Conversion Steam to hot water

c.t.kay

what type of piping system is used now? 1 pipe or 2 pipe steam ? how large is the building & how many floors ?

liz

steam to hot water conversion expert needed

Can anyone point me in the direction of a list of qualified engineers, in the eastern Massachusetts area, who evaluate systems for conversion from steam to hot water heat?

The conversion is for a 59 unit multi-family building with limited resourses. Meaning we are looking to replace boilers but reuse existing piping and radiators.

Thanks - Liz

ed wallace

conversion

why convert from steam to hot water just find someone who understands steam

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Boilerpro_3

I'd follow

> why convert from steam to hot water just find

> someone who understands steam

>

> _A

> HREF="http://www.heatinghelp.com/getListed.cfm?id=

> 354&Step=30"_To Learn More About This

> Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in

> "Find A Professional"_/A_

Boilerpro_3

I'd follow Ed's advice first

Save the steam. Depending on the system, you may even be able to install room by room control without opening a single pipe.
Why do you want to convert to water?

Boilerpro

Boilerpro_3

I'd follow Ed's advice first

Save the steam. Depending on the system, you may even be able to install room by room control without opening a single pipe.
Why do you want to convert to water?

Boilerpro

Guy_6

Boiler

First, I will say right up front that I work directly for Smith Boiler here in Eastern MA.

I will gladly meet with you and/or your contractor and offer my thoughts on your system. I have been in the heating industry for over 20 years as both a technician and salesman, so I am quite familiar with the mechanics of heating systems.

Please let me know:

GWoollard@Mestek.com

Guy Woollard
Smith Boiler Company
(a division of Mestek)

Steamhead

If you have \"limited resources\"

you most certainly do not want to convert that system. Since a conversion would put a lot more pressure on those old pipes and radiators, there is a great risk of leaks developing. Your "limited resources" could be stretched pretty thin fixing one leak after another and the damage the leaks caused. I've seen jobs where this has happened and it's not pretty. This is one reason we don't do this type of conversion.

You also might run into radiators that won't work at all with hot-water, or are too small to heat the building adequately. A hot-water radiator will only deliver about 60% of the heat of a steam radiator of the same size.

For more conversion pitfalls, go here:

http://www.heatinghelp.com/newsletter.cfm?Id=22

I've heard of some contractors who tell their customers that converting to hot-water is the only thing they can do. This is definitely NOT true. Most American boiler makers have full lines of steam boilers that are probably much more efficient than the ones you now have. And parts are available to fix any system problem you might have.

Thermostatic radiator valves and other energy-saving devices are just as available for steam as they are for hot-water.

The bottom line is that it's much less risky and much more cost-effective to fix a steam system than to convert it.