By Request! Part 1
This is how the “Homer Simpson” boiler project got started.
About 3 winters ago this customer of mine inquired about a way to heat three buildings off of wood heat but not use wood burners in each place. (Literally too poor to afford home fire insurance so they wanted to move the fire to outside of the buildings!)
(They are super nice people and I have known them for many years too.)
I have told them about the development of my homemade boiler system over the years and with a fair amount to of educated designing and much testing I have developed a very efficient and reliable heating system for my place.
When fuel oil reached $3 a gallon they decided that a central boiler system was the best way to go.
They asked me if I would build them one. Said I would be happy to! I drew up the entire system, calculated the fuel requirements, and install work required to do a multi structure integrated heating system. I gave them all this for free.
It was just a matter of scaling my system up to handle more heat capacity, so most of the work had already been done.
I gave them a complete built and installed price of $6000 with a 3 year warranty.
They said that was too much. (They spend around that much on fuel oil every winter any way)
They wanted to do most of the work them selves and get by cheaper. Their estimate was that they could do it for around $2000. ??? (Remember this number!)
I should have said no and walked away at that point. But I do love a good engineering challenge!
I drew up the actual install plans, materials lists and suppliers and let them get the stuff themselves.
My mistake number one! Never give a corner cutter a list of materials. He will always find cheaper ways to make it almost sort of work!
The two houses were to be connected by underground hot water lines. The line construction details I gave them were very specific.
1: Use hot water rated 1” ID Pex pipe.
I got asked several times if they could use regular black polyethylene pipe.
First irrigation rated. (It’s the cheapest). I said no poly pipe of any sort! Use pex!
Next call was a day later, can we use regular home service rated poly pipe? (Next cheapest). I said no poly pipe of any sort! Use pex! Again!
He called two days later. Can we use commercial grade poly pipe? (Costs the same as pex but is not high temp rated. They found it surplus.)
I said no poly pipe of any sort! Use pex! There is a reason for it!
They finally ordered 600 feet of pex pipe. (And the right size too!)
The project called for 580 feet total based on my actual measurements and layout paths.
Step two: Put two pipes side by side and tape them together, and then wrap them with 3 layers of Reflectix aluminized insulation, with the control wire in between the second and third layers.
I helped out personally with that part. I even donated the control wire and enough of it so the there was two runs going from end to end. (A redundant back up line. Remember this part too!)
Step three: Get 6 inch corrugated (solid, not perforated) drain tubing and slide the insulated assembly in side it. This protects the insulation and control wires from ground water and being crushed by dirt. They called me a week later when they had it. I told them to assemble the entire runs above ground. The stiff Pex can be pushed over 300 feet though corrugated tubing above ground. I have done it by myself before, it slides that easy!
Step four: burry it in a smooth strait trench about two to three feet down.
If it’s smooth and has no sharp bends it can be pulled out if ever needed.
He called a week after that and said they rented a backhoe and have the corrugated tubing in the ground and are ready for me to come do the final setup.
I arrived and found all the insulated tubing still rolled up and sitting in the yard right where we left it. But the corrugated tubing was in the ground just like he said! Wrong stuff though, they went with perforated not solid! It was on sale for 10 cents a foot cheaper! The actual underground runs were less than 200 feet total so they saved about $20.
Second time I should have walked away!
I said you did it wrong now you need to dig it up and do it over! He said he did the trenching himself so he knows the tubing is level and strait. They got a 1 inch fiber rope to try and pull it through. We got about twenty feet down the tube before my ¾ ton pickup (in FWD) spun out! Now that run is stuck, can’t go in cant come back!
I should have walked away for the third time!
They rented the mini excavator again and I did the dig up work. In those 20 feet of trench there was three elevation changes of plus or minus 8 inches and two side to side snakes the width of the 18 inch trench. I rore the corrugated tubing all to hell too! They figured that I should pay for the replacement being I dug it up and hooked it so much!
I told him, you said you put it in level and strait! Well it felt level when I was digging it.
That was the answer I got. They own a failing construction company by the way. (I wonder why?)
I said, didn’t you get down in the trench and hand check and level it? Well no. I thought the machine was more accurate than that. And I was in a hurry, it was snowing that day I dug the trenches. (He had never run a mini excavator in his life until then.)
And why is it so snaked up in the trench? Well, we back filled with the 5 yard pay loader. I dumped too much at a time so it must have pushed it around when we filled it in.
I should point out that their $2000 estimate is now at near $3500 actual cost, with the rework and repeat machine rentals! And that’s with one house almost connected and the boiler still sitting in the shop unfinished!