

I can find that out yes , I'll use my high tech pool test kit I ordered. The hardness reading is from my hach kit I ordered


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[thinktwicez71]

What is desirable ?


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[maple1]

8-9? Slightly basic. I think.

 

[gfirkus]

OK thanks that's what I was looking for , didn't know if I should go that way , or pump it in somehow

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Mike at wood boiler solutions told me not to use softened water. My well water is high on sodium chloride so I borrowed a 250 gal tote and hauled water from my nearest towns bulk filling station. It was 25 cents per 50 gal. I plumbed in a "t" and another valve to my supply pipe near the top of the boiler. I found a 2" x 25' plastic hose and hooked it to a water transfer pump. I think it took around 20 min to empty the tote. I needed 1400 gal.

 

[thinktwicez71]

So city unsoftened water is most likely the way to go with a hardness of 9


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[thinktwicez71]

It would be free , from my sisters house , I can borrow a tote from the farm and my sisters house is unmetered water


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[thinktwicez71]

There must be some type of inhibitor or something I can add to the water to keep the 9gpg hardness from messing up my furnace coil too quickly ?


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[BoiledOver]

Something like this submersible utility pump http://www.homedepot.com/p/Superior...le-Thermoplastic-Utility-Pump-91025/204605930 dropped into your totes and attached high as possible to the system. Looks like the high point for air release is the spigot you have on your sidearm so the next highest attachment point. Or, maybe that submersible has enough ass to push the whole system full from the boiler drain spigot.

 

[thinktwicez71]

The highest point in my whole system would be out in my building , I could fill and vent from there in the ceiling , and vent from the spigot at the sideArm too


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[BoiledOver]

And, the fill could go through a pre-charged resin tank (borrowed or rented).

 

[gfirkus]

There must be some type of inhibitor or something I can add to the water to keep the 9gpg hardness from messing up my furnace coil too quickly ?
Call Mike at wood boiler solutions. It was around 25$ for a water sample kit and he can tell you if you need some sort of water additive.

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Call Mike at wood boiler solutions.

 

[thinktwicez71]

Do you guys prefer the main circulator pump on the supply pumping away right after the air scoop ? I'm nervous putting mine there because it's only 3-4 feet from the highest point in my entire system , will that be ok ? I'm just nervous of air somehow getting up there trapped and cavitating the pump


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[thinktwicez71]

I guess as long as it's bled properly and purged of air there will be no issue there , damn thing wasn't cheap


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