The home heating oil industry has a long and proud history, and Fuel Oil News has been there supporting it since 1935. It is an industry that has faced many challenges during that time. In its 77th year, Fuel Oil News is doing more than just holding
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HVAC/ HYDRONICS To make matters more complicat- ed for heating appliances, the lowered atmospheric pressure at high elevation means that LP and natural gas expand further, reducing their per-cubic foot BTU content. Boilers aren't immune to the effects of high elevation. More often than not, proper installation of a gas boiler above 2,000 feet requires the burner's orifice plate to be changed in order to de-rate the unit. This is usually at a rate of 4% per 1,000 feet of elevation. A technique that some techs call "fill and drill" can also be used in lieu of a replacement orifice jet. This involves filling an ori- fice with solder and carefully drilling it to the exact size needed with special orifice bits. But thin air isn't the only oddity that technicians in the mountain states face on a daily basis. "Last week, one of our guys got to a service call and found a mountain lion on the porch," said Nick Valenti, owner of IDS (Innovative Design Systems). Their location in central Colorado means they encounter plenty of wildlife, thin air and deep snow. IDS was founded in 1974 and was purchased by Valenti this January. After ten years of commercial and residential experience throughout the state, he moved back home and bought the company he first started with. Today, he and two apprentices serve Park County and surrounding areas. This past March, the company arrived in Fairplay, Colo. (elevation 9,953 ft.), to install a boiler for an existing radiant system in a log cabin. It came as no surprise that the sides of the driveway were piled eight feet deep with fresh powder. THE RIGHT APPLIANCE FOR THE JOB When homeowner Kyle Webb called IDS, he said they weren't getting enough heat. Upon arrival, Valenti found a tank-type water heater being used to produce not only DHW, but also hot water for the home's radiant system. "My wife and I built this house over the course of 18 months," said Webb. "We had the water heater installed as a quick, temporary fix and left it in service a bit longer than planned. It kept the house from freezing, but we relied on the wood stove to make it comfortable." The beautiful 3,000-foot residence has in-slab heat on the ground floor and gypcrete over Uponor oxygen- barrier PEX upstairs. All the heat came through one small Triangle Tube brazed-plate heat exchanger on three- quarter-inch pipe. This meant that heat delivery to the home was limited to 40,000 BTUH at best, regardless of the water heater's capacity or the total feet or radiant tubing. Zoning is accomplished with three remote Uponor brass compression manifolds and Honeywell zone valves. After performing a heat load cal- culation, IDS suggested a condens- ing boiler, indirect tank and variable speed circulator. Their bid was soon accepted. "We called four boiler manufactur- ers to see who'd stand behind their product at this elevation, and US Boiler Company was the only one. They sug- gested the K2 boiler. We had never installed a K2 before," he continued. "Having installed Burnham Alpine boilers, we expected good things." www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | NOVEMBER 2015 39 LEFT: The homeowner built a 3,000 square foot log home at just under 10,000 feet above sea level, and needed a hydronic system that could adapt to the thin air. RIGHT: (L-R) Neil Wagner, Nick Valenti, Mike Merryman of McCoy Sales and Ben Dunn. Apprentice Ben Dunn of Innovative Design Systems is learning how high altitude affects equipment.