TRINIDAD, COLO.—Steve Fernandez, a third-generation master plumber and heating contractor, has worked with hydronics for 29 years. He established Twin Peaks Plumbing & Hydronics LLC in Trinidad, Colorado, in 2017, and the company now serves all of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico.
The firm employs five full-time workers, including one other master plumber and three apprentice plumbers. They specialize in hydronic in-floor heating and boiler systems. “Hydronic heat provides more even, comfortable heat without drying you out with forced air,” Fernandez said.
An old boiler gets replaced
Earlier this spring, Fernandez was called to a home north of Trinidad that had problems with its heating system. The issue was a 30-plus-year-old cast-iron boiler. The old system had been installed by him, his brother, and his father back in the 1990s. After assessing the boiler, the homeowner agreed it was time for an upgrade.
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The home is roughly 3,000 square feet. Fernandez ran heat loss calculations and settled on a new U.S. Boiler Alta high-efficiency boiler to replace both the old boiler and the existing indirect water heater. The old system had been piped with zone valves, so the new installation used the Alta with zoning pumps — featuring Taco 007es circulators — and a Taco SR405-5, 4-zone switching relay. That relay controls four zones: two in the existing concrete slab and two for the upper level. The entire retrofit’s piping system was press connected with Viega ProPress fittings.
The new heating system tied into an existing Entran EPDM tubing system in the slab and through staple-up for the upper floor. “The plan was to install the new Alta, and replace zone valves with zoning pumps, all new copper primary and secondary piping, a new Caleffi air separator and an Amtrol expansion tank,” he said.
For homeowners in high-altitude climates, the choice between hydronic and forced-air heat often comes down to comfort and efficiency. Radiant heat does not blow dust around or create the dry air that forced-air systems do, which matters in a region where winter air is already bone-dry. The Alta boiler’s condensing design handles the thinner air at elevation better than older cast-iron models.
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Sweat and tears through concrete
The job took three men four days to complete. It did not go smoothly. “Challenges on the job were getting PVC venting out of the house,” Fernandez said. “We overcame this with some sweat and tears while drilling through concrete and rebar.”
Before firing up the system, he injected glycol throughout the piping for freeze protection. The final test came when they turned it on. “System is up and running and the customer is extremely satisfied with finished result,” Fernandez said.
