Just a note for everyone, I replaced the SharkBite fittings going to the air handler exchangers because they started leaking after a couple of years. I believe this had to do with the thermal expansion and contraction over the years but I can't be sure. I replaced them with sweat fittings and haven't had an issue since. Also, consider putting ball valves on both sides of the Y-strainer, or put it wear it can be easily isolated. I have a set of ball valves I am going to install after the fact.
Thank you for sharing! I will be installing my boiler this spring as our house nears completion. WIll definitely use some of your tips in my install. Thank you!!!!
Does the size of your furnace and the size of your heat exchanger make a difference in other words I have a heat exchanger that came with the stove I would like to use it on my furnace can I adapt my furnace to accommodate the size of this heat exchanger thank you
I would say you want it to be close. If it's too small, you'll need to block air from going around it and it'll reduce your flow obviously. If it's too big, I'm not how you would get it in. Also, if you are getting it used, what is the inside of it like? Could it be rusty or anything corroded? May not hurt to do it right and get a new proper sized one, but that's totally up to you. Just my thoughts. Hopefully that answers your question.
Might want a check valve installed so you can't get boiler water in your water system. I personally prefer to do mine at the boiler for safety reasons.
Not a bad idea. I don't think it's really necessary but a good safety precaution. The pressure from the fresh water side should always be greater than the furnace side, so there should never be back flow. I may install one anyways
Does the hot water heat exchanger only supply hot water to the tank when there is a water draw in the house? Or does it pump continuously to keep it hot when not being used? Thanks
Only when there is a draw from the house. If you wanted one that operated continuously you might want a shell and tube heat exchanger. However, they are generally slower at heating up the water drawn in on demand and thereby the bulk temperature.
Electrical magic. Seriously though, the aquastat I show at 12:38 decides whether to send power/ signal to the electric (electric coils or heat pump, I don't have propane). When the thermostat on the wall calls for heat it turns the fan on no matter what. As for the electric coils or heat pump, that is determined based on the aquastat. If it senses the water in the line is hot, then power the relay is open and no power is provided to the electric/ heat pump. If the water is cold, the relay closes and provides power/ signal that turns the electric/ heat pump on. I had a friend that is an HVAC/ electrical background install it because he understood the wiring. Hopefully that answers your question.
The aquastat determines if the secondary heat source needs to turn on. For me that is the heat pump or electric coils. It's basically an electro mechanical sensor and switch. If the water in the pipes is hot it only turns the fan on to heat the house. If the water temperature is below the set point, it recognizes that a different heat source is needed and it will run the heat pump or electric coils in addition to the fan. This ensures the heat pump or coils aren't used when I don't need them and also allows the heat source to automatically switch over if the water in the pipes gets too cold (say the fire went out or you left for a couple of days and the fire could last a day by itself). An alternative is to have two thermostats in your house, 1 for the wood furnace and 1 for the alternate source. You would set the alternate thermostat lower so if the wood furnace wasn't heating enough it would turn on the backup system.
@@xamboy5 We have a friend that does HVAC/ electrical and he wired it in for me. I believe he wired it to a relay and based on the aquastat input it provided power or grounded the positive of the heat pump/coils. That way the fan always gets power when the thermostat calls for heat but the heat pump/ coils only get it if the wood burner line is cold. Someone else may certainly chime in and correct me on how they'd do it. Sorry I couldn't help more.
That's a great question that I sadly don't have an exact answer for you. I can tell you this. I originally had a Grundfos 1/6 HP pump. When that pump was on high, with both furnaces running and hot water being drawn, the water coming out of the last furnace was luke warm. I upgraded to the 1/3 HP pump. A lot more flow. With that pump on medium, the water is still fairly warm with a a draw from all 3 loads. Sorry I can't give you an exact number. I'll try and remember next fall and see what the gauge says on the back of my furnace. Thanks for viewing and great question.
Up to you obviously, you know more than me, but from my small experience, them sharkbite fittings shouldn't be a permanent part to your plumbing, sweat to uponor or crimp pex brass fittings would be better lol obviously you do you, my input ain't really needed. 😂
Funny you mention that. They started leaking this week. I think the expansion and shrinkage from starting and shutting down the wood furnace a few times a year it's toll. Too much temperature difference. I called a local guy and had him sweat on fittings. Lol. Much happier now. I didn't like the idea of them but I didn't know how to sweat them myself.
Chops,,,,I have a boatload of hepex from uponor to run in my crawl space for radiant floor heat problem is I’ll not be able to do 300 ft endless runs ..I have 45 joists 35 feet long....do you think anything’s wrong with splicing every other joist with two straight uponor couplings ....no chance of them heating up and expanding and popping loose...it would make for a lot less crawling n cussing
@@jamescecil4629 just avoid sharkbite fittings. Doesn't need to be continuous. The more fittings you have the more headless you have but that just affects pump size. Use brass fittings. I got them in bulk cheapest online (eBay). Use good copper crimp rings and you will have no problems.
@@DanielFarmChannel connecting my underground 1” pex to my boiler end I’ll use 1” Pex crimp ,,,,connecting my under ground 1” pex on the other end I’ll use shark bite 1” 90 degree fitting crimp to Uponor 1” hePex up to my DHW HX then continuing up to the HX in my attic ..now connecting to the attic furnace HX shall I use a 1” sweat to uponor or use a sweat to regular 1” pex crimp or Jeff Luff endorses a 1” sharkbire 90 swivel fitting because the pex grows as it heats ....your thoughts
@@jamescecil4629 Try and use the crimp fittings for both ends of the underground. Stay away from Sharkbite. I understand what Jeff said for the expansion which is one reason why I went with that at first. However, rather than rotating with the expansion, I think the resistance/ friction just caused it still to pull. Plus, I think the thermal expansions effect the sharkbite joint in general (truly, the "bite"). Anyways, to alleviate stress I put in like 12" of line perpendicular to the direction the long line comes in. This should allow some flexing. Don't just have it elbow in. I'm no expert, but what I had initially with the sharkbites didn't work so I'm doing something different. When I had a plumber out to sweat the fittings he agreed with what I had and said to stay away from the sharkbite for this application. The crimp fittings on both ends of my underground have worked great.
It might surprise you but I have commonly seen the HXs suspended like that. That is 1" pex and it has no issue holding. Also, I used straps to hold the pipes screwed in at locations. Where I didn't screw into anything yes, I used a zip tie to strap it to a local pipe. It's functional and I wasn't out to achieve the prettiest award.
I'm not sure he would need one with a manual ball valve, well water would always have more pressure than the atmospheric wood Boiler side of the system.
Just a note for everyone, I replaced the SharkBite fittings going to the air handler exchangers because they started leaking after a couple of years. I believe this had to do with the thermal expansion and contraction over the years but I can't be sure. I replaced them with sweat fittings and haven't had an issue since. Also, consider putting ball valves on both sides of the Y-strainer, or put it wear it can be easily isolated. I have a set of ball valves I am going to install after the fact.
I had the same problem crimping them is the only route to go
Thank you for sharing! I will be installing my boiler this spring as our house nears completion. WIll definitely use some of your tips in my install. Thank you!!!!
i realize Im kinda off topic but do anybody know of a good place to watch new series online ?
@Ian Mekhi flixportal =)
@Kenzo Rowen thanks, I signed up and it seems to work :) Appreciate it !!
@Ian Mekhi you are welcome xD
Does the size of your furnace and the size of your heat exchanger make a difference in other words I have a heat exchanger that came with the stove I would like to use it on my furnace can I adapt my furnace to accommodate the size of this heat exchanger thank you
I would say you want it to be close. If it's too small, you'll need to block air from going around it and it'll reduce your flow obviously. If it's too big, I'm not how you would get it in. Also, if you are getting it used, what is the inside of it like? Could it be rusty or anything corroded? May not hurt to do it right and get a new proper sized one, but that's totally up to you. Just my thoughts. Hopefully that answers your question.
Might want a check valve installed so you can't get boiler water in your water system. I personally prefer to do mine at the boiler for safety reasons.
Not a bad idea. I don't think it's really necessary but a good safety precaution. The pressure from the fresh water side should always be greater than the furnace side, so there should never be back flow. I may install one anyways
But at least is working fine for you
Did you use oxygen barrier plex? 😮
Probably not. Didn't know there was a difference.
@@DanielFarmChannel apparently the oxygen barrier is for heating hopefully you did use it.
Does the hot water heat exchanger only supply hot water to the tank when there is a water draw in the house? Or does it pump continuously to keep it hot when not being used? Thanks
Only when there is a draw from the house. If you wanted one that operated continuously you might want a shell and tube heat exchanger. However, they are generally slower at heating up the water drawn in on demand and thereby the bulk temperature.
Hey man how did you trick the furnace to kick on without firing the propane?
Electrical magic. Seriously though, the aquastat I show at 12:38 decides whether to send power/ signal to the electric (electric coils or heat pump, I don't have propane). When the thermostat on the wall calls for heat it turns the fan on no matter what. As for the electric coils or heat pump, that is determined based on the aquastat. If it senses the water in the line is hot, then power the relay is open and no power is provided to the electric/ heat pump. If the water is cold, the relay closes and provides power/ signal that turns the electric/ heat pump on. I had a friend that is an HVAC/ electrical background install it because he understood the wiring. Hopefully that answers your question.
what does the aquastat do like the video
The aquastat determines if the secondary heat source needs to turn on. For me that is the heat pump or electric coils. It's basically an electro mechanical sensor and switch. If the water in the pipes is hot it only turns the fan on to heat the house. If the water temperature is below the set point, it recognizes that a different heat source is needed and it will run the heat pump or electric coils in addition to the fan. This ensures the heat pump or coils aren't used when I don't need them and also allows the heat source to automatically switch over if the water in the pipes gets too cold (say the fire went out or you left for a couple of days and the fire could last a day by itself). An alternative is to have two thermostats in your house, 1 for the wood furnace and 1 for the alternate source. You would set the alternate thermostat lower so if the wood furnace wasn't heating enough it would turn on the backup system.
@@DanielFarmChannel how do you wire the Aquastat to the furnace ?
@@xamboy5 We have a friend that does HVAC/ electrical and he wired it in for me. I believe he wired it to a relay and based on the aquastat input it provided power or grounded the positive of the heat pump/coils. That way the fan always gets power when the thermostat calls for heat but the heat pump/ coils only get it if the wood burner line is cold. Someone else may certainly chime in and correct me on how they'd do it. Sorry I couldn't help more.
So what is your return to boiler water temp after going thru all that
That's a great question that I sadly don't have an exact answer for you. I can tell you this. I originally had a Grundfos 1/6 HP pump. When that pump was on high, with both furnaces running and hot water being drawn, the water coming out of the last furnace was luke warm. I upgraded to the 1/3 HP pump. A lot more flow. With that pump on medium, the water is still fairly warm with a a draw from all 3 loads. Sorry I can't give you an exact number. I'll try and remember next fall and see what the gauge says on the back of my furnace. Thanks for viewing and great question.
You don't have a thermal expansion tank on the heating coil loop.....why?
It is an open system. Wood burner fill is open to atmosphere, therfore no need for thermal expansion tank.
Nothing is under pressure.
Up to you obviously, you know more than me, but from my small experience, them sharkbite fittings shouldn't be a permanent part to your plumbing, sweat to uponor or crimp pex brass fittings would be better lol obviously you do you, my input ain't really needed. 😂
Funny you mention that. They started leaking this week. I think the expansion and shrinkage from starting and shutting down the wood furnace a few times a year it's toll. Too much temperature difference. I called a local guy and had him sweat on fittings. Lol. Much happier now. I didn't like the idea of them but I didn't know how to sweat them myself.
Chops,,,,I have a boatload of hepex from uponor to run in my crawl space for radiant floor heat problem is I’ll not be able to do 300 ft endless runs ..I have 45 joists 35 feet long....do you think anything’s wrong with splicing every other joist with two straight uponor couplings ....no chance of them heating up and expanding and popping loose...it would make for a lot less crawling n cussing
@@jamescecil4629 just avoid sharkbite fittings. Doesn't need to be continuous. The more fittings you have the more headless you have but that just affects pump size. Use brass fittings. I got them in bulk cheapest online (eBay). Use good copper crimp rings and you will have no problems.
@@DanielFarmChannel connecting my underground 1” pex to my boiler end I’ll use 1” Pex crimp ,,,,connecting my under ground 1” pex on the other end I’ll use shark bite 1” 90 degree fitting crimp to Uponor 1” hePex up to my DHW HX then continuing up to the HX in my attic ..now connecting to the attic furnace HX shall I use a 1” sweat to uponor or use a sweat to regular 1” pex crimp or Jeff Luff endorses a 1” sharkbire 90 swivel fitting because the pex grows as it heats ....your thoughts
@@jamescecil4629 Try and use the crimp fittings for both ends of the underground. Stay away from Sharkbite. I understand what Jeff said for the expansion which is one reason why I went with that at first. However, rather than rotating with the expansion, I think the resistance/ friction just caused it still to pull. Plus, I think the thermal expansions effect the sharkbite joint in general (truly, the "bite"). Anyways, to alleviate stress I put in like 12" of line perpendicular to the direction the long line comes in. This should allow some flexing. Don't just have it elbow in. I'm no expert, but what I had initially with the sharkbites didn't work so I'm doing something different. When I had a plumber out to sweat the fittings he agreed with what I had and said to stay away from the sharkbite for this application. The crimp fittings on both ends of my underground have worked great.
All those pipes just hanging with zip ties and the heat exchanger hanging by the pex makes me cringe.
It might surprise you but I have commonly seen the HXs suspended like that. That is 1" pex and it has no issue holding. Also, I used straps to hold the pipes screwed in at locations. Where I didn't screw into anything yes, I used a zip tie to strap it to a local pipe. It's functional and I wasn't out to achieve the prettiest award.
No backflow preventer on fill line.
I'm not sure he would need one with a manual ball valve, well water would always have more pressure than the atmospheric wood Boiler side of the system.