Radiant Heating
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- Опубликовано: 12 янв 2016
- Complete Radiant Heating System using a Navien on-demand boiler closed loop system. I've been asked for a copy of the diagram we used to put together this system. You can access a copy of it at drive.google.com/file/d/0B0gU... to download a copy for yourself. If you don't have gmail to access it and want a copy emailed to you, shoot me a quick email at mikesweekendwarriorprojects@gmail.com.
Just to reiterate, this is the system I designed for my situation. I can't guarantee this will work for your situation and highly recommend you seek professional guidance as well if you're considering installing a radiant heat system of your own.
I am an electrical engineer my self and I suspect that this guy has an engineering background as well. His terminology and clear sequential walk through are amazing! Great job dude!
This video restores my faith in humanity! You have nothing to gain from making this other than helping others out. That's awesome! You even included the diagram!! I can't thank you enough!!
Thanks Tile Guy! Happy that you liked it!!
This video is very important to watch if your a DIY. I can’t say anymore about it other than you need to watch it.Thank you for your time in producing this video.
And you did a nice job at explaining your primary secondary loop . Thanks again
Thank you Mike. I have been looking at my system off and on for years trying to understand it. Your video has helped. Thank you. Great video!
I appreciate everything being so neat. Really important when trying to trace lines
What a fantastic video! You did a great job explaining things and I sure appreciate that you made it for us to use to learn whatever we can from it. Beautiful job. What a great layout on your system. I can see you are one sharp guy and care about what you do. Very professional. Thank you for sharing it and helping us.
Right you added distilled water that’s great man awesome.
Great explanation of a complicated yet beautiful system, thank you for making this video!
Thanks so much Cem - I appreciate that!
Thank you for the great details.
Wonderful! Thank you for taking the time to do this. It´s helped me enormously with my installation. Well done!
Thanks so much John for the encouraging words - much appreciated!!
this seemed like a very well done video. thanks.
Mike,
This is a beautifully detailed video, I initially was worried about spending 40 minutes watching you, but well worth the time, I learned a ton of good information and got a ton of great ideas for my future radiant heat project. Thank You for your time
Hi Matt! Thanks so much for the comment! It meant a lot! I'm happy you found this resource helpful. If it's more of a help feel free to check out my link to the diagram or email me a question at any time!
Matt فرنسا
It was great, I am saving it
Very well explained! 😊
thanks for making this video. I searched and found exactly what i was looking for! The clothes thing, YES!
Thank you for lots of great info. Looking to do this in my next home.
One question I have, would it not be required to have a non-combustible material behind the heating unit?
nice Work, Thanks for making that video. I am about to take on the same project myself .
Excellent Video. Thank you !!
Mike,
Did a very nice job. Really mean that as a guy that does this every day for a living. First problem I have is the pressure relief, valve (huge no), plastic discharge (big no).
Primary loop. You have a good handle on the problems with turbulence with the air vent. More importantly you over looked this concept on the primary loop. Get rid of the balll valve! Common rule for closely spaced tee's is to have a minimum of 6" of free pipe x pipe diameter before supply t. Minimum 4" after return per pipe size. All about the turbulence
.
Hi Steve - thanks for the feedback! Frankly, I'm not surprised that a professional can find a few missteps in my work (considering I've never made one before and was never taught how to). Regardless, I would like it if you could take a moment and elaborate on some of your remarks. The whole purpose of this video is simple to educate and inform others, and I believe base on what you've shared, that people would like to know the reasoning behind some of the comments you made. Thanks, Steve!
Mike's Weekend Warrior Projects I see nothing wrong with plastic discharge that's common where I'm from in New York
Nice video. What's the little whirly-gig at the bottom of the white condensate plumbing (about 6 feet away from the boiler, where the plumbing goes down, and runs towards the main drain line)?
Wow! Nice work. I'm getting ready to do this myself. I'm definitely seeking pro advice but there's plenty I can do to alleviate the pain in my wallet. I've purchased nearly everything from PEX universe so, good call there. So meticulous and neat! I only hope mine will look as presentable as yours. You just acquired a new subscriber.
Nice system. I don't see mixing valves. If you are heating concrete at one temp and staple up under your joists, that would be a different temp. Buffer tanks are being recommended now to prevent short cycles on the boiler. But a very good looking system.
*Mike* Would you consider making an update to your radiant heating video? I also wouldn't mind seeing a video on your other HVAC services in your home, such as air conditioning. Thank you for producing this video.
Hey Thanks for the Info!! I'm building a house very soon and I ready to layout my Radiant floor plan. How big of a wall space do you think I need to have to house a system like yours. 4' x 4' wall space?
When you talk about the spirovent and the reason why you keep it away from the tee.....that only will happen if you use a Air scoop and not a spirovent
Great video!
You should do an update just to show how your system this morning after year very interesting
Another small tip you may want to keep an eye on is that those “copper” clamps might not actually be copper, but just copper colored paint. I discovered this when I built a fountain using these clamps because different metals touching each other will be subject to galvanic action, and can actually cause pin holes in copper. If you can put a small piece of rubber between the pipe and the clamp, it should be okay. You do such great work, I’m sure you think those copper colored clamps should actually be real copper. As my copper clamps were exposed to water, might have expedited the corrosion and galvanic action
I'm in the process of building one of these systems myself and have a question. I have a similar manifold with the air eliminator and hose hookups for purging/filling on it. It seems like most people still put in separate purge/fill hose barbs and air eliminators above the expansion tank even though the manifold has these built in, as you did here. Why is that? Are the manifold components not adequate?
Could you please give us an update on the efficiency and durability of this system you installed?
i've seen people use a regular hot water heater for radiant heat. but problem can't get close to the volume you have.
Awesome video. Can you please give us an update, how your system is performing after two/three seasons now?. Im more interested to hear about the navien; i read a lot of complaints about em that they are a money pit .
Mike, got to love some of the comments. Just curious, what determines the size of the zones? Is it the pumps?
Would you also install a pre tank scale inhibitor?
I'm building a new log home and considering a radiant floor system using heat transfer plates and PEX in the floor joists. I'm considering running the PEX myself since its labor intensive but I'll need to hire a heating contractor to install the mechanicals. How much would you suggest it should cost me to have a heating contractor install the boiler and do all of the piping etc? I'm not sure what a reasonable price would be so I'm trying to avoid being over-charged. Thx.
nice job buddy
ESBE valve for my radiant heat does not seem to open up can i just lightly use a hammer and bang it or does the valve have to be replaced
Did you consider running glycol in the system? If so, why did you decide against it?
hey nice job. I just wondering about having a vent before the condensate trap
Sal Tarantino good question, I suppose you can. In the manual it didn’t say we needed to. Frankly it just drips, if it was water moving like a faucet the yeah it probably would have been a good idea.
Excellent. A side question... was this used to heat a garage slab too? if so how did you isolate the garage concrete from the driveway concrete to reduce heat loss? some folks say just run the pex tubing 2 ft away from the garage door.
Hi Kituboy - thanks for the questions! This system is actually in a home and I've installed tile (varying in style) over the slab. When it comes to radiant heat, I find that a lot of people need to focus more on insulating their systems, creating thermal breaks from cinderblock walls, have an insulated break between the radiant heat and where there can be a heat lose. Heat does rise but for radiant head it'll also transfer heat down, if you have something to prevent that lose in energy and redirect it, than your system will be more efficient!
By far the best video I have seen on radiant heating... I have a couple of questions... Maybe I missed it in the video but Where are you located? Are all your floors tile or do you have wood as well? Also, what has the lowest outdoor temperature been while you used this system and what did you need to raise you water and room temperature to? You mentioned its at 104 now because its not too cold outside. Thanks for your help.
Nice clean job but you may want to consider increasing the pipe size of your primary loop in future projects
You are my hero! Your system is pure eye candy haha! I don't have any prior experience assembling hydronic/radiant floor heating, but I'm handy, think like an engineer, and want to try tackling it myself (perhaps with some guidance/inspection of a licensed contractor). I'm thinking of using radiant floor heating for 4 zones--three 800 sq ft levels (basement, 1st floor, 2nd floor) in my home and a 4th zone to take care of two two levels in an external garage (basement underneath garage as well as the floor on which the cars are parked, each about 800 sq ft). Ideally, I would like to hook the system to an indoor gasification wood burner which can also be supplemented by a natural gas boiler (when I'm unable to supply the wood burner). Keeping in mind I will have everything approved by a professional before I start, any advice for me? Any good literature or videos you recommend perusing?
hahaha! thanks Zachary! love the eye-candy comment (i'm going to have to barrow that now). Your project sounds amazing and kudos for taking on such a big project! I looked into going a wood burner and gas supplement as well, but decided against is because of the space. That is a great combination to go with! I can speak to the gas unit and say that the Navien would make for a great supplement boiler because it is on-demand the moment your wood burner would die down that unit would kick on and unlike other boilers, it hasn't been wasting fuel/money producing a reservoir of hot water waiting to take over for the wood boiler. When creating your system I would make sure to cater to the gas boiler first in its design simply because it is the more finicky unit and requires a bit more attention, were as the wood boiler is a bit more bullet proof... with your in-floor heating, I'm guessing you have two zones that are joist bays and the other two submerged in cement? Have you begun to install the PEX? I'm happy to write about that, but with the holiday I was considering making another film and talking about the install of the PEX and the amount of work that goes into insulating everything and different areas to focus on... As far as material goes, I did it old school, I went to my local hardware store and was able to barrow some books. Most helpful one was Zurn Radiant Heating Design and Application Guide. Watch as many RUclips videos as possible. This Old House always has good stuff. And I would strongly recommend seeing as many systems as you can in person. I took a look at three other systems, two during the winter and I got to see how they worked. That was very insightful! Zachary - best of luck! I hope some of this info helped and if you have any thoughts or comments please send them my way!!
Need a shut off before the union on the gas side... everything else looks sweet.. im going to price those webstone manifolds.. i have npe-180a and can get the h2air kit to get space heating applications out of my tankless
Looks great!
But you might want to take the ball valve off the blowdown tube,
I could see that becoming a problem if that safety is ever needed and it's accidentially closed
Thanks Matthew! And yes at this point it’s been replaced with a coupling. I can tell you at the time, working on it after consecutive nights at 2:30 in the morning, it’s a matter of convenience just to have a part that can do the job for the time being!
What has your experience been with how much propane your system uses? How efficient is boiler after using it for a while?
I'm curious about the answer to this question, too.
Nice job very impressive! I'm looking into a natural gas Navien boiler for baseboard heat. How has it held up for you?
Hello Troy M! Sorry for the late reply! The Navien has been holding up beautifully! I'm in my 14th month and its been running well. I left the unit on over the summer (I did not turn off the Navien) and when the colder temperatures kicked in this fall the unit came back on and was working great. I read the manual before the season started and there was not much to it. Very simple. Just made sure the water was topped off and pressure on the system was at 16psi and she's ready for another cold Northeastern season. If theres anything specific you want me to address feel free to write!
could you run the cables in the wall, then use connectors after you'd plastered it? would look a little better
Does dramatically overkill sound familiar ? And did you ever have to replace a grundfoss pomp?
Are you still happy with the Navien unit?
Closely spaced tees are supposed to be a close together as possible.
The calculation is 4 pipe diameters or a close together as possible.
Also try to avoid or trust everything you read in the manuals.
question did you do all of this installation your self and did the equipment give you the installation guide to do this??/
Hi PBS#007, I had two people help me. My friend who has an electrical background and I also hired the help of a local heating and plumping professional who was licensed to install the Navien unit (to prevent the warranty from being voided).
for the love of god please remove the valve off the pressure relief valve this goes against all codes and safety laws and turns this system into a bomb if it was ever closed
For the love of nature rather
I have to do this but not to spend that much . btw how much did you spend ?
ابداع
Great Video. I was unaware of the Furnace Condensation issue. How did you get the Distilled water into the lines? Did you just use a 5 gallon pail bucket or something else?
Hi Guy, I'm glad you like the video! I used two 5 gallon buckets, one was full and then us primed the pump and dumped into the empty bucket. one I was sure the air was out, I then connected the water-in-end to the manifold and filled the purged the system.
How do we get the manual/instructions for the manifold? We did not receive a manual. Please advise. This is what we received: ABST PEX Manifold,4-Branch Stainless Steel Floor Heat Manifold Kit with 1/2" Adapters Included for Hydronic Radiant Floor Heating. Thank you
also videos on them pumps say not to have elbows to close on either side of the pumps
Hey Mike, great looking system. My neighbor installed something similar and we are now looking at radiant as an option. Would you mind sharing a ballpark on how much the hardware in the system cost?
Sure thing Scott! For all of the hardware that you see in the video (pex and installing pex not included) came in around six thousand... I had a quote from a heating and cooling company that specializes in radiant heat: for materials and labor quoted me at 11,000.... being price sensitive there's no way I was going to pay someone to do that lol. Thier true value is their expertise to install everything correctly. I knew how to sweat connections, plumb gas and work with electric - the hard part for me (and why I made this video) is because I found it very difficult to find resources that showed the importance of each component and why things were done the way they were. On a separate note, I can tell you that before I began creating this system, I had three quotes to do the whole thing. It ranged from 18k to 26k.... and my home is a simple two story with 1200 square feet. Hope this helps! Best of luck!!
Awesome info Mike! Thanks so much for sharing. That $6k figure is about what it took my neighbor as well for a similar sized space with him doing the entire install. Couple more questions, did you use any specific mix for the floor slab with the pex in it? Did you pour over an existing slab? Thanks again.
Good questions - I researched a ton regarding the concrete and what type is should be etc. There might be some products out there that work "better" however it might be impractical depending on the space you're pouring... like self-leveling compound. I've read a lot of people use this because there's little work to level it, but it also retains the heat better. If it's a lot of volume like mine, I ended up using cement, medium strength with little to no ingot in it. If you or someone else finds something that's more recommended I'd like to hear about it! The slab is the thickness of a 2x4 on-face. I put those around the perimeter as a thermal break to prevent wasted heat from escaping. Pressure treated boards also gave me surface areas to anchor to to construct walls etc. So the layers are something like this: I have a pour-on-grade cement floor. Build on top of that is a subfloor constructed of pressure treated 2x4 and hard foam between them, with an osb 3/4" on the top. This created my R-value of 10+ which is what I needed to push the heat up. Heat does travel up (obviously) however, with the pex tubing, the pex heats in an omni directional way. So you want to push your heat up. Heat does travel up but it will also find the path of least resistance, and it's important that all of your heating efforts are going up not out or down. I then attached a sheet of plastic to the osb and then laid my pex on top of it. With the 2x4 boards in place I then had the overpour done. Hope this helps!
How loud are the pumps? I am installing one in my home, and trying to decide the best location. The sound output will be a definite factor.
Those pumps are super quite. You wont hear them.
why is the air separator mounted so low it should be at the highest point in the system as air rises
What protects the boiler if you have a water leak so that the boiler does not run dry. You said you do not have a water makeup line?
Hi Wayne, around the 30min mark I address this. The boiler has a built-in low-water shut-off and there's another one on top of the unit that is required by state, so this system has two.
This was a cool video man thanks . Just was a little confused on the whole pump you had to purge the system ? How are you filling the system with cold water ? What a bout a fill valve ?
Hi Thomas - sorry for the late reply! Yes, I used a separate pump that I got at Harbor Freight and with two 5gal buckets (one to fill from and the other to dump into), I was able to purge and isolated segments of my system in order to fill it.
Very interesting. Are you going to share a diagram with all required components eventually ? What is the square footage for each floor covered by your radiant system ?
Hi TheSarto1965! Thanks for the question. I just posted a link to this video, where you can get a PDF from dropbox. Let me know what you think of it! For your other question, my home is a two story that is 1200 square feet per floor. Best of Luck with everything!
Thank you ! It will be very helpful.
How do you mount your pump to the plywood/\?
It might be hard to see in the video, but I use stand offs (brackets with center thread) that I screw into the plywood. I use a threaded screw that is all thread to catch all of the wood. From the stand off I use a threaded rod cut to length and then another bracket that screws onto my threaded rod and clamps around the copper pipe.
what was the cost of your setup
What size and model pumps did you use
All three are the same, non submersible circulating pumps: type UPS15-58FC 1x115V 60Hz with a three speed switch.
I haven't read all of the previous comments, so I will apologize if others have already pointed this out. You shouldn't have any valves after your pressure relief valve (your shut-off valve which is set at 30 psi).
The downstream valve serves no purpose, but it certainly can defeat the purpose of the pressure relief valve. It may be fully open today, but you can't guarantee tomorrow that someone won't close it without knowing that they've negated a safety mechanism in the system.
Hi Chris! You are actually bringing up one of my biggest fears when we were putting this system together. I recall reading the navien manual and saying "really?" But that's how it's suppose to be set up.
When I ordered the navien it came with a few attachments including the blue and red brass valves you see under the unit. The red valve has a third branch where the pressure relief valve goes. And as you can see there is a shut off directly under it all part of the same unit that came with the boiler kit and is described in the manual.
But the reason for the number of valves is actually for purging the system. I didn't talk about it much but those valves are actually directional, so by isolating segments of the system I can purge/then close off and continue purging other segments. This helps prevent air from being trapped in the system instead of filling it up all at once. But you're right I totally agree that if someone came up and just turned a shutoff it could be disastrous but that can be said for most other heating systems I suppose.
Hey Mike, I'm trying to do a cost analysis of a system like this. Roughly how much did your entire project cost you?
(just materials cost, I intend to do all the work myself)
If you do el cheapo your prolly like minimum 5-6k grand in just the boiler, copper, valves, manifolds and pumps
I thought this unit had DHM on it, I don't see it ?, I thought this looked just like NFC-20/175H unit, it is not right ? ,
Always put a shut off valve between a gauge and the system.
looks like the air separator is in the wrong spot. looks like you piped it in the boiler loop.
I didn't see anyone ask this but I might have missed it... I noticed that you've filled with distilled water only but can you use a mixture of Ethylene Glycol so that there would never be any issues with freezing if the system wasn't on and we were away? Are there any differences in heat transfer? Would it affect any of the plastic components?
Hi Adam, great question! So you can buy, essentially, an antifreeze mixture to put into your system. I’ve heard or people doing just the antifreeze others do a mix. It will not transmit the heat as well - to what degree I don’t know.
Manufacture states you can only use 35% max PROPYLENE glycol only. Also it doesnt take much more energy to heat glycol than regular water.
Mike: Is there an outdoor sensor? You didn't go over that. Please can you include that?
I'm not an engineer but he could have installed the manifolds at the zone and only had to run two lines to the unit. I really wonder how much you sacrificed the framing to accommodate all those home runs. Next the way you have multiple cartridge pumps running the different zones and everything looped at the unit with a independent cartridge pump there is going to be back feeding problem possible considering I didn't see any check valves to prevent that. Last doesn't that independent cartridge pump at the unit just wast electricity and put unnecessary wear and tear on the unit?
Nice job apart from the soldering.
Cool video but dude, you have a shutoff valve after the relief?? Super dangerous if someone were to close it and obviously defeats the purpose of over pressure protection.
Several times you mention "The Manual." What manual are you referring to?
Hi Alan, the Navien unit has a manual that I had to reference on many occasions. Always reference the manual lol!
Where's your heat transfer plates ?
Hi Leif, so I did a lot of thinking before we installed the upstairs loop. There was a lot of factors that played into my decision making. The upstairs at the time was new construction so the tubbing would be installed first and then I would have to deal with applying new flooring and my concern was damaging the PEX tubing. In my research, I also went to a persons house and saw their system (in January) and their system was set up the same way for the joists. Feeling that warm from the floor was all I needed to see.
Does this warms the air or only the floor ?
I find that it warms both! Very comfortable heat.
I cannot imagine a more complicated system , over engineered for sure
Pretty simple and pretty typical. Nothing complicated about it, and certainly not over engineered. He has 16 heating zones on two manifolds each containing 8 zones. 8 supplies and 8 returns times 2. He only has two circulating pumps. Most of the systems we do have a pump for each zone because each zone has its own thermostat which regulates the pump so you can control the temperature of each room. Our system boards are three times the size of this one for the same number of zones.
Did you mention what size pex tubing you use?
Pretty sure that is half inch pex
Keith is right - it's half inch pex tubing. The type is oxygen barrier tubing, and I found the best deal on Pex Univers.
Tees are spaced less than twelve inches to prevent cold water from getting back to boiler and shocking it
Chris Allen - thanks for that explanation!! I never like when a manual says to do something and doesn’t both to explain why, granted it’s not a text book to learn but still.
Nice job. Out of all the videos Iv'e watched, this one has been the most helpful. My plumber also recommended the Navien, but some of the reviews have me a little scared. How is your Navien holding up?
Randy Haulman I'm looking at a this boiler as well, but for a hydronic baseboard installation. Have you made you decision? I found some people that post videos on here don't have their email linked so they are not notified when someone has commented on a video..I linked my email by accident..guess it was a good thing!
I just ordered mine. My plumber has experience with this unit and he can get parts if needed. He's been trained on the units and is authorized to work on them under warranty. That helped in making my decision. I would find a unit your local plumber can work on.
Hello Randy Haulman! Thanks for the kind comment! I'm sorry for the late reply! Troy M asked a similar question as you can see by my reply to him. I can sympathize with the 'being scared' about the Navien. When reading things online its hard to find straightforward unbiased information. I was reading things online too (some great and some not so great) I think it really comes down to staying within the guidelines this machine requires. NO HARD water - have a licensed professional install it and make sure its good on its warranty and don't do anything that would void that warranty. Speaking for the last 14 months, the unit has performed perfectly. Not one hiccup. Hope this helps assuage any hesitation about the Navien, and feel free to send any other questions along that you might have!
Just a question, I'm new to this. Since its a closed loop system, would it be possible to run something like Anti-Freeze in it? Would it be beneficial? From what I can tell, great setup and super informative. Greatly appreciate you making and posting!
Hi Dane - yes there is an anti-freeze that you can put into a radiant heat system. It will have a lower heat transfer rate compared to water, by how much I don't know. Something worth researching - if you get the answer I'd be interested to know!
Thanks for the reply, I'll let you know if I come up with anything.
Is that a shut off I see on the pressure relief piping??? Thats a huge no no!!!
Instead of distilled water how about collected cistern rain water
I’m sorry your primary loop pipe diameter is ok I thought it was 3/4”
why is it that plumbers have the right to spew their pipes all over the wall like someone vomited on it? Us in electrical engineering have to use a cabinet and everything has to be nice and tidy. This rule doesn't seem to apply to the plumber guys.
why use gas? I would never install sure a hazard in my home
The guages on the Rifeng manifolds are very cheap, poorly built.
This system is grossly over engineered.
Pretty basic to be honest
Let me guess, you didn't pull a permit because if you had pulled one this setup won't pass; you're missing a very critical component, the backflow valve and you're also missing the fill valve...
Hi Order in Chaos! Thanks for writing. Sounds like you missed most of this video, otherwise you would have realized that this is a closed loop system and does not require either of those devices you recommend which is also why the town signed off on my permit. Thanks for checking though!
In my City it requires both a fill valve, a pressure reduction valve, a back flow valve, and a couple more pressure release items. And speaking as someone who did one of these DIY systems myself--I was just as proud of you--I will confirm that they work. I'm even a licensed contractor, so I was super confident I could handle this, and when it heated the house, I thought, Great!
But two things: One: One of these days you will go to sell the house, and nobody will want to buy a system that looks like that. Or they won't know how to work the system because its so different from a permitted professionally installed system, or they can't find a pro to work on it because pro-type people shake their heads a lot at customers. Or at home sale time, they will have to lower their offering price by $10-15k. Cuz it gets torn out and wasted. And you probably have problems selling your house anyway, because it just scares people off. And Two, your system will in no way be as efficient or long lasting as a professionally installed permitted boiler system. You are wasting somewhere around 10-20% per month in gas use on a system like that, and probably not getting the most out of the radiant too. Repairs will add up. Losses over five, seven, ten years would have paid for installing the right system to begin with. Again, I am speaking as someone who installed a DIY system and truly enjoyed tinkering with it for 10-15 years.
With my homemade system, I spent around $240 per month for gas. The floors were warm. The repairs happened, but I lived my life.
Ok, flash forward to when I built an addition to part of my house and had to pull City permits to do it. The City took a look at my heating system and said "Hahahaha haaaa haaa hoo hooooo hohohoho HAAAA. That has to come out!" So I replaced it with a professionally built boiler system that cost a bundle. Almost the same components, frankly, same brand mod con boiler even, but professionally done.
Are you sitting down? With 1,100 square feet of ADDITIONAL LIVING SPACE ADDED (remember, I was doing a remodel), the professionally built boiler used only about $130-140 per month in gas use during the coldest of winters, for the whole new house, which again, was about 50% larger. I was not sitting down. I fell over. I figure I wasted at least $1,200 per year for the ten years I had the old system. Not counting repairs and tweaks.
I am writing this crazy long post because I want people to have fun and enjoy DIY projects, but please, People, do not think in any way that they work as well as, are as efficient as, or are as legal, or will add any value to your home whatsoever.
Sorry to pee in the wheaties here, but as I said, I was you. Now I'm me.
I might have missed something here, but if most parts were equivalent, then it must have been something in the set up that changed its efficiency? Could you maybe share what was changed to help others learn?
His system looks pretty straight forward to me ,much like the the prebuilt professional systems I've been shopping out and if the boiler is condensing 5 gallons in 24 hours .. I'd guess he is close to the 96% efficiency
It's a closed system, no need for a back flow valve...or fill valve.