Recent content by BadgerBoilerMN

FERNOX is the answer. They have the chemistry and equipment to clean and keep clean your heat transfer fluid. It is not good practice to install any high efficiency boiler or radiant floor heating system without the proper chemistry. Changing parts instead of addressing the source of the...

One of the many reasons I have been railing against used tankless water heaters for space heating for years. You are missing a key element in radiant comfort control, i.e. supply temperature. Outdoor reset would be the answer. I don't know what an "instant hot" is, but an electric boiler...

The old taco scoop has been obsolete for some time. If you think you can use a scoop and a vent for low temperature radiant systems with a half-mile of tubing you have more time to mess around with entrained air than I ever did. After I installed my first Spirovent, circa 1987, I never looked...

I have been advocating for better control of the heat transfer fluid quality in residential applications for several years now. Especially for European style hydronic control valves such as the three-way diverter in the Excellence and others. I had the same experience with an Excellence I...

All of these "concerns" should be addressed by an experienced master plumber. I am such. Buy from a reputable company recommended by the local factory rep or distributor. Or just start here; http://us.navien.com/NssFinder/ Look for a party listed for installation and service. The only...

If your water is soft you will find the Navien quiet, efficient and reliable. With reasonable care by a professional tech every few years, it will outlast a conventional tank water heater by 10 years. Ask about service before you buy and don't let Uncle Bob install it unless he is a licensed...

The ASHRAE multiplier is for cast iron. In other words, obsolete. Bumping up the boiler output for DHW is also old-school. Size the water heater to the largest tub or as you would a conventional water heater. Don't mix old school with a ModCon boiler.

There are no problems, as described, with a properly installed side-vent installation. It is the perfect solution and eliminates the long obsolete chimney with all of its' obvious faults e.g. convection of conditioned air, leaking and unnecessary penetrations of the house envelope and roof. I...

Thanks

Your atmospheric boiler has a potential efficiency of 85%. Any condensing boiler will start at 86% and have a potential of 95%. Cast iron or radiators? The heat load in a hydronic (hot water) heating system properly determines the size of the boiler with radiation used as a reference with...

You have done a good job. All you are lacking is a room-by-room Manual 'J' to determine the highest per sq.ft. load and balance controls if necessary. If it is hard to find an installer for the UFT imagine finding a service company on a cold holiday weekend. If you have it serviced annually you...

If you do your chemistry they will all work indefinitely in residential applications.

I've been using them for more than 20 years. There are others.

Most boilers from the 50's do not. We use Electro, Thermolec and the relatively new NexGen. All have outdoor reset, model dependent.

Remember, it is not the input of the ModCon but the low-fire output that is most critical in designing a multi-zone system. To wit, the UFT 080 is fired from 8-80mbuth input (10-1 turn-down) so the low-fire output is just 7680. I have one in my design studio...brilliant.