vincenzo
New Member
Thanks for all your help.
New Boiler for the house
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Tom is right- it doesn't have to be set up for cold-starting. The through bolts stretch over time, so when the iron is cool and the iron heat exchanger plates are at a smaller dimension they may not have sufficient tension to keep it from leaking. While that may happen with the boiler at 70F, it's not likely to happen at 140F, which is the lowest you should normally run the thing.
With the Intellicon you program the low-temp limit, and let it decide if/when it needs to pull down the high-limit. On a new call for heat it won't fire the boiler until the temp in the boiler has dropped to 140F. It "learns" the system and figures out how to anticipated the end of a call for heat based on recent burns, and will cut the burner when it "thinks" there's enough heat in the boiler to finish, dropping the temp part-way to the programmed low-limit. Typical aquastat boiler controls only allow the boiler to slew through a difference of 15-25F. (eg, when the high limit is set to 180F, and it'll bump between 160F & 180F. Sometimes that swing is adjustable, some times not.) A heat purging control like the Intellicon can deliver temperature swings of 60F or more when the low-limit is programmed to 140F, which more than doubles the minimum burn times, cutting the numbers of burn cycles by half or more. It's worth reading the manual to get a handle on how the thing is supposed to work. They also have a crummy programming video and an installation video (with background music designed to drive you crazy.
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Tom is right- it doesn't have to be set up for cold-starting. The through bolts stretch over time, so when the iron is cool and the iron heat exchanger plates are at a smaller dimension they may not have sufficient tension to keep it from leaking. While that may happen with the boiler at 70F, it's not likely to happen at 140F, which is the lowest you should normally run the thing.
With the Intellicon you program the low-temp limit, and let it decide if/when it needs to pull down the high-limit. On a new call for heat it won't fire the boiler until the temp in the boiler has dropped to 140F. It "learns" the system and figures out how to anticipated the end of a call for heat based on recent burns, and will cut the burner when it "thinks" there's enough heat in the boiler to finish, dropping the temp part-way to the programmed low-limit. Typical aquastat boiler controls only allow the boiler to slew through a difference of 15-25F. (eg, when the high limit is set to 180F, and it'll bump between 160F & 180F. Sometimes that swing is adjustable, some times not.) A heat purging control like the Intellicon can deliver temperature swings of 60F or more when the low-limit is programmed to 140F, which more than doubles the minimum burn times, cutting the numbers of burn cycles by half or more. It's worth reading the manual to get a handle on how the thing is supposed to work. They also have a crummy programming video and an installation video (with background music designed to drive you crazy.
Tom is right- it doesn't have to be set up for cold-starting. The through bolts stretch over time, so when the iron is cool and the iron heat exchanger plates are at a smaller dimension they may not have sufficient tension to keep it from leaking. While that may happen with the boiler at 70F, it's not likely to happen at 140F, which is the lowest you should normally run the thing.
With the Intellicon you program the low-temp limit, and let it decide if/when it needs to pull down the high-limit. On a new call for heat it won't fire the boiler until the temp in the boiler has dropped to 140F. It "learns" the system and figures out how to anticipated the end of a call for heat based on recent burns, and will cut the burner when it "thinks" there's enough heat in the boiler to finish, dropping the temp part-way to the programmed low-limit. Typical aquastat boiler controls only allow the boiler to slew through a difference of 15-25F. (eg, when the high limit is set to 180F, and it'll bump between 160F & 180F. Sometimes that swing is adjustable, some times not.) A heat purging control like the Intellicon can deliver temperature swings of 60F or more when the low-limit is programmed to 140F, which more than doubles the minimum burn times, cutting the numbers of burn cycles by half or more. It's worth reading the manual to get a handle on how the thing is supposed to work. They also have a crummy programming video and an installation video (with background music designed to drive you crazy.
Tom is right- it doesn't have to be set up for cold-starting. The through bolts stretch over time, so when the iron is cool and the iron heat exchanger plates are at a smaller dimension they may not have sufficient tension to keep it from leaking. While that may happen with the boiler at 70F, it's not likely to happen at 140F, which is the lowest you should normally run the thing.
With the Intellicon you program the low-temp limit, and let it decide if/when it needs to pull down the high-limit. On a new call for heat it won't fire the boiler until the temp in the boiler has dropped to 140F. It "learns" the system and figures out how to anticipated the end of a call for heat based on recent burns, and will cut the burner when it "thinks" there's enough heat in the boiler to finish, dropping the temp part-way to the programmed low-limit. Typical aquastat boiler controls only allow the boiler to slew through a difference of 15-25F. (eg, when the high limit is set to 180F, and it'll bump between 160F & 180F. Sometimes that swing is adjustable, some times not.) A heat purging control like the Intellicon can deliver temperature swings of 60F or more when the low-limit is programmed to 140F, which more than doubles the minimum burn times, cutting the numbers of burn cycles by half or more. It's worth reading the manual to get a handle on how the thing is supposed to work. They also have a crummy programming video and an installation video (with background music designed to drive you crazy.
Because the heat in the Sys 2K purges out to the last active zone, there is no oversize penalty. A cool boiler basically has no standby loss
The system is fuel neutral so it can be fired with oil, NG or LP with the same efficiency. Conversion from oil to either gas is relatively simple with no alterations to the boiler needed, just a burner swap and an extra wire run from the manager junction box to the burner.
The system is fuel neutral so it can be fired with oil, NG or LP with the same efficiency. Conversion from oil to either gas is relatively simple with no alterations to the boiler needed, just a burner swap and an extra wire run from the manager junction box to the burner.
vincenzo
New Member
I changed my mind and did the swap, I put in a new system 2000. Good thing I did to, the boiler techs has to break up my old burnham cast iron boiler to remove it from my basement, and when they did the insides of the old boiler looked pretty nasty. I guess that's what they look like after 25 years of service. He also told me that the igniteron the burner was just about gone as well.A few thoughts on the system 2000 after only 24 hours of operation.
1. This thing is as quiet as they advertise. Very quiet on startup, very quiet during operation, practically no noise.
2. The hot water tank stays completely cold all the time, no heat escapes to the outside at all. I was going to put a blanket around it, but I know it is completely unnecessary.
3. For some reason the clicking, ticking and tapping noises during heat startup are mostly gone. My house was made in the 1920's and with the other boiler was very noisy when the thermo's called for heat, but not anymore.
4. The installation looked very easy, the boiler techs whipped right through it. They advertise it to be very easy to install, looks like it is.
So far I am very happy with it, I hope it is reliable and durable. One question, I want to put a surge protector on it to protect the electronics, any recommendations. I saw one brand called Supco, any good?
1. This thing is as quiet as they advertise. Very quiet on startup, very quiet during operation, practically no noise.
2. The hot water tank stays completely cold all the time, no heat escapes to the outside at all. I was going to put a blanket around it, but I know it is completely unnecessary.
3. For some reason the clicking, ticking and tapping noises during heat startup are mostly gone. My house was made in the 1920's and with the other boiler was very noisy when the thermo's called for heat, but not anymore.
4. The installation looked very easy, the boiler techs whipped right through it. They advertise it to be very easy to install, looks like it is.
So far I am very happy with it, I hope it is reliable and durable. One question, I want to put a surge protector on it to protect the electronics, any recommendations. I saw one brand called Supco, any good?
Can't tell you anything about Supco, but the SYS-2K is a decent choice.
Hopefully you got the smallest in the line up !?! Even the smallest is going to cycle quite a bit on a 50 foot baseboard zone, but nothing like the bigger versions will. I'm not sure how far they can down-fire it when you do the gas conversion, but it's worth thinking about. Measure the burn times when the smaller zone (in baseboard length, not floor area) is making a continuous call for heat and the other zone is idle. This can be done by turning the small-zone thermostat up several degrees, and the other zone down (or off). Both the burn time and the time between burns are important factors in getting the most out of it with the least wear & tear on the boiler.
Hopefully you got the smallest in the line up !?! Even the smallest is going to cycle quite a bit on a 50 foot baseboard zone, but nothing like the bigger versions will. I'm not sure how far they can down-fire it when you do the gas conversion, but it's worth thinking about. Measure the burn times when the smaller zone (in baseboard length, not floor area) is making a continuous call for heat and the other zone is idle. This can be done by turning the small-zone thermostat up several degrees, and the other zone down (or off). Both the burn time and the time between burns are important factors in getting the most out of it with the least wear & tear on the boiler.
Tom Sawyer
In the Trades
They can run dangerously close to condensing so there is a limit to down firing. Because the boiler holds so little water and heats up so fast, the size of the fire isn't much of a factor.
Surge protection is built in to the plug in relay board inside the manager junction box. The only electronics are in the manager and the MOV's on the relay board are more than sufficient to protect it.
The owner's manual lists the correct firing rates. Remember that this is not a maintaining boiler and all heat left at the end of a heat or hot water call goes to that zone so no heat is wasted. Don't let someone try to re-invent the wheel. If you convert to gas at some time use the same firing rate as the oil is now. The stack temp is above condensing enough that it's not a concern. Also, the system manager controls the minimum return temp via the zone valves so there's no condensing in the boiler flueway during an active call.
vincenzo
New Member
If the relay board already has surge protection then I guess I don't have to have another surge protector installed. One less bill sounds good to me. I will keep you posted on future oil use to see how much I saved.
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