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[juddspaintballs]

Step 1 done.  My father in law (HVAC guy for 30+ years) hooked me up with a new AC coil because mine was undersized, as well as a new plenum and intake setup so everything was actually installed properly and neatly.  While at it, we planned to add the water/air heat exchanger for my boiler and we even wired in a 2nd thermostat.  I paid for materials, but all of the labor was free and done properly.  I need to go get some duct sealing tape still, but it's done for now.  We're waiting on a part to finish installation of the replacement heat exchanger for the Trane furnace still, but the major disassembly of my furnace is over. 

[slimjim]

Looks great Judd, did you get your pipe in the ground yet?

[yotehunter66]

Nice job.

[juddspaintballs]

Pipe is not in the ground yet, but soon.  I've tried renting a mini ex, hiring a back hoe, etc. and it's all fallen through.  At this point, I think I'll just do the manual labor and put it in.  Laying the pipe is the next step in the process and will happen soon.  I want to be able to stretch it out on the driveway while it's hot out so it's as flexible as can be while I'm installing it. 

[juddspaintballs]

I was inspired today to start digging my 25' trench.  I got about 3' done and got tired of busting up the shale.  I decided to at least scrape the top layer with the tractor bucket and wound up actually digging an almost 2' deep trench with it.  I'm happy with 2' deep, I'll just need to hand dig a bit deeper where the pipe has to turn 90 degrees and point up into the concrete pad.  No big deal now! 

[slimjim]

After taking the trip out to your place with the pipe, which was a beautiful ride by the way!  It's pretty hard to imagine there being anything but shale and ledge in the ground there.
How is the family and dogs acclimating to the new house and hopefully you are pretty close to being done on your renovations, winter is coming sooner than you might think!

[juddspaintballs]

Everyone is doing well here.  I need to mow the fields one last time for the year.  I think growing season is over.  The Norway maple is starting to lose leaves and all of the acorns and chestnuts are falling.  Snow will be blowing before I know it. 

I stopped by the propane company today and took myself off of the "auto fill" program.  I'm at 55% on the tank now and I suspect I'll be no lower than 45% by the end of the winter since it's hooked to my range too.  Feels good already to not get the $500 bills for propane every few weeks. 

[juddspaintballs]

Yesterday I buried the electrical conduit and Logstor after punching through the basement wall and feeding it in.  Monday or Tuesday, I'm going to pour the pad for the boiler.  I still need to order some O2 barrier PEX for the inside of the house and a few fittings that I don't already have, but I already have the sidearm exchanger for my water heater, the fittings that go on the Logstor, the circulator I'm going to use (Taco 007), and the electrical wiring I need as well.  It won't be long before I light a fire in the boiler again after 3 years of sitting idle.  For now, I'm burning up the propane in the tank outside.  It's at 40% and I cancelled the automatic refills.  When I tell them to come get their tank in the spring, I want it on empty.  I'll purchase my own, smaller tank to replace it. 

[juddspaintballs]

Concrete pad poured today.  I could have used a couple more bags, but I just dished out the area under the boiler that gets packed with sand anyways, so no big deal.  I'll cut the pipes down lower soon and maybe set the boiler on it next week.

[juddspaintballs]

Boiler set on the concrete pad today and the bottom packed with sand.  I started working on some of the plumbing too. 

[dukethebeagle]

that looks pro compared to my job

[juddspaintballs]

I made a big push the last two days and now I'm up and running.  I had a couple hiccups (like accidentally hitting a copper tube on the heat exchanger with a self tapping screw), but I resolved all of them and lit a fire tonight.  It came up to temperature without any problem and my house is now at 72 degrees.  I've got a bunch of white oak that fell over a year ago and I cut up right away, so I've got quite a bit of good wood to get my started through this winter. 

I did notice that with the 007 for my circulator, I have 180 degrees going to the house and 152 degrees returning when the house is heating.  That seems a bit too low for my liking, especially since it's not all that cold out.  I'll give it a couple days, but I might switch it out for the Grundfos 26-99 I have to increase my flow. 

This was before the temperature dropped all the way down to 152 on the return line

[mlappin]

Looks good, I really like the temp gauges in the lines. Wished I had done the same on my waste oil boiler last fall, would have took a lot of T’s and gauges though.