New Burnham MegaSteam Install

OldAndSteamed

Well my wallet got a bit lighter, and my house got a little warmer today. Comments on install? Do I have OCD or should they have washed today? They will come tomorrow to skim. Burned for <1hr.

OldAndSteamed

Pictures of new install. Comments

nicholas bonham-carter

The pictures are loading very slowly for me.
Have you compared the piping sizes and layout with what is required in the manual for the boiler?
You may need to skim several times more than the installers will, so make sure to watch the process. Squick, and various other treatments will not be a substitute for th old fashioned way.--NBC
As the pictures are very dark, I cannot see the skim port-is there one?

hvacfreak2

The pics wont load for me but congrats. I had to skim mine a good bit initially , and I was careful on my install with wiping out oil from pipes and such. I also used some old auto wax on the jacket , just because I have seen some dumb stuff in the past ruin paint on these.

BobC

That looks good from here, not stellar (going up a size on the header would be better) but I'm sure it will serve you well.

It will have a few skimming sessions to get that water clean. Gid they install new air vents?

Bob

Marz

Off subject, How old are those oil tanks? From here looks like it's time

nicholas bonham-carter

What are the settings on the vaporstat? A 0-3 psi low-pressure gauge would keep those settings honest as well.--NBC
And have you checked for any system leaks, which may have rotted out its predecessor? A water meter on the feed would be useful here.

Abracadabra

That looks like a pressuretrol, not a vaporstat, and it looks like they've cranked it up pretty high.

The wiring looks sloppy, unless they just did that to not leave you without heat. Hopefully that will all get cleaned up.

OldAndSteamed

Gentelmen,

Thank you for your responses. I have attached pictures of the final install. So far, so good. Not sure I'm a fan of the cycle guard low water cut off.

nicholas bonham-carter said:

As the pictures are very dark, I cannot see the skim port-is there one?

Yes. I watched him skim it. Didn't seem like a lot of oil, etc, came out. But I will skim it again. Is it best to skim when the boiler / system is cold? eg - not fired for 24 hours?

BobC said:

Did they install new air vents?

Bob

No. Should they have?

Marz said:

Off subject, How old are those oil tanks? From here looks like it's time

Completely on topic IMHO. The installer said it's time. The tanks are ancient. Any recommendations on the tanks? They will be a PIA to get into the basement.

nicholas bonham-carter said:

What are the settings on the vaporstat? A 0-3 psi low-pressure gauge would keep those settings honest as well.--NBC
And have you checked for any system leaks, which may have rotted out its predecessor? A water meter on the feed would be useful here.

I have no idea what vaporstat settings are. How do I check? I have looked around the radiators for leaks, and the steam loops in the basement, but haven't found any.
Will the water feeder I have also meter it? They reset it and it says 2 after they filled the boiler to fire it.

Abracadabra said:

That looks like a pressuretrol, not a vaporstat, and it looks like they've cranked it up pretty high.

The wiring looks sloppy, unless they just did that to not leave you without heat. Hopefully that will all get cleaned up.

What should the pressuretrol be set to? They cleaned up the wiring etc today. Initial pics were just so I would have heat for the night.

Fred

Set the "Main" to 1.5 PSI and the Differential to "1". That will give you a Cut-in of .5 PSI and a Cut-out Pressure of 1.5 PSI. Hopefully it will very rarely, if ever, cut out on Pressure.
Installation looks good!

ChrisJ

I like the spin on filter + vacuum gauge.

hvacfreak2

This has me wondering if it is worthwhile to install the outside air ducting on mine .

Years ago I lived in a house with hot water heat and I wanted the box mount and box cover for my AFG at the time. Now I have that on my MST and I don't really want to use it , lol.

Yes. I watched him skim it. Didn't seem like a lot of oil, etc, came out. But I will skim it again. Is it best to skim when the boiler / system is cold? eg - not fired for 24 hours?

You want to do this when the boiler is hot ( my preference ) but some say that cold works just as well. I feel that the oils are more " fluid " when everything is hot ( versus cold ). I have a nipple and a tee facing down coming from my skim tapping. I have a boiler drain into the tee , when I want to skim I connect a hose and open the boiler drain. I manually open my fresh water fill valve just barely enough to cause the level to rise and trickle from the hose. I leave it like this for 2-3 hours at a time. The oils that cause problems may not be visible like you think , merely a " sheen " that floats on the surface of clear water is all it takes .

hvacfreak2

I keep a 2 inch 90 and a nipple to use in place of that plug to add cleaner and such. I keep a piece of 3/8 all thread near by to use as a Steamaster plunger.

Dave0176

ChrisJ said:

I like the spin on filter + vacuum gauge.

I'm old school, I like the simple cartridge filter, less waste.

Charlie from wmass

If they used a 007 circulator set aside some money for getting a proper 3 piece circulator for when that dies in a couple years. There should be a bypass on the circulator piping to prevent water flashing to steam in the circulator. Looks like they assembled the piping kit as per the instructions. Does that supply tap enter a bull head tee or is there only one loop of the system?