This Weeks Boiler Replacement

[CaberTosser]

I just wrapped up this boiler replacement job earlier today and figured I'd post some pics, these were just from my iPhone but I have thousands to sort through as I'd also set up a time-lapse camera on 10 second intervals to document the entire job from start to finish for corporate website fodder. The new boiler is an IBC SL20-115 modulating/condensing unit and though its presently only serving 3 basement slab zones I left an extra supply and return for a fan-coil to heat the clients garage. The IBC also has another pair of supply & return connections on its right hand side that can service an indirect domestic water heater (heat exchanger style tank).

Before: This Ultra-Fin looks like a water heater but is a real boiler with 9-2" flues, it was deceivingly heavy, and left a lot of rusty sludge in the floor tubing to flush out.


After:

[brslk]

Very clean looking work.

[Wild&Free]

Quality workmanship Caber.

[levigne25]

Originally Posted by CaberTosser

I just wrapped up this boiler replacement job earlier today and figured I'd post some pics, these were just from my iPhone but I have thousands to sort through as I'd also set up a time-lapse camera on 10 second intervals to document the entire job from start to finish for corporate website fodder. The new boiler is an IBC SL20-115 modulating/condensing unit and though its presently only serving 3 basement slab zones I left an extra supply and return for a fan-coil to heat the clients garage. The IBC also has another pair of supply & return connections on its right hand side that can service an indirect domestic water heater (heat exchanger style tank).

Before: This Ultra-Fin looks like a water heater but is a real boiler with 9-2" flues, it was deceivingly heavy, and left a lot of rusty sludge in the floor tubing to flush out.


After:

Where is the mud drum and the steam drum ? Lol

[levigne25]

Must be a fire tube boiler

[Stu]

Looks good, nice work. IBC boilers are the catsass!
Do you not use cpvc?
Stu.

[blackmamba]

Not to shabby for your first time eh Caber.. lol... beauty work bud!!

[alpineguy]

Wow, that looks just a little nicer than the job I did on my house LOL. Beautiful work....thanks for posting.

[CaberTosser]

Originally Posted by Stu

Looks good, nice work. IBC boilers are the catsass!
Do you not use cpvc?
Stu.

Unless you're referring to the dark grey System 636 for venting, no I don't. I stick to using copper/brass for my hydronic piping. For those occasions where I might want to revise my work I can always undo a solder joint and continue, try that with CPVC

Stu

[WCTHEMI]

Very nice work.

[riden]

Do these systems use a holding tank or are they completely on demand?

[ctd]

Finally some on in Alberta who knows how to professionaly plumb.

Nice work.

[mudbug]

Excellent work as usual Stu

[Clgy_Dave2.0]

Originally Posted by ctd

Finally some on in Alberta who knows how to professionaly plumb.

Nice work.

Well...him and this guy:

[CaberTosser]

Those homeowners need to fire the maid Dave, those pumps are dusty!

[Stu]

Yes, I was referring to the venting material cpvc 636.
Why dont you use it?
Stu

[Clgy_Dave2.0]

Originally Posted by CaberTosser

Those homeowners need to fire the maid Dave, those pumps are dusty!

LOL....still in construction mode. Nowhere close to occupancy yet. I still have the indoor pool to do yet!

[CaberTosser]

Originally Posted by Stu

Yes, I was referring to the venting material cpvc 636.
Why dont you use it?
Stu

Upon revue of the IBC manual: because I'm an idiot! Good catch Stu!

But in my own defense I've done it properly repeatedly before, why I screwed it up this time I'll blame early-onset senility. Looks like I'm fixing something before calling the inspector out! Note in the second photo (the one featuring a cameo appearance by yours truly) that the condensate drainage tee was factory supplied, so I'll not take any flak on that one :

Photo's for butt-saving posterity:

[RandyBoBandy]

Well done SIR...modern day mechanical Picasso I appreciate very well done tradesman work! It shows YOU care!!

[riden]

Originally Posted by riden

Do these systems use a holding tank or are they completely on demand?

At the risk of being a PITA, I'm asking my question again. I'm building a house and my General Contractor had this unit installed. He really couldn't answer any questions about it and the plumbers are gone.

Does this unit heat run my household water and my floor heat? Will a tank be installed later?

Thanks guys.

[riden]

This is a better pic

[CaberTosser]

Originally Posted by riden

At the risk of being a PITA, I'm asking my question again. I'm building a house and my General Contractor had this unit installed. He really couldn't answer any questions about it and the plumbers are gone.

Does this unit heat run my household water and my floor heat? Will a tank be installed later?

Thanks guys.

Boilers can serve a number of different heating demands, but they are not like an 'on-demand' tankless water heater. The boiler photo that your shared might well serve an indirect water heater such as this:



In the photo the boiler supply and return would flow through the internal coil, and the domestic cold water supply would pipe in through the right-hand pipe on the top (note it has a 'dip tube' that brings the cold water to the bottom so that the water at the top is all hot water that has convected up; the domestic hot supply output is connected at the top left. This process exchanges the heat between the boiler water and the domestic water without actual mixing of the two fluids; typically the boiler heating medium won't be potable as there may be iron piping, chemicals, etc present in the closed system.

When one has a boiler it's only sensible to make the most of its wide range of capabilities. It would be rather silly to have a boiler and an independent water heater for instance, as the boiler would generally have better efficiency and faster recovery due to a higher BTU output:

[canuck]

What are you referring to in the picture above?

The green tank is to allow expansion when the heat transfer fluid is being warmed.

Caber, is that poly B that is run underfloor in your pic?

[riden]

Thanks Caber

[CaberTosser]

Canuck, from the clients original emailed photos I also thought that it might have been poly-b tubing, but its actually 5/8" uponor pex tubing. It took on a coloration from the steel boiler formerly serving it. I flushed all the lines with domestic water until they ran clear for a good while, then upon startup of the system I ran a chemical flush with Fernox for a few days and again flushed everything thoroughly: boiler loop, floor loops, and then even a 15 minute running flush where I disconnected the Axiom feed tank and utilized the hose bibb I installed on the former boiler feed line. The domestic water heaters adjacent to it would also have been a good source to connect the flush hose; the days of those heaters are numbered but they were only two years old so will get upgraded later.


And thanks for the Kudo's , the materials selection anomaly spotted by Eagle Eyed Stu will be revised.

[Dewey Cox]

Nice job

[Stu]

Lol, it sure is nice they moved the vent connections from the bottom of those units to the top. It makes for a cleaner install.
Stu

[walking buffalo]

Originally Posted by Clgy_Dave2.0

Well...him and this guy:

What a dull comment.

--------------------



Lookin' good Caber, as always.

[CaberTosser]

Dave was kind enough to text me that photo previously. I've been in some other similar boiler rooms where the copper was all buffed with Scotch-brite pads by an apprentice before being lacquered to retain its bright shine. The goofy thing with that option is that the pipes should really be insulated in areas you don't want their heat to radiate, this referenced mechanical room also contained the rack mounts for a fancy Crestron home-automation system so between those electronics and the mechanical piping they installed a ductless-split air conditioner to compensate

[michaelmicallef]

I'm the guy that gets to wire those up in our company. Nice job for sure. You should see some of the sickening work that's out there.