piping layout with Tarm boiler 1500 gallons of pressurized storage and an oil boiler.

[machinistbcb]

Well I have been putting a lot of thinking into how I am going to plumb up my system. So far this is what I have come up with, with my minumal knowledge of plumbing and controlls. I would appreciate any advice or suggestion, my goal is to keep it simple and not have to use and speacil controlers. The plan is to fire up the tarm and have the feed to the oil boiler as primary because it tees off to it first. Hopefully the tank will be charged while the oil boiler is being feed as well. When the tank reaches say 150 degree the zone valve will open to use for heat, the zone valve will close at 140 degrees.

Thanks Brian

 

[nhjohn]

I don't think you are supposed to run the heated water through the oil boiler. I remember reading something about this that John Siegenthaler wrote.

 

[sparke]

Hey Bob - Running hot water through the oil boiler is not bad for anything it is just a waste of efficiency. I had the same set up. After reading much info in this forum. I bit the bullet and changed the piping to a parallel set up. It was not as hard as I thought it would be. I think it took me about 4 hours. Did I miss something? I don't see a way to reverse the flow...

 

[machinistbcb]

Sparke, my oil boiler has what I think is what you call a tripple aqua stat which receives the endswitch from the thermostat and has the high low settings for the oil boiler circ. How would the circ turn on if the oil boiler isn't heated and it has a low limit of say 140 degrees ? By reverse flow do you mean how will I draw from the tank ? My plan is to feed the tank to the top and also draw from the top. There will be a zone valve that will open at 140 degrees. Like I said I am not real smart will it comes to plumbing and controlls so any advice would be apreciated.

Thanks,

Brian

 

[sparke]

When you say boiler circ, I assume you mean the return circ pump from the heat zones? But since you are talking high and low I am wondering if you meant oil gun. I am not a heating tech so keep in mind this advice is from a do it yourself-er. I would change the piping from series to parallel and then change some of the controls. I separated my oil boiler controls. If you are looking for the oil to be a constant back up it changes things. You will need more relays and probably some RIB's (relay in a box) to enable certain things at certain times. I do not use oil at all unless I am away. Therefore I do not need integrated controls. I rewired the oil boiler so it does the following.
1. The oil emergency switch and thermal eye are master shut offs.
2. I separated the oil gun and circ pump electrical feeds. The oil gun is on a switch located on the oil boiler. When I shut off the gun - the circ pump relay center works normally except the oil gun does not get energized.
3. My wood boiler controls and zone valves work from 2 wood boiler aquastats.

Re- piping from series to parallel is not completly necessary just keep in mind you loose some BTU's. My suggestion is to hire a professional to design the system for you so everything is up to code and safe. I know a few guys if you need some names PM me.