Monthly Archives: December 2014

Storage Switch Outlet Wiring for Fireplace Boiler

Posted on December 18, 2014 by ellen

The wiring on the storage side became a little tricky when I decided to use a switch/outlet combo to allow both the transformer to be switched on and off and the Taco Relay to energize an outlet, since the pump … Continue reading →

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Amory Lovins’ House Systems

Posted on December 17, 2014 by ellen

The Lovins house tour was most interesting because of the various house systems; heating, water, electricity, etc. I’m sure there was more going on than what met the eye but what met the eye was pretty exciting. First, there is … Continue reading →

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Diagrams for Fireplace Boiler Wiring

Posted on December 17, 2014 by ellen

These are diagrams of the parts and functions for the fireplace boiler wiring. The storage side is powered by a 24 Volt transformer. Wired with 120 on one side, 24 volt is delivered on the other. This is one 24 … Continue reading →

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Wiring Plan for Fireplace Boiler

Posted on December 16, 2014 by ellen

The fireplace boiler wiring has to control the water circulation through the boiler on one side–in the living room, and the circulation through the storage and heat exchanger on the other–in the utility room. The piping diagram shows some of … Continue reading →

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Current Wiring for the Boiler

Posted on December 15, 2014 by ellen

Way back last spring when I was finishing up the boiler wiring, I had problems with the secondary pump such that I replaced the used pump I bought on ebay with a brand new Taco 011. That was expensive but … Continue reading →

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Re-Used Polyisocyanurate Ceiling

Posted on December 13, 2014 by ellen

Dave has almost finished the 1.5″ polyiso layer on the ceiling. This is the insulation that we bought from Repurposed Materials. The extra insulation on the ceiling is to eliminate the thermal bridging in the wood rafters. The walls of … Continue reading →

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Completed Crawlspace!

Posted on December 12, 2014 by ellen

I finished the crawlspace today and replaced all the old pipe insulation with 1″ thick K-Flex R-7 insulation from Supply House. This insulation is a Greenguard certified product for its low VOC and mold resistance. There is over $275 of … Continue reading →

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Effective R Value?

Posted on December 12, 2014 by ellen

Amory Lovins’ home boasts an “effective R-Value” of 40 for the masonry walls. I was skeptical knowing they were masonry with a 4″ polyurethane core. The core would be about 20 if it was XPS foam, less if EPS foam … Continue reading →

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Amory Lovins Home Tour!

Posted on December 10, 2014 by ellen

We had a great opportunity due to the Roaring Fork USGBC scheduling of a tour of Amory Lovins Passive Solar, Greenhouse Furnace, Net Zero, photovoltaic and thermal solar home in Snowmass, yesterday! It was a large tour group, about 30 … Continue reading →

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Sconce Lights Craigslist Find

Posted on December 7, 2014 by ellen

I’ve been working on the electrical layout and planning to keep wiring from the outside walls and inside the thermal envelope. We have one large wiring chase across the building ceiling and plan to have all the rest of the … Continue reading →

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Crawlspace Radon Piping

Posted on December 6, 2014 by ellen

Another thing I am rethinking is the piping that the radon mitigation calls for under the vapor barrier. I stuck a pipe under the vinyl, measuring for connection to the vent pipe and it looked kind of ridiculous. A short … Continue reading →

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Scaffolding

Posted on December 6, 2014 by ellen

One of the most important tools for working on our high ceilings has been the sets of scaffolding on wheels. I bought these at Harbor Freight with a coupon so each set was about $200 with tax. I first bought … Continue reading →

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More About Tools

Posted on December 6, 2014 by ellen

It is great to have a good selection of tools when working on such a large project. We also have our daughter and her husband nearby who are willing to lend us their tools when we need them. Here is … Continue reading →

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A Tool for Every Job

Posted on December 5, 2014 by ellen

Battery Powered Caulk Gun I used this 18 volt cordless battery powered caulk gun to quickly spread the caulk for the crawlspace tarps without tiring out my hands with the manual caulk gun. With lots of caulking to do, I … Continue reading →

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Crawlspace “After”

Posted on December 5, 2014 by ellen

The conditioned crawlspace is almost complete. The vinyl tarps/billboards are sealed to the walls with caulk. The low VOC Loctite PL375 is inexpensive and easy to work with. It is both a construction adhesive and gap filling caulk and washes … Continue reading →

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Wood Boiler Clarification

Posted on December 4, 2014 by ellen

The “Boiler Room” forum on Hearth.com had some folks willing to try to answer my concerns about the system pump overcoming the vent pipe and pushing boiler water into the overflow tank. Unfortunately they had some concerns of their own, … Continue reading →

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Wood Boiler Confusion

Posted on December 2, 2014 by ellen

There is a problem with the piping design for the wood boiler. I finally got all the leaks fixed and the system holds air pressure, but I had the vent pipe plugged so that air would not escape up into … Continue reading →

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