boiler water line help!

Maybe you can have it water excavated? Then put a semi rigid tubing/ pipe over it that can be insulated with spay or blown in insulation?

That way you can put it in under your driveway without ripping the driveway up.

 

Water excavated? Never heard of it before, I'm going to have till figure something out though, but it's probably gig to have to wait till spring/summer, if it's anything more than a couple hundred bucks. As much as I hate to say that

 

Aka hydro excavation. This is a company that we do the controls for. Right here in Sconnie... I'm sure there's a truck somewhere close to you.

Hydro Excavation | What is Hydro Excavation | Truck-Mounted Vacuum Applications | Super Products

 

It maybe such a thing as it is just to close to the surface and therefore melting the snow. My pipi for mine is probably not any better than yours is and I have never had any snow melt, but I know mine is 4ft. down in a sandy well drain soil! We maybe having the same about of heat loss from our pipes but yours is just making it up to the surface.

Gary

 

But a5 foot path? That's a lot of heat loss, heat loss that I'd rather keep, considering that there is line out there that can have snow sit directly on it and not melt..
Your post does make me feel less lonely, but not any better about the situation

 

Did you install the boiler yourself? Or did a shop install it, or advise how to install the unit and the piping?

I do know that there are several shops in Wisconsin that sell these units and have very little knowledge of the units.

My dad was certified ASME and had a shop that installed and repaired boilers, and he has seen this time and time again.

He's helped my aunt out that had the same, and other problems with their central boiler install in Sparta Wi.

He's sitting 3 feet from me now. I'll show him your pics.


What pump do you have, and is this a heat exchanger or pure hydronic setup, and how far is it to the boiler from the house?

 

Is the tubing just in the shiny blanket stuff? Or is it encased in a sort of conduit?

 

The boiler was installed 8 years before we moved in, looks like a foil around the pex, inside of a4-6 inch black drain tile pipe, who knows how deep or where exactly it goes, I have a radiator to disperse heat in the plenum for forced air to blow over and throughout the house

 

Unfortunately it sounds like new (quality) line and some digging is in your future. I wouldn't spend much time fussing with what you have. Looks like a lost cause from the beginning. Those lines need to be insulated from each other, in addition to from the outside world...and waterproof. About the only thing that I could suggest as a possible solution in the meantime would be to drain the ditch line.
My brother has a OWB and they suspected that they were losing a ton of heat to the ground (~500' of line. Heats 2 houses and 2 garages) The low spot in the line was the boiler end. So they dug a sump pit at that end, complete with sump pump and float. That thing cycled for days before settling down. Boiler runs a lot less now...good enough until somebody decides to come off of 500' of new (quality) line...at $12/ft. yeah, sump pump may be there a while.
Think doing something similar would help you any?

 

I shouldn't have any standing water in my boiler water transfer line, where it comes in in the basement is pretty low, so if I had much water sitting in the lines it would pour into my basement so a sump pump would be no use to me, maybe I'll tear out the spray foam I put on the ends and push something into the line and see if it comes out wet to be sure.

 

Yeah, see if that shows you anything, but I think that the real solution involves digging. That hydro excavation would be pricey.

You can keep your existing pex, provided it's in tact. Just insulate it properly and encase it. My dad said to make sure the supply and return lines are not touching the exterior walls of the conduit/ piping. In other words, insulation has to be between the pex piping and the walls of the conduit.

 

I have always wondered if you could bury 6" or 8" SDR 35, then pull the lineset into that. It would be waterproof. You'd still need good insulation on each one of the lines...I dunno, maybe a dumb idea. At least you'd be able to make changes/repairs without digging things up!

 

Can you check how many degrees of heat loss you have from your boiler to your house? Somebody might be able to determine if it is an acceptable loss or not.

Gary

 

I think that would work, just insulate as you push it in.

Unfortunately, that's so far from how most outfits do it.

 

this was my thought also.
are you having trouble getting enough heat in the house?
or is the melting of snow the biggest concern?
is replacing the lines going to give you a ROI ?

 

I've thought of checking the temps but don't have a accurate way right now, will borrow a buddies pex thermometer this week, the melting snow is probably my biggest concern right now, it may not be a huge loss over the distance but a constant loss of even 1 or 2 degrees over the next 25 years can add up to a couple years worth of heat I could save rather than heating my driveway.
Not really having trouble heating the house as far as I know but I know it should be more efficient

 

You are losing more than one or two degrees. But the flow rate also needs to be factored in to determine btu loss. One degree per 100' would be acceptable.
I concur to dig up and replace. Unfortunately you have really crappy insulated lines. I have seen pics of the logstor stuff run on top of the ground with snow on it not melting. But nowif you foam in place you can use 1-1/4" lines rather than 1". This will allow you to use a smaller circ with a curve that matches your system. All the OWBs seem to use 1" with a large pump that just doesnt last. I did foam in trench for 120' and use a HEC-2 to cycle water. Its an ECM driven circ about equivalent to a 007. I have one degree heat loss at a mere 3gpm.

 

I want to dig it up but my budget doesn't allow that right now since it's not a immediate catastrophic problem, that's why I'm looking for a temporary quick fix

 

Is your conduit in good enough shape that you could pull the lines out and insulate with an inexpensive foam insulation and pull it back in? Wouldn't be too costly that way

 

My uncle tried that on their lines that were losing a ton of heat that I mentioned earlier in this thread. It didn't work.

Then they consulted my dad, and he told them how to run the lines and insulate them properly.