Heating System (Connecting it all together)

Even though I have not posted much on this blog lately about the progress of our home building, things have been happening...BIG, important things like the heating system to keep the house warm. We did suffer from sickness for a week or two and so we had to take some necessary time away from the work. Besides the terrible weak feeling, I just couldn't see myself installing insulation with a sinus infection. Just the idea of it all even sounded painful! However, now we are back in the swing of things and working away to get it done!

I know you will all be shocked to see that the weather here in Siberia already looks like this...

So, the time has long come for us to be able to keep the inside of the house warm so we can continue to hang drywall and other work that needs to be done in non-freezing temperatures. 

Putting together a heating system is quite a task as I have learned! First of all, you need a plan. So, my great hubby drew it all up after giving it much, maybe even months of thought. 

 Then, you need to find a place to buy the parts cheap enough and go crazy buying bags and bags of...parts.

Here are the bags.

Here are the parts.

Big parts, little parts, parts that open and close (valves).

The next step is to begin connecting all the parts to each other using this plastic welding tool. I had never used one of these before but now I know how to use this tool for sure!

This time we were able to use the table but often we were standing on ladders and whatever else to reach up high and connect pipe sections. It was quite comical at times and thankfully, we escaped with me only burning my hubby twice!

Once the main stretches of pipelines were connected, David began working on connecting the major valves, filters, pump and other larger components before we carried them downstairs to the basement for further...connecting.

Once all of our main pipe sections were hung in place in the basement and connected up through the floors to each radiator, we could work on the most important part of the system.

David connecting the in-line filter to the system.

This white box is the electric heater that heats the fluid which flows through the pipes and radiators. Initially, this heater alone will be used to heat our house. The pipes we buried in the ditch we dug from the house to the old "banya" on our property  (which we described in this post), will eventually connect a coal burning boiler stove to the heating system inside the basement to provide heat for the house. We will purchase this stove as soon as we are able. The valves are already in place to allow us to change the heat source over from the electric stove to the boiler stove with little or no problems.

As soon as our circuit was complete and all parts were in place, we were able to begin pumping the fluid from this large container through the pipes!

Although it sounds exciting, the work is not over. The next step is to find all of the air pockets trapped in the system which can block the fluid from entering and exiting the radiators. You also must run around and check for leaks in each of the radiators as they fill up. A little difficulty initially is normal with this type of system. However, once it is set up and the fluid is flowing smoothly through the circuit, those warm radiators are a real blessing! Other than one possibly damaged at the factory radiator, we are up and running with all of the radiators in working order downstairs and two working upstairs. We still have a few to connect to the pipes already in place and each room will have a warm radiator! 

So, do you know how hard it is to be patient and not want to move into a nice warm house, even though it is not ready?! 

Trust me, very!