Underground boiler line distance

Thanks. I guess mine does get sort of heated back up before returning as you can see it goes back into the main line from the 7 smaller orange return lines from the garage floors. They turn on and off from their own thermastats and pumps. I know it'll pull the boiler temp down close to 50 degrees till it heats it up.



It makes for a pretty good heat sync!

 

So is thermopex basically the best or is there other one out there to? The only other kind i see is the kind it's wrapped like 4 or 5 times then put in the pipe. I would think if that kind got the outside layer damaged water could get in, iv been happy with thermopex iv used in the past.

 

My brother went against my advice and got that stuff to save a few bucks.

Don't like it for his application (or mine).

 

Works good in Phoenix Arizona.

 

Yes, it would!

 

Yes, Thermopex. There are a couple of other brands with the same design. Logstor being one.

Don't get the wrapped stuff. You might get by OK with it, but if you do you would be in a lucky small minority.

 

Yup. The generally accepted principal is to keep your boiler return above 140. Below that and it can create a lot of creosote condensation in the firebox. And increased corrosion potential with it. If you run storage, or low temp emitters like in floor, that is a real possibility that really should be addressed. If you just have one loop with high temp emitters, keep your boiler temps up, and have good underground you might be OK.

The way around it is boiler return temp protection - a bypass loop at the boiler that bypasses enough water out the supply & directly back to the return to mix with the real return enough to keep it above 140. Can use a thermostatic valve setup, or a simple loop with extra circulator, thermo controlled ('bang bang'). Some boilers have that built in.

 

Not to derail but anyone else here have issues with hard water plugging dhw heat exchangers? Anybody have water softeners? Had a plate exchanger I was unable to unplug on my water heater so I replaced it with a shell & tub but it doesn’t work nearly as well.

 

Ive got very hard water, its hard on faucets, taps.
Don't have dhw hooked to the boiler, not sure why not as i have a shell and tube exchanger in the shed that previous owner left.

How long did your plate exchanger last?

 

It was inline in the system for probably 10 years or so but it’s performance diminished slowly after maybe the first 3 years. Just never got around to changing it till recently.

 

Have you considered a water softener?

 

I've really considered a softener, but always seem to find other things to take care of money wise.
My current hot water tank i believe is half full of sediment which burned out the element years ago, just disconnected it.
I don't use alot of water as it's just myself.

Do you notice a decreased efficiency in the tube and shell exchanger?

 

I completely get the money thing, that’s why we don’t have a softener yet, plus I’m not sure of the maintenance or lifespan of one & they’re not cheap. I also had to change my bottom element due to corrosion from all the white goo in the bottom of our water heater. I can’t say as I’ve noticed a decrease in the efficiency of the shell & tube it never really seemed that great since it was new

 

One thing I've been tossing around in my head is to make my own hot water tank.
I have a pile of 5/8" pex left over from the shop build and thought make a heat exchanger in a super insulated tank with it hooked to boiler supply lines and another to dhw, in summer put some homemade solar hot water panels on the garage roof hooked to another inside the tank
With a few materials and fittings eating most of the cost i should be ahead on the $$ side of things, my labor is "free" and would be kinda fun anyways

 

With the right sized pipe and pumps your wallet is the limit. For those distances your probably looking at 1.25" pex. Any elevation change or is it fairly flat?

 

It does run good. Still working on the first 25'x4'x16" row of wood for the year.

 

Gotta like that! I’d go thru that in a week or so.

 

Did you research any other brands before you chose your heatmaster? Garn, Portage & Main, Polar, Central Boiler? Just wondering.

 

I researched them all. Crown Royal and Heatmaster were my top choices.

 

Judging by the wood usage so far you made a good choice!