The Road to Somewhere

xc62701

Well-Known Member
i can't believe your boiler can't make/circulate hot enough water to keep the house warm.

do all the baseboards get hot?
bled the air out of the system (or flushed the air) this year?
does the boiler shut down while the circulator is still running? (if so, something is up with the aquastat if the water isn't over 200, or the circulator)

something is up - age only makes them less fuel efficient than current models, unless something is broken.

also, check if the baseboard fins are clogged with pet hair/dust bunnies (hit with shop vac)

Haven’t flushed the air. I need to try that. I haven’t heard the boiler shut off with the circulator still running. Can the circulator pump be weak? It is a 5 zone system. Baseboards are clean as well.
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
Haven’t flushed the air. I need to try that. I haven’t heard the boiler shut off with the circulator still running. Can the circulator pump be weak? It is a 5 zone system. Baseboards are clean as well.

The pump is very simple, so probably not. Air really messes it up, because it can't lift the water if air comes into it. Nor is it designed to.

Is it one circulator with 5 zone valves?

You can also feel the pipes to see if they are hot. Both feed and return.

Anyway, flush the air and see if it helps.

Im wondering why the boiler isn't overheating if the water isn't circulating well.
 
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xc62701

Well-Known Member
I watched some videos on bleeding the air out of my system but they all had bleed valves on each baseboard. Mine does not. How else can I bleed the system?
 

xc62701

Well-Known Member
For insight.

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Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
I watched some videos on bleeding the air out of my system but they all had bleed valves on each baseboard. Mine does not. How else can I bleed the system?

you flush the air out with a hose - there should be a hose bib, put a hose on it, and use a bucket. turn off furnace switch. close the valves to the boiler. open the quick fill, the upstairs/farthest away zone valve by hand, then the valve for the hose - the pressure of the water will push the air out of the hose. turn off in reverse, do for all 5 zones.
remember to turn the valves for the boiler back on.

there may also be a shrader valve on the boiler somewhere to let out air that it has caught.

decent home video.

 

xc62701

Well-Known Member
I'm going to fart around with the heating system tonight and see what if any progress I can make. The real issue I'm having is wrapping my head around how the system works. I haven't had enough experience to know how the system is running and how the bleeding works. Through videos and diagrams it's all starting to make sense.

This past week I rode twice. Monday and Sunday. It was nice to have some time off but it was fighting the heat battle. Thankfully we are back to warm or normal temps so I won't have to worry as much. Sunday was slushy Splitrock but still a blast. I even slid and crushed my knee on a rock and it didn't hurt the ride. Although it's hurting me a bit more today.

The nice part of the weekend is that my In-Laws wanted to take the kids to we had time to enjoy being childless for a bit. So my wife and I got to wander NYC a little. We went to see the Escher exhibit in Brooklyn(thanks @Norm) and then wandered over to Other Half brewing. Holy crap that place is a mob scene. I though it was a goddamn concert or something. I had to fight through people 10+ deep just to get to the bar to get a taste of anything. Then we made the trek home to a peaceful house where we could get a solid night of uninterrupted sleep. It was magical. I slept in Sunday morning until 10am which I haven't done in YEARS. It was amazing. I then got on the bike for that Splitrock ride and came home the the kids food and superbowl. It was a fun weekend and I was super excited to get the kids back. I like a break but my kids are amazing as much as I complain about them.

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xc62701

Well-Known Member
This weekend was a kick in the ass block of riding. I’m still not sure where I’m at mentally for this upcoming season but I did want to ride a lot this weekend. The crazy calorie counting was driving me nuts so I’ve ignored that. I was losing a little but was cranky and miserable and unmotivated. So I knew I had to try something different. It’s stikk early in the season so I’m trying a slower approach. I figure I’d rather concentrate on riding more than eating less. With that fitness will come.

Friday was. 1:30 road ride to loosen things up and I felt good not riding since Tuesday.
Saturday was a 2 part 2 hour ride day. The morning 2 hour ride was a hilly ride and I felt decent. The afternoon 2 was an easier flatter ride and I finished up feeling pretty good. I could have gone for more but was looking forward to Sunday.
Sunday was a hilly 100 miler. I set out at 8 and 7 hours of pedaling later I was done. And glad to be done. It was between 20-35 the entire time so it was chilly but I finished solid.
Today was the recovery ride. I hit the trainer for an easy hour of zwift and ended up chasing a few guys and reminding myself to stop and actually recover.

14 hours in 4 days and 210 miles and now I’m tired and hungry. Oreos were delicious.
 

xc62701

Well-Known Member
Last week was a low key week. Only a few days riding thanks to work, life, weather issues but this week is looking a little better. I was needing some rest after that big week anyway so it all worked out. I'm hoping this supposed little bit of rain and snow were are supposed to have this week as we are getting closer and closer to more trails that can actually be ridden. I'm going to try Splitrock today to see how everything is. I expect some ice but hopefully there isn't that much. I know the usual spots. If need be I'll bail out to the roads and get some time in there.

I'll be trying out this today as yesterday was new bike day! I wanted something more trail capable and not that similar to my other bikes. It's way too much bike for me but I like a challenge. I want to see what this thing is capable of. I did a lot of reading and this seems to be plenty capable with awesome pedaling ability as well. I'll have to see how true that is. Either way I'm psyched to throw a leg over it and give it a go later.

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xc62701

Well-Known Member
This past week has been a slow one again. Between weather and crap at home and crap with my mom, the stress is just getting to me. I gave up on trying to eat well as it sucks to deal with life being superbusy, nevermind being super busy, calorie depleted and no energy. To top it off in the past week both my kids and my wife got a stomach bug. I don't know if I had it. I haven't felt great but haven't been barfing like they were. Either way motivation has been hard to come by and life has been busy as hell. I need a vacation. I need dirt to ride on. I need to move somewhere new...
 

Dave Taylor

Rex kwan Do
Agreed.

I probably should go around the house licking stuff cause if I do get the stomach bug I could lose a few pounds without having to work for it. That's one option.
I’m not a huge zwift fan but when all else fails just zwift. Atleast you’ll burn some stress away.
 

xc62701

Well-Known Member
I just got out to go for an XC ski before I go back to work for our NICA meeting for tonight. I got a little under 4 miles in tonight on some random trails in West Milford. I followed quad/truck tracks for a bit before splitting off and making my own trail. The snow was crusty on top and still fairly deep. Good luck for anyone trying to cut trails on the fatty. It won't be for a bit until it warms us. The XC skis are enjoyable but I still ate shit twice. Once was a balance issue and once was a lack of coordination. In any discipline it sucks falling on your ass. I have to get more miles in so I can be comfortable and look like I know what I'm doing.

On the biking side, I have 6 kids interested in the MTB club but I have no idea if we'll get 1 or 100 people interested for tonight. I hope it's not 100 since I booked a room that's good for 50 people only. It starts at 6:30 so I'll see shortly. I'm curious to see what's in store for these kids. I know a little bit about it but I'm going to learn a whole lot more shortly. The biggest thing I need to get across is how much support I'm going to need as an advisor/coach with 2 little ones at home. NICA can't be my life but I will support it as much as I can. I'd love to see more kids on bikes and playing in the woods - and that's what it's all about.

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pooriggy

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
The snow was crusty on top and still fairly deep. I have to get more miles in so I can be comfortable and look like I know what I'm doing.
In those type of conditions you don't really get comfortable, you just try not to fall. Until a nice trail is beaten in, xc skiing is more or less snow-shoeing with skis on, but the more you do, the more comfortable you get.

In Union Co. we had about 4-5" of wet snow Sunday night, which drained down, compressed and made a perfect base for skate skiing. By afternoon the top is soft enough for a ski to bite and provide tracking.
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Good luck with NICA.
 

xc62701

Well-Known Member
In those type of conditions you don't really get comfortable, you just try not to fall. Until a nice trail is beaten in, xc skiing is more or less snow-shoeing with skis on, but the more you do, the more comfortable you get.

In Union Co. we had about 4-5" of wet snow Sunday night, which drained down, compressed and made a perfect base for skate skiing. By afternoon the top is soft enough for a ski to bite and provide tracking.
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Good luck with NICA.
Ok it’s good to know it just want me it was partly the conditions too. Breaking trail was fun but like you said it was hiking with a little gliding thrown in.
 

xc62701

Well-Known Member
How'd the meeting go? Good turnout?

Piss poor turnout. One family. I know it's not on everyone's minds at this point of the season but we're making an effort and trying to get it up and running. I have 6 kids registered for the club so hopefully we can draw from there and spread the word. We will have open signups for the remainder of the season so once the kids see us riding around school I'm hoping that they will show interest and join us and hopefully want to participate in the NICA team.
 
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