Aquastat and venting the mains

Bob W._3

Hopefully Steamhead will respond to your post. You may have confused aquastat with vaporstat, which is the more sensitive control used on steam vapor systems in place of the pressuretrol. Venting your mains properly would be first priority, in my opinion. Measure the length and diameter of your main(s), and post it here. Someone will help.

stevenyc_2

Aquastat and venting the mains

Well I'm into my 3rd year with steam heat. What an adventure! The first year I realized that my oil company was robbing me blind by cranking up the pressuretrol. Per Dan's suggestion I switched to OSI and like them very much. The second year I replaced the rad vents and things were much warmer BUT still not warm enough and I still spent a small fortune on oil. I also bought Dan's book and read through parts of it...no time to read it all because of school.

Sorry for the lengthy intro but this is my first post. As I said before, this is now my third adventurous year with steam heat and I'm hoping to really improve my system this time around. I'm so jealous hearing about all the people keeping their thermostats at 72. I would have to get a second mortgage if I kept my thermostat at 72! OSI just came to perform the yearly tune-up for the boiler and everything looks great but before he left he mentioned that I should look into getting an aquastat. Aquastat??? I didn't see a mention of it in the book as well (at least not in the index) so I am at a lost as to what this is and why I need one. Could someone please entertain such a basic and silly question. I would be most gracious.

I also want to look into getting the mains properly vented as this seems to be the solution for a lot of people. So armed with just a digital camera and the hopes and dreams of efficient steam heat what should I gather as far as info, specs, data in order for someone to help me. From what I can tell, there is only one main vent and it looks to be a pretty small Gorton. Maybe a #1. I will check tonight. I'm just utterly fascinated by all of this steam heat business and I just can't get enough of it...I look forward to a hopefully fruitful dialogue. Thanks to all in advance!

thfurnitureguy_4

Stevenyc, I just went through a big vent issue along with a host of other problems. You might try this test to see if you have enough venting on your mains. Start your boiler and touch the main steam pipe (careful) when it gets hot it has steam. Start the clock. Now go to the main vent and touch it. When it gets steam hot (vent is closed) stop the clock. How long did it take? This test tells you how long it takes to clear all of the air out of your main pipes. the faster you vent your main, the more evenly your system can heat. If your rooms heat evenly you won't be over heating some to let the others catch up. This could save some fuel. best of luck. I hear about 1 to 3 min is good. PS Steamhead is the Man, He helped me through the maze last year!

massrookie

aquastat

The technician may be referring to an adding an aquastat to keep the boiler warm (110 to 120 degrees) during the non heating months so the heat exchanger does not get plugged up. Newer boilers can be damn near impossible to clean completelt if they sit all summer without running. I would prefer to have the annual tune up in April so the boiler does not sit all summer with a seasons worth of combustion byproducts in the heat exchanger.

Pat

stevenyc_2

Photo and measurements

Thanks to everyone for all the quick replies! Pat, great idea about the April tune-up. Personally I was against the idea of using oil year round considering the cost of oil these days. Albiet it is for the life of the boiler, it still seemed like a hard pill to swallow. Any other info as to the pros and cons of an aquastat would be much appreciated. I have a peerless cast iron boiler that is about 10-15 years old.

So I measured the mains and the longest run is about 43 feet and there is a Gorton #1 at the end of it and then there is a condensate pipe that bends down from there. The other main is pretty short. It's only about 6-7 feet, pretty close to the boiler and there are no vents on that run.

Just be looking at the mains it explains why the side that is fed by the shorter run is usually warmer than the side fed by the longer run - I don't know why this wasn't obvious to me before. So it looks like I might have a venting issue but I'm not sure how to configure the vents (e.g. where to put them, how many, and what size) at the end of the main. Any help, advice, etc. would be great. Thanks again!

Bob W._3

Again, I hope Steamhead picks up on this post. If it were my system, I would have at least two #1's (and maybe three) on that main and a #1 on the other. It doesn't look like you have enough headroom for a #2 at that location. There is a new guide to venting that can be purchased on this site, probably in the Books & More section. I haven't seen it but am told it is the thing to have.

Bob W._3

Bump

I'm giving this thread a bump to see if Steamhead will catch it.

Steamhead (in transit)

Thanks Bob

guess I skipped it the first time since it said "Aquastat"...

If you have the clearance (10 inches above the main is enough) replace the Gorton #1 with a #2. That should bring it into balance.

That short main may not need a vent, or at most a Hoffman #4A. Try it without the vent before you drill and tap. If it fills with steam in about a minute, and the long main does the same, you're OK.

stevenyc_2

Thanks Steamhead!

Thanks for replying to this thread. You've got quite a fan-club here so I feel priveledged receiving your advice!

I forgot to mention before that the pipes on the mains are 3 inches in diameter. When I turned on the boiler it took the headers about 10 minutes to get warm - not hot. As soon as I felt some warmth on the header I started my timer and it took 6.5 minutes for the end of the long main run to get warm. This seems kind of long after seeing what other people are reporting in The Wall. What do you think?

I also made notes about the boiler cycle - 5 minutes on and 3 minutes off. Seems like a short cycle but ever since the first year, where I was ignorant about pressure, I've set the pressuretrol to 0 and the difference to 1. The pressure guage shows that the pressure is going up to almost 4 PSI and then back down to nearly 0.

I'm very curious as to what others are experiencing as far as:

How long does it take for the radiators on the first floor to get hot? Second floor? This is measuring from a cold boiler start. Also how long does it take to raise the temperature on the thermostat one degree F from a cold boiler start. I have nothing to compare my system to so I have no idea how good or bad a shape it is in. My guess is that it's in OK shape but definitely not optimal.

Again, thanks in advance for any info and help.

stevenyc_2

10 inch clearance

I forgot to mention in my other reply that I don't have a 10" clearance above the main so I guess I can't put in a Gorton #2. What other options do I have instead of the #1 Gorton that is currently at the end of the longest main run? Thanks again!

stevenyc_2

By the way...

Thanks for the tip.

I'm guessing that you don't have an aquastat, right? Have you noticed that the April tune-ups have been sufficient in preventing boiler degredation? Thanks again for any info. Take care.

Bob W._3

Steve, one DIY option would be to put a 90 elbow where that existing No. 1 is, and gang 3 No. 1's off it, using nipples, T's and another 90 elbow. See Steamhead's pictures on his All Steamed Up, Inc. thread.

Steamhead (in transit)

That would work

And you could use four #1 vents instead of three. That's a bit more capacity than a #2.

stevenyc_2

Thanks...where is All Steamed Up, Inc. Thread with the pictures

I think I know what you are saying but I just want to make sure that I am clear by looking at the pictures that you someone mentioned that you had posted. I tried searching for the thread but couldn't find it.

Thanks again to all!

Steamhead (in transit)

It's here

http://forums.invision.net/Thread.cfm?CFApp=2&Thread_ID=29563&mc=53

and I bumped it up to the top again, so you all could get to it directly.