Insulating back to the boiler

thfurnitureguy_4

First problem copper and steam. You may have joint busting expantion due to the nature of copper on the steam side. It should have been done with iron pipe only! Call back your installer and have him do it right before you insulate. When done run fiberglass right up, and on to the header. best luck. Any further questions post "Copper for steam mains" and you will get more answers from the pros.

Meowschmidt

Insulation question

Hello: This is our first winter in our house and I have been working on getting the 2-pipe steam system back into shape. Thanks to everyone for all the helpful discussion topics! I have a Weil McLain EG-65 Steam boiler that was installed in 1991. There are a few questionable minor issues with it, but overall looks like a decent install. At the time, they ran copper up to meet the existing mains and left the pipe uninsulated from the mains back to the boiler. My first question is: Should I re-insulate back towards the boiler to minimize start-up condensate? My A-dimension is at about 18 inches. There is probably 12-15 feet of uninsulated pipe between the header and the mains. With the shorter A-dimension, do I exaggerate the problem by insulating that pipe leg? How far back to the boiler does one insulate? Finally, is there any concern with insulating over the copper header vs. the iron main? Thanks to everyone, in advance, for your advice.

Steve Garson_2

Insulate right to the boiler. Just keep an eye out for the copper leaking. You might consider having it replaced during the summer with the proper piping to avoid a problem occuring when you least want it...on a freezing cold weekend!