Outdoor Wood Furnace Info

All-Purpose OWF Discussions => Plumbing => Topic started by: american-pacemaker on September 16, 2014, 08:35:21 AM

Title: Primary / secondary design
Post by: american-pacemaker on September 16, 2014, 08:35:21 AM
Hey Slimjim I attached a new drawing for my primary / secondary design for the hot water boiler in the house. I could not fit the design of the drawing that I showed you and dan when you stopped at the house because of size limitations. The new design will fit where I need it to. Do you see anything wrong with the design ? Anyone else please feel free to critique the design as I am getting ready to order a lot of copper fittings.
Thanks, Larry
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: slimjim on September 16, 2014, 09:39:25 AM
Nice job, long radius 90's right?
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: american-pacemaker on September 16, 2014, 09:45:15 AM
Yes all the 90's will be long radius. The main tube will be 1 1/2" with 1" on the water heater and 3/4" on all the baseboard.
Should I add a drain valve on the bottom leg of the header do bleed the system or is that a waste of a valve ?
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: mlappin on September 16, 2014, 10:03:29 AM
Only thing I see is might add a few more T's with caps for future expansion.
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: american-pacemaker on September 16, 2014, 10:32:29 AM
I thought about that the problem is space. Primary / secondary physics says minimum 8x pipe diameter on supply side and 4x pipe diameter on return of each set of tee's which is really cramping me for the space I have. One of the secondary runs in the drawing is an extra that will be
capped of.
 
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: american-pacemaker on September 16, 2014, 12:38:54 PM
Should the circulator on the boiler pump into the return or pump into the supply line ? I have been told both.
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: slimjim on September 16, 2014, 12:43:38 PM
Boiler pump? which one oil or wood?  I typically install on the wood boiler supply (top port)?
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: american-pacemaker on September 16, 2014, 12:45:15 PM
Sorry, the pump on the inside boiler.
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: slimjim on September 16, 2014, 12:50:58 PM
If you are doing a primary secondary you really aren't going into the oil boiler,  the return from your primary would be first in the loop and the circ would be installed in the second close T and wired to the c-1 terminal on the aqua-stat.
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: american-pacemaker on September 16, 2014, 12:54:06 PM
Slimjim, in the drawing at the start of this thread I was told by a local guy that my circulator should be on the line going into
the return side of the boiler not where I drew it.
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: slimjim on September 16, 2014, 01:07:12 PM
A lot of the old timers put the circs on the return because the circs back then were thought to not like the temps as well as for space reasons during shipping they were typically installed on the return, in reality it makes no difference, I personally put them on the supply but as long as it is wired to c-1 and done with closely spaced tees, the only water going into and out of the oil boiler is when the circ is energized.
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: american-pacemaker on September 16, 2014, 01:12:05 PM
Thanks !!!!!!
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: slimjim on September 16, 2014, 03:28:55 PM
You are very welcome!
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: LittleJohn on September 17, 2014, 06:30:36 AM
If you get really bored, and don't mind reading a little bit; there is a book out there called "Pumping Away", which helps break down complex radiant installation into plain English
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: american-pacemaker on September 17, 2014, 07:07:55 AM
Thanks Littlejohn I will look for this.
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: Sprinter on September 25, 2014, 07:10:30 PM
Keep in mind with that drawing there is now way to control supply temp to each zone.  Each zone further down stream from the boiler supply will see lower temps. Think moose antlers or why they use that type
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: american-pacemaker on September 26, 2014, 06:10:28 AM
I have been second guessing myself since I designed this system. I am not sure how much the temp drop will be over the primary on this setup.
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: LittleJohn on September 26, 2014, 06:14:01 AM
Only way to truely control the temperature on secondaries (or zones) would be to have a mixing valve... this is assuming you want/need the secondaries to be cooler than your main

In my application my main runs about 180F (approximate temp of OWB, after going thru HX), secondaries runs at either 110F for slab or 150F underfloor
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: slimjim on September 26, 2014, 06:18:25 AM
I think what Sprinter is saying is that the downstream zone temps will drop as more zones come on, this is why they should be set up in priority, lowest demand at the end of the loop and temp gauges on supply and return to monitor the differential, adjust circ speed to heat full heat load with about a 20 degree differential.
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: american-pacemaker on September 26, 2014, 06:22:14 AM
Slimjim, will the speed of the circulator mess up the amount of btu's going to each secondary ? I have really thought about going to
the moose antler design ?
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: slimjim on September 26, 2014, 07:03:11 AM
No it will be fine on your system Larry!
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: Sprinter on October 09, 2014, 02:47:29 PM
A simple adjustment to the pipe layout will solve the issue. Just make sure the first thing the boiler supply sees is the feed or supply to each zone, then the returns. Cuz who cares what temps are downstream of the last supply.
The other option is moose antler headers. There are other ways. A good read on what P&S piping really is and what all the different versions are will answer all ?
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: aries9245 on October 15, 2014, 01:19:28 PM
I have a question for you guys i about to do some retrofitting on my primary and secondary system with 6 zone baseboard and 4 zone radiant heat  as of now @ of my radiant loops have a circulator but baseboard only has 1 to feed all what would be the best way to pipe into a primary  secondary system  and would I have use a separate pump for each zone for my baseboard also or can I use a wilo eco pump? Or similar
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: LittleJohn on October 16, 2014, 06:27:36 AM
I have a question for you guys i about to do some retrofitting on my primary and secondary system with 6 zone baseboard and 4 zone radiant heat  as of now @ of my radiant loops have a circulator but baseboard only has 1 to feed all what would be the best way to pipe into a primary  secondary system  and would I have use a separate pump for each zone for my baseboard also or can I use a wilo eco pump? Or similar

You have to have an actuatoror or pump on each zone.

I prefer zone valves, as there is less chance of ghost flows potentially occuring, but it really is what ever you are comfortable with installing.  LIKE I SAID THIS IS MY OPINION, it might not be 100% right, but it works for me  ;D ;D
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: aries9245 on December 24, 2014, 09:43:09 AM
Little John the way I did it was I ran my primary and secondary loops a 007 on primary loop with t on supply with 007 pump to supply baseboard zones with zone valves second t on return for aseboard into primary loop then it goes directly to my radiant loops all with there own circ pump and finally a 008 pump on return before my HX and it working fantastic all zones are feed without any starvation so I think I solved my problem..
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: Sloppy_Snood on December 24, 2014, 01:43:15 PM
Primary / secondary physics says minimum 8x pipe diameter on supply side and 4x pipe diameter on return of each set of tee's which is really cramping me for the space I have.

Where does that requirement come from in physics?   :-\

The only "requirement" on a manifold I ever read about was no more that 4 times the main manifold pipe diameter between the supply and return reducing tees.  Every copper manifold I saw at the big box stores WAY less than 8X manifold pipe diameter on the supply side. ???

Just trying to understand before I start soldering my manifold together. ;)
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: LittleJohn on December 29, 2014, 07:51:40 AM
I am not 100% certain, but I know that you must have a minimum length of pipe between one set of closely spaced tee and the next, so that the water has a chance to remix.  Otherwise there is a chance you could be pulling from the previous set of closely spaced tees not the main loop and cause some gremlins in the system.
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: american-pacemaker on December 29, 2014, 11:07:32 AM
Sloppy sorry I didn't see your post. The physics is from a flow standpoint and what happens when the dimensions are not right. Go to
the web site comfort-calc.net this is one of the best websites for this part of the primary secondary design. I just got my system running for both the inside oil boiler and the outside wood boiler and both are working extremely well.
Title: Re: Primary / secondary design
Post by: american-pacemaker on December 29, 2014, 11:38:32 AM
I tried to upload a picture but the upload folder is full  >:(