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Topics - Sprinter

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1
For those interested, there are some great spray foam kits readily available thru Menards starting at $1/bf which is less than market rate.

Several options that are excellent for doing trenches and your own underground lines.  Encased in PVC using slow rise injected and you have a product as good or better and cheaper than most market brands.
Also good for repair if you wanted to.

Buying online, you get hit withthe $100 plus shipping per kit, since a 300bf kit weighs over a hundred lbs. menards covers this as long as you can wait or buy off the shelf. Foam it green has great product line too for same or lower price than the DOW product but once again shipping is a killer. Either way it's still a project that is not cost prohibitive.

http://www.menards.com/main/paint/caulking-sealants/foam-sealant-and-insulation/froth-pak-620-b-polyol-foam-sealant/p-1625331-c-7937.htm


2
Calefi idronics #12 hydronic fundamentals, lots of useful bits of info

Page
5 how radiant works/heats, benefits vs other heating types
15 system components and how they work together
22 boiling points, static pressure, air in fluid
30 circulator flow in heat loops, hydraulic separation between loops
39 heat pump applications, water to water, air to water
51 thermal equilibrium and why/how every system achieves it
55 low temp radiators and high temp
66 zoning, ZV& circs, primary secondary examples, series versus parallel designs
75 balancing, variable temp control, low mass, adding mass, high mass
85 mixing fundamentals

http://www.caleffi.com/sites/default/files/file/idronics_12.pdf

3
Turbulators are anything that creates turbulence in a flue in this case. Specifically heat exchange tubes. On high end boilers you will always find some type of device used to disturb smooth even flue gasses. Turbulent flow in the flue slows the gasses down from escaping the chamber while increasing the speed at which they flow in the heat exchange tubes. I know that sounds contradictory, but understand it like this. Rather than flow in a straight line, it swirls and mixes in the tube. The swirl travels a longer distance and give the hot gasses more time to transfer into the tube. Some research will give a lot more detail of what I can explain here.

Now what can you use for turbulators, well just about anything you can fashion to disturb a straight path. Some use water heater flue turbulators cut in half or cut down to fit. Some use chain or chains. Welded links on the horizontal tubes. Simple flat scrap metal cut to fit with notches and or bends. I would recommend everyone monitoring their flue temps, especially on a gasser. The hotter the temps means less efficiency or BTU captured from the burn. Also an early indicator of time to clean. Some see upto a 200 degree decrease in flue temps without increased creosote build up, sometimes reduced creosote and more fly ash instead. Close monitoring is a must to find the sweet spot or design that suits your stove. The infamous scotch marine tube design can really benefit from this. Found in the P&M, Empyre, Garn for example. Not all stoves will react the same, some might not like it at all. But if your seeing 500 plus degree stack temps your loosing a lot of energy and this might be worth a look. Is this for everyone NO!!!! But many have benefitted from turbulators, whether factory supplied or homemade.


4
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Air and dirt elimination devices
« on: March 11, 2014, 08:12:10 AM »
Lots of air vents on the market, but only a few are serviceable or worth servicing at all. Taco, spirovent, spirotherm are good brands that last long and easily cleanable.
Using a hydraulic separator or air dirt separator  actually works a lot better than those brass wye strainers and some high head filters. They are very pricey, but with all the DIY here, you can easily build them yourself. Copper pipe, old air tanks of any size, old expansion tanks , or steel pipe. You just add on an air vent on top of your choice and a full port valve to flush out on bottom.  You can screen them or not Depending how it's built. It large enough ports are used the debris will fall from suspension as soon as it enters the device, if velocity is too high a stainless pipe cleaner or other non ferrous bristle, screen or brush can be used to capture micro bubbles and dirt. A threaded cap or means to clean and service and your good.

Keeping the system clean helps all the equipment last and perform well.


http://www.spirotherm.com/sites/default/files/JR-2.pdf

http://www.caleffi.com/usa/en-us/catalogue/discaldirtmagtm-air-and-dirt-separator-magnet-brass-546195a

http://www.caleffi.com/usa/en-us/catalogue/sep4tm-4-1-hydraulic-separators-549506a

http://www.caleffi.com/usa/en-us/catalogue/quicksettertm-132432a

http://www.taco-hvac.com/uploads/FileLibrary/400-1.4.pdf   


http://www.taco-hvac.com/uploads/FileLibrary/100-7.1.pdf    Taco air vents, rebuild able .



5
Here are a couple links on BTU output, GPM flow, cfm flow , water temp, size and sizing info for calculating , planning or those who don't have labeled exchangers to get an idea on what you have.

http://www.firstco.com/getattachment/Products/Multi-Family-Residential-Products/Miscellaneous/HWC/hwc209.pdf

http://www.brazetek.com/finned-coil-water-air-heat-exchangers

Both have flat plate data sheets as well. If anyone finds more info please add

6
http://www.pmmag.com/articles/94897-beware-of-bottlenecks-part-1

Troubleshooting examples of heat flow bottlenecks.  Piping, mixing valves, header distribution, circulator common issues. When the btu is there, but not getting to where it needs to be.


I don't know if the article will pop up for everyone, so you might have to register

7
,*] Of its residents. To make less than 30, (thirty) residents satisfied. A resident submitted his version of what the OWB regulated ordinance should contain. The Township board accepted and approved in short order with minor language changes. We wish they would act this fast on the more important issues that have been tabled in the township for some time now. "[*Quo


http://www.portsheldontwp.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/WoodBoilerOrdinance.pdf

8
Fire Wood / Firewood BTU Specie lists
« on: February 08, 2014, 07:16:17 PM »
http://www.outdoor-wood-furnace-boiler.com/wood_species_BTUs.htm

My Favorite is chimney sweep, but these pretty much cover 99% of what you'll ever come across. I'm trying to find one specific for fruit trees. I have a copy of some very good specie that are in the top ten highest BTU rating.

http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm

http://firewoodresource.com/firewood-btu-ratings/

http://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/heating_value_wood/

http://www.firewood-for-life.com/firewood-btu.html

http://mb-soft.com/juca/print/firewood.html

Wood pile to cords calculator
http://www.state.me.us/ag/firewood.html

http://zenstoves.net/Wood.htm

9
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Michigan loves OWB's deq letter
« on: February 03, 2014, 12:36:31 PM »
http://michigan.gov/documents/OWB_fact_sheet_3_reasons_11-10-05_142298_7.pdf

Does this smell of a little bias, or opinionated. Pretty strong statements called a fact sheet. It comes up whenever wood and boiler are in the search terms, along with OWB and a few other terms.

From what I have read, specifically a few in the city of Marquette ,MI are ones with an axe to grind against burning any wood. That city also banned snow machines for a few years, till the economic hurt they put on their own residents from tourists not visiting took its toll and they reversed the ban.

It does seem like its a small number of voices that  squeak their wheels. You would almost think someone paid to have the letter published. I thought a govt agency isn't supposed to name brands and be impartial.

Although those are the brands and types of boilers I like and recommend. I would rather a consumer make their own choice from an educational and financial point.
I also wish Michigan and a few other states would have more incentives for these types of heating equipment. The east coast has $5000 incentives.

11
http://www.boilerbuddy.com/calculators/bbselector.html


A good site to get some buffer or storage tank info. Will size a buffer tank for you or show you what you can gain in reduced cycle times.

Buffer tanks are most beneficial when the boiler output does not match the load. So pretty much 95% of the time if the boiler was sized with a heat loss calc for a design day. Is it a must no, can it be beneficial yes, how much depends on the current system design and efficiency. This can also help keep boiler return temps in the safe zone, since all the boiler sees is the tank not the whole system.

Some use electric water heaters as a very inexpensive option to try. The element ports are 1" to 1.25" most common.

12
Its a live web monitoring and control system from a DIY home builder. I guess this guy is really into watching temp gauges and pump flow, so much so from what I understand he built his own system management.

www.nofossil.org:7281/public/gaugepanel.html

Just come across it so still reading the no fossil site

13
Electronics / Idronics by Calefi, issue #14 on hydronic controls
« on: January 19, 2014, 01:04:48 PM »
Info on hydronic control applications. Basic system wiring , multi zone valve wiring, outdoor reset controllers via boiler or mixing valve control. Circulators with delta P, delta T or set point control operation. BTU load sensing to match flow to heat demand. Multi staging, or multi boiler back up heat sources.



http://www.caleffi.us/en_US/caleffi/Details/Magazines/pdf/idronics_14_us.pdf

14
This is from the Econoburn website, looks like they hired the best to do application and design criteria. Most of this info can be applied to any hydronic boiler application, parts of it or all. Its a very good read either way and not specific to any one brand. Some great pictures and diagrams with full explanations. Pressure or non pressure systems


http://econoburn.com/images/PDF-Covers/Integrating-Wood-Water.pdf

15
Here's a article on sub atmospheric conditions in a non pressurized boiler system.

http://www.radiantandhydronics.com/articles/86249-noisy-pipes

This condition can also occur when a circulator is grossly oversized, even when OWB is above system. Circulators create a pressure differential on either side of the flanges to create flow. If the circ is way too big for the application, it will create a very low pressure on the inlet side. Flash boiling can occur and thus cavitation , gurgling and overheating until the flow can equalize or sometimes it never will. What makes this hard to troubleshoot sometimes is ,the actual weather barometer pressure changing. As pressure decreases water boiling point also decreases, additives to water can also change boil point, which can make the problem inconsistent.

 I can't find the other article, but it had a lot more detail...

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