Ask George
George R. Carey Jr. is Vice President of Training and Education at Fluid Industrial Associates (FIA). George has been with FIA since 1994 and in the heating industry since 1985. George has taught steam and hydronic courses for Northeastern University’s Continuing Education program. He has created and presented training programs for the past two decades for thousands of technicians. He has written a monthly column in Oilheating Magazine (now known as Indoor Comfort Marketing) since 2000 as well a columnist for other trade publications. He has contributed technical articles for several manufacturers over the past twenty years.
Gil Carlson - Hydronics Pioneer
The late Gil Carlson, an early teacher in B&G's Little Red School House, was known as the originator of several important hydronic system design theories, including the “point of no pressure change”.
Click here to view all of Gil Carlson's videos
TEH Manuals
Bell & Gossett has a wealth of information on Steam and Hydronics.
Steam Team
Since 2014 The Bell & Gossett Steam Team has published informative articles on steam topics.
Counter Point
A quick look at the different things you ought to know to save time and reduce callbacks, and a few extra thrown in to make you look really smart.
The Inside Customer Service Department takes numerous phone calls every day. What follows are 5 of the most frequently asked questions they receive. We have also tried to provide the answer to these common questions.
Top FAQs
There are three things that help us identify which pump you have in the field...
- The Pump's Tag which has all the information needed.
- The Part Number of the Pump
- The Casting Number of the Pump
- Click on this YouTube video link for further clarification...
There are a couple of other items that help identify the pump
- The Pump Style...inline or base-mounted
- Flange to Flange Dimensions
- Flange Style...2 Bolt or 4 Bolt
- Take Pictures of the Pump
There are 3 quick ways to help identify which style you have...
- What turns on the condensate pump?
- If the answer is a float switch attached to the receiver then you have a Condensate Pump.
- If the answer is a Level Controller located on the steam boiler that is wired back to the pump then you have a Boiler Feed Pump.
- The size of the receiver can help identify condensate vs boiler feed pump.
- A Condensate Pump's receiver is sized for 1 minute Net Storage of the system's steaming rate. (Small)
- A Boiler Feed Pump's receiver is sized to act as a reservoir to support a new Steam Boiler that holds considerably less water. (Large)
- Is there a cold water make-up line?
- Boiler Feed Pump Receiver has a cold water line connected to its receiver to maintain a minimum water level in the receiver.
- Condensate Receiver has NO cold water line connected to its receiver.
Here are 2 links to help you identify which style of condensate handling unit you have...
This is one of the most common questions that our inside customer service people handle. We have attached a "Cheat Sheet" that we reference all the time as well as email to customers who call looking for advice...
The Best way to size any expansion tank is to know the Water Volume of the system, the temperature range, the systems fill pressure & the boiler's relief valve setting. But sometimes that information isn't easily obtained.
If the existing Steel Tank has worked properly then there are some "Rules of Thumb" that we can use to establish the correct replacement Diaphragm Tank.
- Multiply the gallons of the existing Steel Tank X .55 if the building is two stories or smaller...the answer will be the total tank volume of the new Diaphragm Tank.
- If the building is three stories tall, multiply the Steel Tank X .45...the answer will be the total tank volume of the new Diaphragm Tank.
Over the years this has led to a lot of confusion in the field. Attached is a wiring schematic showing a tekmar 260 Boiler Reset control as an example...