Best Of
Re: Let me try this again, this time with a 1" supply pipe. Surely that will cause trouble!
Are you just a homeowner with a boiler or do you work on boilers? On a two pipe, with no equalizer, the water without a doubt will siphon itself out. The higher pressure is going to go up to meet the atmospheric pressure on the steam trap side. I’ve worked on one pipe systems with no equalizer at the boiler but I’ve never seen a working two pipe without an equalizer. When steam traps fail, the steam equalizes and prevents flow on all the radiators that are upstream of the failed radiator trap. After replacing the traps, the system works normal again. The wet return is like a p trap, they both need vents to work and the equalizer is the vent on a two pipe system.
Re: Something Just Doesn't sound right about this
heat doesn't just work because things expand, it also drives the water out of the iron oxide crystal which is what holds the crustal structure together. it turns the rust in to a soft powder.
being slathered in what appears to be asbestos furnace cement complicates this
mattmia2
Re: Flame Retardant Paint for spray foam
As far as I know there are no fire resistant paints
for spray foam insulation.
I doubt the fire resistant latex paints would even
stand up to a combustable foam fed fire.
I see all these homes being foamed and I just cringe
when I think about the off gassing problems and how
they simply bury potable water piping and wiring in
this foam.
leonz
Re: Age of vintage pressure gauge?
The patent referenced by date on the dial is probably patent #978,833, which was issued on December 20, 1910, and describes an improved method of securing the glass dial cover inside the housing of gauges. Apparently breakage of the glass on gauges due to vibration/shock was a common problem, and this inventor devised a spring mount for the glass to allow the glass to move without breaking under shock/vibration. When I bought the gauge, I noticed it had three small springs around the perimeter of the dial, behind the glass. Apparently those springs are part of the shock mount covered by this patent. If you zoom in on the photo you can see two of the springs at bottom, one on either side of the patent lettering. The other spring is hidden by the bezel at the top of the dial.
jesmed1
Re: Setback tstat or constant 24 hr temp as it relates to interior furnishings.
humidity levels in the home have a lot to do with wood movement.
Cabinets, flooring, furniture etc love to have a constant humidity level to prevent joints opening
Winters in the dry Utah desert, lots of static electricity and split fingers for me.
hot_rod
Re: Counterflow steam system
Still think you should move all your main venting to the end of the mains and plug the existing vent back at the boiler. Right now you would have steam entering and converging through the returns neither of which is good. That and you need the drips back near the boiler.
Re: Radiant flow not pushing fast enough
I'm baaack. So system worked great for 20 days or so, return temp were in the 90s . Now the return temp has dropped below 80 and to me seems that hot water is getting to the floor ( I can feel it) but not moving through and just stops about 30 feet in.. would it be best to add a 2nd pump on the return side back to the boiler to assist. Tia
Re: My steam boiler water got a little contaminated, so what can we learn?
If the aim is to show it is more efficient, you need to include gas consumption too.
In the 80's there was a wood stove testing facility here, right across the street from my then-business. His setup was quite complex to measure combustion & heater efficiency.
Precaud
Re: Steam contractor in Utica NY area?
don't think there is 50 year old oil hanging around, it degrades eventually.
cock the meter and make sure it isn't overfired. a return or drip could be clogged.
the vents at the boiler are on the dry returns, right?
are the returns all cooler than steam temp?
mattmia2
Re: Good Protocol For Keeping Water Clean in Boiler
To All, As I have stated before, The best way to maintain your boiler, is to follow the manufacturer's instructions. Do not put anything into the boiler water other that what the manufacturer tells you. Only clean the boiler water with the chemicals the manufacturer tells you to use and in the concentration they give. I remember an article by Ray Wohlfarth [I hope spelled it right] about how he was called to a job and was in "hot water" because a boiler that he had installed had started leaking. The boiler had a aluminum heat exchanger that did not allow higher PH of cast iron and fire tube boilers and the boiler it replaced had a cast iron heat exchanger that allowed a PH of 10. He discovered that persons maintaining it treated the new boiler the same way they did with the old unit.
