DHW Over Fire

You could put a zone valve on your dhw loop. Nothing gets past mine.

Install a drip leg and cap on each flo-check.

McGiever wrote:When you placed your hand on the pipes and started the 24/7 pump, did the other zones warm the pipe too?

If it did, you need other Flocheks.

Putting them in the return side will still work fine.

There are just 2 zones. I don't think I have to worry about the DHW zone "ghost flowing" the house zone. The house zone is 80 feet to the heat exchanger, then 80 feet back.

AND, now that I think about it, I COULD use one of the B&G 3/4" flow checks I have. The only reason I plumbed the DHW zone with one inch is because that is what I had! If I reduce 1" to 3/4" and back up to 1" it should still flow plenty for 30 or 40 KBTU's.

-Don

lsayre wrote:You could put a zone valve on your dhw loop. Nothing gets past mine.

Larry,

I did think about a zone valve at first. But, that would require wiring and plumbing. So, I am going with the flow check. Also, with the flow check I don't think I have to buy anything.

Now to figure out what a "drip leg" is.

-Don

StokerDon wrote:
Now to figure out what a "drip leg" is.

Put a nipple 3-6" long in the bottom port and put a cap on the end. This allows the mud a place to settle and won't jack your valve up.

A modified "drip leg" theory that is not intended to so much capture the mud and is used in both the horizontial and vertical positions (a true mud leg can only be vertical) is to later allow easy removal of the capped nipple from the unused threaded port or hole.
Unlike most pipe plugs, the short nipple w/ a pipe cap will allow a large pipe wrench to be used to remove it with much ease.
Ask anybody who has fought a pipe plug out, and they will tell you this is the only way to do this.

Thank you for the clarification, I have a 1"x4" and a cap I can use to make my first "Drip Leg".

I thought about my rusty, crusty flow checks today and realized, I don't want to install this thing and have it not work. So, I stopped at my local on the way home and they had a 1" B&G. A littile pricey but no rust!

It came with instructions so I will have no problem installing it. I do have a question though, I thought these things used an over center spring or something to eliminate flow under a certin pressure? This looks like it has a brass valve, passageways and a screw that can lift the valve to allow flow?
This is the right thing, isn't it?

-Don

Yep, I have two just like it on my system. The brass piece you see inside is a weight that gets lifted by the water when there is sufficient pressure to do so.

OK then, in it will go!

-Don