[Nikon]

I have one of those furnaces that heats as you need it but it's constantly kicking on to heat water when we aren't using it cause the holding tank is small. I know nothing about furnaces or plumbing but I looked at the temp guage and it reads 190. I don't need my water that hot cause all we use the hot for is showers. I went to lower the temp but the pipe and knob are so fuckin old and decrepit that the knob just spins. I removed the nut on top and pulled the knob off (it's a plastic piece, not a real metal one) and saw what you see below. What the fuck do I turn to make it cooler?

The plastic "knob" piece sits on the top threaded area...

[bigred875]

probably replace the thermostat piece..

fwiw - i bet it's a boiler not a furnace....

[wylee]

I would recommend not turning that sucker till you'ready to replace it. Been there done that...drip drip drip drip...mutha fucker!

EDIT: If you insist on trying to break..err...turn it, put the vice grips on the ribbed part at the bottom of the threads you removed the nut from. Clockwise for colder, counterclockwise for warmer.

[highsider]

Where the fuck is JeffL when he can be useful?

[Brian675]

Try contacting NESR Forums - View Profile: BCT748 He's been plumbing for as long as I know.

[CMG241]

Originally Posted by Brian675

Try contacting NESR Forums - View Profile: BCT748 He's been plumbing for as long as I know.

Yup

[RyanNicholson]

....date a 42 year old guy with a tool box

[SSearchVT]

First off - don't touch that valve until you are ready to replace it.

There should be a cover on the side of your hot water heater. Inside there should be a knob, wheel, lever, etc. It may be tucked in behind some insulation. Usually if you rotate it counter clockwise the set temp for the water heater will go down.

[tbonehedge]

I'm no plumber so take my words with a grain of salt, but I just went thru this a couple months ago after I purchased a house. The pic you attached is a tempering valve (looks like a Watts, very popular brand), it takes the hot water from the boiler (190°) and mixes it with the cold city (or well water for you country folks) to make whatever temperature is set on your little black dial that you removed. My tempering valve went bad so I replaced the guts in it, the sweated valve body attached to the pipe was still OK and stayed in place.

So, if your looking to lower your water temp coming out of the faucets, replace the guts in the valve (VERY easy to do, adjustable wrench was all I needed). You can also turn your boiler down from 190, you'll only need it that hot to heat your house in the winter.

I eventually installed an electric hot water heater and now turn my boiler off all summer. Costs me almost $300 for the heater and about $30 more a month in electric, but with the cost of fuel oil now I'm glad I did it. Good luck!

[loridin64]

+1 on the boiler, and the Mixing Valve (what we call it, im sure is the same as a tempering valve?) is what determines how much of each water temperature is obv mixed, giving you a desired output temperature.

[BostonSVkid]

Originally Posted by tbonehedge

I'm no plumber so take my words with a grain of salt, but I just went thru this a couple months ago after I purchased a house. The pic you attached is a tempering valve (looks like a Watts, very popular brand), it takes the hot water from the boiler (190°) and mixes it with the cold city (or well water for you country folks) to make whatever temperature is set on your little black dial that you removed. My tempering valve went bad so I replaced the guts in it, the sweated valve body attached to the pipe was still OK and stayed in place.

So, if your looking to lower your water temp coming out of the faucets, replace the guts in the valve (VERY easy to do, adjustable wrench was all I needed). You can also turn your boiler down from 190, you'll only need it that hot to heat your house in the winter.

I eventually installed an electric hot water heater and now turn my boiler off all summer. Costs me almost $300 for the heater and about $30 more a month in electric, but with the cost of fuel oil now I'm glad I did it. Good luck!

+1 Install an electric water heater (standard kind) or an on demand one. YOu will notice a huge difference in costs and you will make your money back in a year or less.

All turning that valve down will do it lessen the amount of hot water put into your systmem but not actually turn down the boiler.

[Josephd14]

Is it an EK2 system? yellow boiler? box on the side with all kinds of blinky lights? you don't need a plumber unless you want to make it worse, find a good heating tech..

[CMG241]

Originally Posted by RyanNicholson

....date a 42 year old guy with a tool box

only for the chicks Ryan, only for the chicks...

[black]

wait so all i have to do is turn off my boiler ( oil) and jsut turn keep my electric water heater?
my boiler I assume just prewarms the water right??? so I dont need it during
the summer?

[tbonehedge]

Originally Posted by black

wait so all i have to do is turn off my boiler ( oil) and jsut turn keep my electric water heater?
my boiler I assume just prewarms the water right??? so I dont need it during
the summer?

That is correct. Unless you have some kind of funky piping going on, you should be able to turn the boiler off and just have the electric hot water heater do the job. Your boiler might leak a little water when you turn it off (close the isolation valves to/from the boiler also) because it will cool down and the metal will contract...... small leakage is OK.

[BCT748]

Chances are the stem inside your mixing valve snapped off so all it is going to do is spin. You could try replacing just the guts but from my experience if your water is bad enough to eat through the stem than the cast brass body of that valve is going to be thin. I would just replace the whole thing.

What is your water temp after the valve? It should be between 120 and 130.

As far as your boiler always kicking on it is just maintaining proper temp. Unless it is short cycling than it isn't anything to be concerned about. If you live alone you could always kill the boiler when you aren't using it. Just time your shower, washing your cloths and doing your dishes to be around the same time. If no one is home just shut it off and you could shut it off when you go to bed.

I've never liked the hot water system being part of the boiler, it just isn't efficient and it complicates the piping and wiring. How old is your boiler? If it is over 15 or 20 years old I would start looking at replacements, just be prepared to grab your ankles. For a gas boiler swap I usually charge around $5,000 for parts and labor, sometimes more sometimes less, but I do them as side jobs so I charge a hell of a lot less than what you would pay a company out of the phone book. If you call a company you are looking at closer to the $7,500-$10,000 range. Both prices are going to be a little more if you decide to add a water heater.

Bristol is a little far for me but if you can put off changing the mixing valve till about the 22nd I could help you out. I plan on going to my fathers and he lives in Sanbornton so it would only be a short ride from there. It really is an easy job though so just as long as you know how to solder you should be able to handle it yourself.

[Nikon]

Originally Posted by BCT748

What is your water temp after the valve? It should be between 120 and 130.

No idea

you could always kill the boiler when you aren't using it. Just time your shower, washing your cloths and doing your dishes to be around the same time.

So I can just flip the switch on the red plated "light switch" when I'm not using it? About how long do I need to flip it on before the water is hot enough to use?

Bristol is a little far for me but if you can put off changing the mixing valve till about the 22nd I could help you out. I plan on going to my fathers and he lives in Sanbornton so it would only be a short ride from there. It really is an easy job though so just as long as you know how to solder you should be able to handle it yourself.

If you wouldn't mind swinging by. I have a feeling that when you look at it something else may need to be replaced and if you're gonna be that close I'd like it if you could show me a little about the system - this stuff is all jibberish to me....I can turn knobs and that's about it.

I'd appreciate it.

[richw]

You seem to have said you also have an electric water heater, if so boiler off electric on

Up till this year oil heat hot water would have been 1/3 of the price of electric
I am not even sure if it isn't more expensive now.

Best today would be

tankless gas
tankless electric

I don't because my water is very hard and I think it will f up real quick

If its sunny area and you know you will be there a few years suppliment solar hot water will pay off quickly. Parts cost about 2500 and there is a tax break for a few hundred.

[CMG241]

Blake here is your chance to get some tickets fixed.... sounds like could be enough work to wipe out a driving to endanger or two!

[BCT748]

Originally Posted by Nikon

No idea



So I can just flip the switch on the red plated "light switch" when I'm not using it? About how long do I need to flip it on before the water is hot enough to use?



If you wouldn't mind swinging by. I have a feeling that when you look at it something else may need to be replaced and if you're gonna be that close I'd like it if you could show me a little about the system - this stuff is all jibberish to me....I can turn knobs and that's about it.

I'd appreciate it.

Is your water hot enough to do dishes but not melt the skin off your hand hot?

Pretty much all you have to do is flick the burner switch, the one with the red plate. Depending on how old your boiler is and how efficient it is it could take as little as 5 minutes or as long as half an hour. But even if it does take half an hour you are still going to be saving on your fuel bill.

Swinging by won't be a problem. I'll send you a PM when I know for sure the next time I have to time to go up to my fathers.

[BCT748]

Originally Posted by CMG241

Blake here is your chance to get some tickets fixed.... sounds like could be enough work to wipe out a driving to endanger or two!

For some reason my driving record got wiped clean when I transfered it from MA to NH.....Thank god, it was pretty bad. I haven't gotten a ticket since I moved here over two years ago and I have only been stopped twice. The first time was in North Andover MA, he never did tell me why he stopped me. The second time was on Salem NH, registry gave me the car temp plate instead of the motorcycle one. I think I would rather take a get out of jail free card

[ZX-12R]

Originally Posted by BCT748

For some reason my driving record got wiped clean when I transfered it from MA to NH...

Over the past 10 years I've only had one speeding ticket and that was about 2 years ago in MA. When I moved to NH last year, the ticket didn't follow me and I have a 9 year good driver credit.

[Nikon]

Originally Posted by BCT748

Is your water hot enough to do dishes but not melt the skin off your hand hot?

Pretty much all you have to do is flick the burner switch, the one with the red plate. Depending on how old your boiler is and how efficient it is it could take as little as 5 minutes or as long as half an hour. But even if it does take half an hour you are still going to be saving on your fuel bill.

Swinging by won't be a problem. I'll send you a PM when I know for sure the next time I have to time to go up to my fathers.

Awesome thanks. It gets "melt your skin off Hot"