It took a couple days around the Christmas holiday to get the stove reconnected. The main circulating pump needed to have its water pipes reconnected and the wiring had been disconnected from the main pump, the aquastat controller and the automatic mixing valve.
The pipe to the hot water overflow tank was too short for the new configuration and getting the old pipe out was an exercise in contortion. Sharkbite connectors need steady pressure on the clamping ring and pulling pressure on the pipe to disconnect. I use vice grips in the opening of the pipe to pull it out of the connector. I have both the removal tongs and the rings and I use whichever one works best. Usually switching back and forth between the two.
The pipes are a bit manueverable because some are PEX and some are copper. Typically the hot water piping is copper and the cold is PEX. In order to get the pipes lined up I had to add some new pipe and take some old out.
I took photos of the wiring as I disconnected it so that I would not have to figure it out from scratch again.
The white wire from the pump has a dark marking meaning it connects to power black and the yellow connects to white. The aquastat has three connections and I use two that turn on the pump when the pipe reaches the set temperature. I had reduced that from 120 degrees to 90 degrees quite some time ago. The design temperature for the radiant system is only 87 degrees so when the fireplace boiler water reaches 90 it is hot enough to circulate to the heat exchanger for the modulating boiler and the system piping. I also had to tape the mixing valve sensors to the pipes. One measures the return water temperature and the other the heated water temperature.
After reconnecting the wiring and replacing the covers, I was about finished. I ran the pump for awhile until all the air escaped from the pipes and stove. The air stops hissing out of the escape nozzle and the sound of the pump changes when the air is out.
The overflow tank that was on the left side of the system does not fit behind the cabinet. So I had to extend the overflow piping and place the safety tank right in front of the rest of the equipment. At least in this position it will be easy to empty if it ever holds water from the pressure relief valve. I did not have any more 3/4″ PEX so I salvaged a piece of 3/4″ copper from our stash of extra pipe.
I’d like to create a door from the two cabinet doors to hide the equipment. So I have one propped in front of the equipment side.
I had to move the rug over slightly as it curled up at the cabinet leg. So I took advantage of having all the furniture moved to rearrange the room. Now there are more comfortable spots that have a good view of the TV.
