New CB 360 HDX Titanium

VTKubotaM6800 · March 02, 2021, 08:33:28 AM

Well after lots of research and financial analysis I pulled the trigger on a new Central Boiler 360 HDX this weekend. I plan to complete the installation in May/June and will follow back up with pics of that. I thought everybody might enjoy pics of it now though. My tractor was just barely tall enough to lift it so the truck could be driven out.

It will be heating just my house, about 2000 sq.ft with radiant in the basement slab. Currently heating with 100k BTU LP boiler, 3 heating zones and indirect DHW. I'm going to install a brazed plate heat exchanger sized to the outdoor boiler (150k BTU) on the return of my existing system. I was going to do wraparound pump but with my boiler only holding 6 gallons I can't justify the cost of another pump, zone relay, aquastat, etc.

hedgerow · March 02, 2021, 09:53:30 AM

Always nice to see a new build. Don't cheap out on the under ground pipe. Keep us posted on the built as it comes together. I hope you have better luck with the CB than I have had with my Garn. I am currently shut down getting ready to clean the inside and see what happen to cause the second leak in two years. Unit isn't eleven years old yet.

PoginyHill · March 02, 2021, 10:55:05 AM

You may want to consider a larger plate heat exchanger than 150k BTU. You don't want that to be the limiting factor in how much heat you can deliver to your house. I don't think there is a huge cost difference going with a larger one. Those heat exchangers have very small internal passages, so if some get blocked with crud, you won't get the 150k.

sublime68charger · March 02, 2021, 01:25:52 PM

Nice how did the truck handle the ride Home?

bet it was a little top heavy for you.

VTKubotaM6800 · March 02, 2021, 02:12:48 PM

I plan to use the 1" Thermopex that Central offers. $13.50/ft (!!) so waiting until location is finalized before I purchase that.

Good point on the larger heat exchanger. Now that I'm looking at the catalog once you get to a 50 plate they're all pretty much the same amount of head. Strangely they list fewer plates as more head loss, going to have to scratch my head for a minute on that one.

It certainly was not an enjoyable hour ride home! Especially with standard ply winter tires. But hey, got it here in one piece.

PoginyHill · March 02, 2021, 02:17:40 PM

Quote from: VTKubotaM6800 on March 02, 2021, 02:12:48 PMStrangely they list fewer plates as more head loss, going to have to scratch my head for a minute on that one.

Fewer plates is simply a smaller flow cross-section; more restrictive flow. A larger heat exchanger will have more plates, but the net cross-section that the water flows through is larger, so less head loss.

VTKubotaM6800 · May 20, 2021, 01:05:38 PM

Well bought my 80' of Thermopex last night. Trenching and installation this weekend, weather dependent. Planning on 6" core drill through foundation wall and then two Link-Seal units to both seal and support the pipe in the hole. The Link-Seal made for 4" PVC is acceptable/rated for the 4 3/8" OD of the Thermopex - no brainer!

Once the pipe is buried I will move the woodshed I built last year and bring in lifts of 3/4 stone for leveling and compaction of the whole wood yard. I was too cheap to put stone under the shed before building it and kicking myself now.

hedgerow · May 21, 2021, 09:18:18 AM

Good to hear you are making process on the install. I am finishing up a leak repair on my Garn to get it back on line to heat my domestic with it this summer. I had to shut it down in Feb because of the leak and had to buy some $2.50 gallon propane to get by till spring. Got to have those back up plans when its thirty below zero.

VTKubotaM6800 · May 27, 2021, 09:20:30 AM

Got my Thermopex and electrical buried last weekend. The Link-seal worked perfect to seal the Thermopex into the 6" core drilled hole. Expensive way to do it but I know it won't leak and will last the life of the pipe!

Next step is to move the shed out of the way and bring in stone to make a useable, well-draining yard for boiler and shed.

thecfarm · May 27, 2021, 09:26:38 AM

A nice clean looking hole there.
I just busted through mine with a drill and than chiseled out between the hole and used hyd cement and put the roofing tar to it.
Again, nice looking trench, no rocks.

VTKubotaM6800 · June 02, 2021, 08:24:58 AM

No real rocks but I was scraping ledge all the way down through - you get the depth the ledge gives you!

Not OWB related necessarily but I had to do it to get ready for OWB install - Wood shed move:

I laid out the landscape fabric and started compacting lifts of 3/4" ledge stone for the area under/around the boiler and future shed location.

VTKubotaM6800 · June 21, 2021, 08:48:43 AM

Got the boiler placed on the pad this weekend and finished up the interior plumbing. Went with a 60 plate HE, 1" copper from Thermopex to HE and 1-1/4" copper from existing boiler to HE. Had a large single speed Grundfos pump given to me so decided to plumb it as a wraparound system with constant (manually switched) pump operation for now. I may integrate an Aquastat at some point so it can sense the OWB getting cold and shut off the wraparound pump.

Had to use my dad's wrecker to reach it up onto the pad, tractor has limited reach up that high.

All that's left now is to flush out the Thermopex before hooking up to the OWB. Then time to fill it and test fire!

PoginyHill · June 21, 2021, 01:36:43 PM

They have pretty strict guidelines on initial filling regarding the water treatment chemicals.

thecfarm · June 22, 2021, 05:21:49 AM

There, that's up in air. ;D

VTKubotaM6800 · June 22, 2021, 07:45:47 AM

Quote from: PoginyHill on June 21, 2021, 01:36:43 PM
They have pretty strict guidelines on initial filling regarding the water treatment chemicals.

Yeah I have the 1gal of their treatment to dump in before any water goes in. I'll be filling from the boiler drain in the basement according to their procedure to purge the air out of the lines. Then run the boiler for 24hr and take a water sample to send in. I'm not sure when this started, but they'll do 25 year warranty as long as you send them a (passing) water sample every year.

hedgerow · June 24, 2021, 10:31:22 AM

I always run a water filter on my fill line when filling my Garn. Glad to see you are just about ready to make hot water. I need to pull a sample of my water in my Garn and send it to the chemical company and see were I am at on my water treatment level.

stratton · July 04, 2021, 04:58:40 PM

Mr VT. I love pics of boiler projects. im down in wardsboro where about are you? The reason im commenting is not much level ground in vt.
Great job!!!

VTKubotaM6800 · July 29, 2021, 02:28:41 PM

Quote from: stratton on July 04, 2021, 04:58:40 PM
Mr VT. I love pics of boiler projects. im down in wardsboro where about are you? The reason im commenting is not much level ground in vt.
Great job!!!

I'm a little north of White River Junction. Certainly no level ground where I am! Our property gains 300ft of elevation in 1/4 mile.

Got the boiler filled and test fired back in the end of June. Everything went fine on the boiler side, WiFi connection worked great and I was able to monitor the whole time (few days) from my phone - pretty neat feature! I intended to use the heat for my indirect DHW but had bad ghost flow to my heating zones when I flipped on the wraparound pump. Subsequently it was a pain to keep the boiler running for 2-3 days with no heat load as the fire would smolder out with no good coal bed.

I plan to loop my supply and return manifolds to hopefully fix the ghost flow issue before heating season. Right now the focus is on getting the shed full of wood.

WI Fire · August 13, 2021, 06:23:51 PM

Quote from: VTKubotaM6800 on May 27, 2021, 09:20:30 AM
Got my Thermopex and electrical buried last weekend. The Link-seal worked perfect to seal the Thermopex into the 6" core drilled hole. Expensive way to do it but I know it won't leak and will last the life of the pipe!

Next step is to move the shed out of the way and bring in stone to make a useable, well-draining yard for boiler and shed.

What size(Diameter) Link seal did you order for the one inch Central Pex

VTKubotaM6800 · August 16, 2021, 08:17:25 AM

Quote from: WI Fire on August 13, 2021, 06:23:51 PM
Quote from: VTKubotaM6800 on May 27, 2021, 09:20:30 AM
Got my Thermopex and electrical buried last weekend. The Link-seal worked perfect to seal the Thermopex into the 6" core drilled hole. Expensive way to do it but I know it won't leak and will last the life of the pipe!

Next step is to move the shed out of the way and bring in stone to make a useable, well-draining yard for boiler and shed.

What size(Diameter) Link seal did you order for the one inch Central Pex

It is the LS-300 with 10 links (the local waterworks supplier sold it by the link), standard "-C" rubber. It was about $50 for the 10 links. This link configuration is intended for 4" PVC (~4.5" OD) in a 6" core drilled hole. The 1" Thermopex is a little smaller, like 4-3/8" OD but it works fine and meets the criteria on the GPT calculator on their website.