Articles Tagged with ''hydronic systems''

A homeowner posted a question on The Wall at HeatingHelp.com about a drumroll sound that was coming from his brand-new steam boiler. What could it be? He included a video so all could hear, and sure enough, it sounded like a snare drum.

For many years, I’ve been offering a free demo version of the “Hydronics Design Studio” software that I co-developed with my long-time colleague, Mario Restive. It’s there for the taking at www.hydronicpros.com.

If your office routine is anything like mine, you’re probably typing cryptic passwords into your desktop computer, laptop, smartphone or tablet throughout the day to access websites or cloud-based software that’s essential to your business.

I worked for a manufacturers’ rep when I was first learning about hydronics. A guy I worked with was 15 years older than me. He knew that I had absolutely no training as an engineer so he took a different tack with my education.

A young guy who was about the size of Bruno Mars came to my seminar once, and we were chatting during a break. I asked him how long he had been in the business. It’s good to see young people getting involved.

For decades, changing out a thermostat for a retrofit hydronic heating system was a simple task for a service technician. From Bangor, Maine, to Breckenridge, Colorado, the mere two, 18-gauge thermostat wires running through a home was not a concern (short of the random nail or mouse taking one of the two out).

With systems dating back into the 1800s, hydronic heating has been around a long time. As with many technologies, a modern hydronic heating system bears little resemblance to one based on the earliest design techniques and hardware.

Troubleshooting hydronic systems can be challenging, as the pipes are hidden behind walls. Your imagination has to help you “see” the routing of the piping.