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[Gilks]

This is my first experience with hydronic. Over the summer built an approx. 3200 sq ft house. Pex is distributed into six zones. Two zones using standard oxygen barrier in concrete (garage and basement). Basement uses 9 outlet stainless watts manifold, garage uses six. The other four zones are pex-al, stapled up to the bottom of the subfloor, no heat transfer plates, will be insulated in the end with foil bubble wrap and R13. The hot water is supplied (or will be) by a BioBurn outdoor wood boiler. 383 gallon capacity. I also planning on heating my domestic water as I have a 30 exchanger. So last night I stopped at Menards and purchased $700 work of fittings and such. I already have six TACO pumps and flanges. I have some questions for you experts:

1. My supply line comes into a corner of my basement. I plan on building my control panel there. I have power readily available as well. My electric hot water tank is have way across the basement. Do I have to have my 30 plate near the hot water tank or can I just turn it down, and reroute my water line so that when hot water is called for it draws from my 30 plate before going to the faucet. I just don't know where is the right place for the 30 plate.

2. will I be pumping hot water through my 30 plate all the time, whether I am calling for domestic hot water or not?

3. Do I need mixer valves for all zones? I know I need one on both concrete zones, but what about the staple up zones?

4. Should every control panel have a surge tank? Bought one but I'm not positive if I need it.

5. How many air separators do I need? and, where do they need to be located?

6. what about a particle separator? I bought one, just not sure where it should go.

7. Lastly, why don't a few of you experts get together and write a how to book or Radiant for dummies book? I wouldn't be bugging you guys with all these questions if I could find a source to study up on first besides just looking at pictures on the web.

Thanks in advance.

[atvalaska]

start reading > http://www.caleffi.com/usa/en-us    http://www.caleffi.us/caleffi/en_US/Site/Technical_library/Idraulica_magazine/args/detail/~Details~Magazines~magazine_detail_0000108/type/magazine/index.sdo    .................#10  will be your best friend

[atvalaska]

[PDF]
HYDRONICS FOR WOOD-FIRED HEAT SOURCES - Caleffi …


www.caleffi.com/sites/default/files/coll_attach_file/idronics_10.pdf

[Gilks]

Ok, read the Caleffi idronics article and learned a lot. Not sure that it answered my question about location of my DHW heat exchanger in relation to my electric water tank. My existing electric hot water tank is basically located in the middle of the basement. Control panel is in one corner of the basement. It seems to me that my 30 plate should be mounted after the hot water tank. so that when someone calls for hater water, water would come from the tank, go through the 30 plate, and then to the valve calling for DHW. Can someone tell me if this is accurate? Do I need to have a separate pump pumping source hot water through the 30 plater all the time? Sorry I am so green on this. I just can't find an answer.

[Gilks]

Think I found what I am looking for. Found an image on the Crown Royal Stoves website that shows the exchanger mounted on top of the hot water tank with a bypass circuit plumbed. DHW is pulled though the exchanger from the tank when needed. When the wood stove is not in operation then you bypass the exchanger and pull around the exchanger and directly from the tank. I assume that when you are using the wood stove you turn the hot water tank temp down as low as it will go or even cut the power to it. Thoughts?

[Shrek1112]

Gilks- my setup has the 30 plate he after the water heater. After setting the gas valve to pilot for the first few days we then just shut it off.  I have two teenagers and wife who like long hot showers. We have yet to see a decrease in temperature of the dhw. My tank is just used for cold water storage at this time, however it is also nest to the forced air furnace and water to air exchanger.  I don't have the bypass as if I am not running the boiler ki will just turn the gas back on. 

[LittleJohn]

QUESTION #2 -> I would only pump to the water heater, when the pump between the OWB and house (structure) is on, AND I WOULD ALSO RUN a tempering valve off the DHW as it may get a bit warm running OWB water thru it

QUESTION #3 -> You do MAY NOT need mix valves for the staple up zones, but I am not 100% certain what that requires for water temperatures.  I DO KNOW that you need to mix down the in-slab water to no HOTTER than about 120F or so

QUESTION #5 -> You should only need one located in roughly the highest point in the system; you also need 6x the OD of straight pipe leadign into and out of the seperator, for it to work most efficiently

QUESTION #6 -> Work best before Flat Plate Heat Exchangers (FPHE), to reduce the chance of plugging them.

[Gilks]

So each of my six circuits has its own pump that only gets turned on when the thermostat calls for heat. Do I have my main circuit/loop from the wood boiler flowing through my domestic hot water exchanger all the time? When someone turns on a faucet it pull DHW through the exchanger and then through a mixing valve before sending it to the faucet?

By the way little John, my supplier tells me I need 120-140 degrees running through the staple up.

[LittleJohn]

By the way little John, my supplier tells me I need 120-140 degrees running through the staple up.

This mean you will need to mix down, cause I am guessing boiler will be running about 180F or so.
...you should not have to mix by zone, I personally would get 2 mix valves (one for inslab and one for staple up), then you can figure out the zoning and what not after that

In regards to a Book for Dummies try a book by the name of "Pumping Away" by Dan Holohan - there are alot of GREAT explanation on piping configurations and what not

[Gilks]

Book ordered. Thank you!