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Topics - d conover

Pages: [1] 2
1
Hardy / Ashes in air inlet
« on: December 28, 2017, 04:24:58 PM »
I've been meaning to ask about this for a while. The only complaint I have with my H4 is the ashes build up in the firebox and block the air.   The i beam is in the way.   Makes it hard to keep open   the H2 i had was over to the side and easy.  Do I have the grates in wrong or do I need to get the cutting torch out next spring and cut a big chunk out of the center I beam grate support?

2
Plumbing / Cleaning Lime
« on: February 25, 2014, 07:35:40 AM »
I have asked this before I think..
Anyway, I have an H4 Hardy and the domestic hot water coil is almost completely stopped up with lime.
I ordered a Grundos circulating pump off Amazon and 3/4" flanges so I can adapt it to garden hose fittings.
I also installed  tankless water heater cleaning isolation valves so I can flush just the 100' coil of copper inside the boiler.

What I still haven't figured out is what to use to clean it with.  White vinegar? CLR? On my old Hardy I used diluted muratic acid, but not going to do that again. My brother in law ate a hole in his coil using muratic acid. Of course knowing him it is hard telling how strong he  had it.

I need to fix up some sort of tank to pump the solution back into also, or maybe just a five gallon bucket.
Any ideas would be appreciated.

I was going to wait til spring but my wife broke her ankle, required a plate and screws and in the process has her back messed up and she needs to use the jetted tub and my electric water heater can't seem to handle that load like the boiler did before it got stopped up.


3
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / diffusers
« on: November 26, 2013, 10:30:15 AM »
We built a house last year and had the HVAC installed, the hvac tech put the heat exchanger in place for me but other than that I did all the Hardy install.

We moved in May 2012 and no problems, just a little cool in the basement, I thought the basement would be toasty warm in the winter since the furnace is down there. It is cold.
I checked the diffusers and they are hot but no air is coming thru them.  I removed one and it has a square piece of steel blocking the air flow. The surface of the diffuser looks like a pin cushion.  I tried to get me hvac guy to swap with me but he said that is all he has.

I found a  one with a damper  at a supply place that works well, but they are $50.00 each.
btw these are 24" lay ins for a drop ceiling.

The gist of my novel is.. does this resourceful group have a cheaper solution? 

I need to be able to close them in the summer.  The basement stay plenty cool enough for my wife without ac.

4
Hardy / Another Forum
« on: November 14, 2013, 07:33:27 AM »
Wow, I went to another forum, and did a Hardy search, and I feel like scum of the earth now.

According to them they don't last more than a few years, smoke the entire world up and use more wood than an army could cut.

My original H2 is still going strong after 15 years, same pump, solenoids, etc I did have to replace the fan after 13 years. Daughter and son in law have it now.

I use far less wood now than I did, I used the H2 for years with uninsulated pipes. It now has insulated pipes.

Tuesday night it got down to 17 degrees, I did about a 3/4 fill at 8 pm, the house was set on 75 degrees. the shop on 55 and I still had about 1/2 a fire box of wood left at 5 am.  I put a few chunks in and when I got home from work at 4 pm still had wood.
Last night I put a little more wood in and it only got down to 22, still had most of the wood left.



What more can you ask for????

I still haven't seen the smoke everyone goes on about.  Maybe for a few minutes but nothing more than any wood stove I have ever seen.

Once the blower shuts off all I can see is a heat pattern in the air and maybe a wisp of smoke.

5
Hardy / t in water heater supply
« on: September 27, 2013, 08:09:40 AM »
When I installed my H4 last fall I was in a hurry and did not make a provision to flush the copper lines that are in the boiler for domestic hot water.

I have noticed a decrease in hot water pressure so it is time to flush them out.  On my H2 I had to flush every fall. due to lime build up.

It is plumbed with Wirsbo and I have the Milwalkee tool as well as the cinch tool. So I have a couple of options.

I was thinking of getting the expensive 3/4 wirsbo ball valves since they are full port, and putting a tee above it that will hook to water hose. 
I have to buy a new pump, after about 12 years the acid ate a hole in my old one.

Anyone have any better ideas?

6
Hardy / flushing lines
« on: July 31, 2013, 07:11:15 AM »
I will have had my H4 running for a year in October.  And will probably need to clean the hot water lines in the boiler fairly soon.

Here in SE Mo we have a lot of lime build up.  On my H2 I would have to flush the lines once a year. We could really tell a big decrease in the volume of hot water.

I would hook up a pump and a tank and run diluted muratic acid through it until it started coming thru clear.  Not going to do that on my new furnace. I want something less harsh.
My brother in law over did it last year and ate through his copper coil in his furnace. He isn't using Muriatic acid any more either.
Any suggestions on something less harsh??

I don't know if vinegar will do the job.

7
Fire Wood / sharpener
« on: October 16, 2012, 10:29:33 AM »
I just bought this new chain sharpener from Timberline and am really impressed.  I have hand filed for years and thought I was pretty good but sometimes I mess up and end up cutting half moons or making sawdust.  This thing seems to be pretty idiot proof.  I really put an edge on the two chains I tried it on.

I found it on another forum and almost everyone seemed to like it. 

8
Plumbing / Milwaukee pex tool
« on: October 07, 2012, 03:08:19 PM »
I really should not post this and reveal my ignorance. but.   I was trying to do a nice neat job above the water heater and made a expansion connection too close to a ball valve.  I got the propex tool hung, ruined my pex cutter trying to cut the fitting off and did not know it but I cracked one of the expansion jaws.  I made about five more connections and it broke off.  I had to finish with sharkbites and cinch clamps.  and two trips to Home Depot.
Oh, and I ruined a $20.00 wirsbo ball valve.  The little accident will cost me about $80.00.

My son in law the plumber told me they tell you about that in the training you are supposed to take before installing wirsbo...
Thougt I would share, just in case it might help.

9
Electronics / thermostat for H4
« on: October 05, 2012, 06:56:57 AM »
I just about have everything done.  I had the hvac  company out yesterday to check and make sure I did not still have a refrigerant leak from last summer.  They put dye in the system and never came back. Everything was still ok, it was only a loose connection back then.

They guy they sent out was supposed to hook up my second thermostat, but he said he was not comfortable hooking it up to a brand new heat pump (bryant) He said it did not have a control board like they used to and he did not know anything about boilers.
He said I was going to need add a 9030 relay inside the heat exchanger .  Is this right?   If someone  can steer me in the right direction, I will try it myself when I get off work this afternoon . 

I am going to call back this morning, but I am sure they can't get out until next week.  It is going to be chilly before then.
Thanks
 

10
Hardy / H4 2nd pump
« on: September 30, 2012, 05:19:04 PM »

Finally got the boiler set on the pad, we had months of drought here, then when I get ready to set the boiler it rains several days in a row.

Getting ready to add my 2nd pump to my H4. 
The instructions in the pump box says to remove a 3/4 cap at the top left of the boiler eight inches down.

There are two of them side by side  , any idea which one to use????

11
Plumbing / ball valve
« on: September 28, 2012, 08:08:10 AM »
Where do you normally put ball valves on a H4? 
I will have three at the water heater in the mechanical room to route the water thru the boiler before it goes into the water heater.

What about at the boiler?  Should I put a valve on the heat exchanger lines?  I have 1 inch lines to the exchanger but the connections at the boiler are 3/4" 
A 3/4 ball valve is a lot cheaper than a 1"but if it needs to be 1" I will use it.

Doesn't 3/4" fittings defeat the purpose of having 1" lines?




12
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Major in the dog house
« on: September 22, 2012, 03:43:59 PM »
I evidently have commited an atrocity... As we were building our house I told my wife I wanted the boiler to be close to the house and also it to be just a few steps off of the drive so I could put down some pavers and never get off of gravel or a walkway.
Let me preface this by saying at our old house I built a dog ear privacy fence on three sides of the boiler and planted flowers all around it. I told her I would do the same here.
I just assumed she knew the boler door would be facing the drive and right by the garage.  I should not have assumed. 
She pulled up last night just as I was finishing up the pad, and wanted me to scratch the year in the concrete before it set up.  I went to the front and started and she said why are you putting it there, no one will see it. I explained, she is not happy at all not even a little bit.
I had to promise to build a gate so no one can see the ugly boiler when they pull up the drive.
I have some concerns about putting anything in front of that door, but I have to..  My only alternative is a jackhammer and that is not happening.
   

13
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / |Backdraft
« on: September 13, 2012, 12:58:07 PM »
Do boilers other than Hardy shoot impressive flames out the door if you open it at just the right time? On mine you have to leave the ash door closed and the fire been starved for oxygen for a while.

After initially scorching my eyebrows and hair on my arms, I learned to stand back and  enjoy it.I really kind of get a kick out of it.

It must be the little kid or pyromaniac coming out in me. 

14
Hardy / h4 slab
« on: September 06, 2012, 09:49:17 AM »
I need to pour a pad for my H4, I think I am going to make it 6'x8'.   Five inches thick except where I have 2 six inch sewer and drain pipes coming up out of the ground and I think I will only make it about 2 inches thick there. And let the back of the hardy hang over the lower part.  What do you all think??

When I had my H2, I poured that slab with a 2x8 slot recessed in the slab under the back of the hardy.

The two 6" pipes are taking up a lot more room than I thought.





15
Plumbing / connection
« on: July 19, 2012, 01:40:49 PM »
I just bought insulated pex from z supply and it looks  good.

I made the mistake of only putting a 4" schedule 40 pipe in the floor of my shop. I need an ingenious way of connecting the corragated underground pipe to the 4 " schedule 40. The corrugated is about 4 1/2".
Jeff at
Z Supply sent me a piece of large heat shrink to go over the connection, but I am wondering if I need to do more.  The connection will end up being about a foot down.  I am thinking about putting it in a meter box just so I can see it instead of it being buried.
Thanks





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