sream boiler replacement

Dave Stroman

Man, it is amazing, and a little scary, how many "contractors" out there do not have a clue.

Dave in Denver

rod2

boiler

Help from the pros.I have a 1927ish richardson 251 snowman without the snow, oil fired.Radiators with hoffman graduating valves.three air vents in basement one just above boiler,one at end of main and one on dry return where main and return meet in a trap or drip pic attached.
Two pipe rad except for one on second fl which has one pipe.In 14yrs i've never heard any water hammer.Very seldom have to add water and its very clean.It takes 45 min from cold starts to get heat. Time for a new boiler and i want to make sure i get the right size for this system and some fuel savings.Every tec wants to replace it with hot water.

OIL OR GAS WHICH IS MORE COST EFF.

OUTDOOR RESET INDIRECT HOT WATER

I have 500sq'EDR according to dans book for the radiators. DOE 160,000 netIBR 120,000

slantfin heatloss 59,740

Am I in the ballpark I really would like to keep old system. Thanks for any reply. I tried find a professional that didn't seem to work.

Steamhead

That's a Vapor system

If you have 500 square feet EDR, you need a boiler that is rated for this amount of radiation or more, but not too much more! There is no need to add capacity for the indirect.

Whether to use oil or gas depends on the cost per BTU in your area. Here in Baltimore oil is slightly cheaper but as we've seen, oil and gas suppliers will use any excuse to raise prices. If you get an oil-fired boiler you can install a gas burner in it, but a gas boiler cannot be switched to oil if oil gets a lot cheaper than gas.

The techs who want to convert to hot-water don't understand steam, or the risks involved. Hot-water runs at over 10 times the pressure of your Vapor system and will easily find any weak spots in pipes and radiators. The radiators themselves may not be big enough to heat the house on hot-water. For a discussion of these and other pitfalls, go here:

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

What area are you in? I know there's someone out there who can help you.

Boilerpro_3

\"Downsize\" the radiation

then you can downsize the boiler to much better match your heat load, Givngin a big boast in efficiency. A steam specialist on the East cost has been doing this for over ten years, using Tunstall's Orifice plates on two pipe systems. I've been starting to do some too.

Boilerpro

rod2

Had a new installer in today he wants to replace boiler with all copper,and no auto water feeder.I told him i prefer iron pipe and he said if 95/5 and L copper there is no problem.According to what i,ve read on this site it should be all pipe.
whith a new boiler would i need a hartfood loop and would this change the vapor system I can,t seem to get an answer.How about a droped header or would this be specific
to new boiler spec.
How about the idea a new oil fired boiler now that could be changed in the future to gas depending on price comparisons because I was told u can,t go the other way gas to oil,and how about the burner types Beckett,Carlin
or Reillo. Thanks for all sugestions.

Steamhead

If he insists on copper steam piping

find someone else.

Every steam boiler using gravity return needs a Hartford Loop, no matter what type of piping system it's on. This does not alter the operation of your Vapor system. However, the new boiler's water line must be above the bottom of any loop seals in the piping- see chapter 15 of "The Lost Art of Steam Heating" for details. This may necessitate setting the new boiler up on blocks.

The drop header may or may not appear in the boiler's piping diagram. But if the new boiler has two or more risers between the boiler and the header, a drop header is much easier to install.

Installing an oil-fired boiler now is a good move for the very reason you state. Those are all good burners, but you want to use the one that the maker provides with the boiler. If they give you a choice, go with the one your contractor likes.

rod2

steamhead great replys thanks.Friday I was called to the supply house to talk with a design tec and plummer.They sugested a crown 1270 gas boiler.Everybody in the place
wants me to go with copper.Maybe in this area se Mass.
copper is the norm.
I am going to dismantle the boiler tomorrow.Is there anyway to run some chemical in boiler to clean out pipes now and send the debris into old boiler instead of new one,just a thought.
My waterline is 49"above floor should I raise the new
boiler up to make the A DEM the same.

rod2

vents


One more question three out of 13 radiators have vents.Second floor rad with one pipe, the only one pipe
in the system is the only one that makes any noise thats
how i know its working.
I was told all rad have to have vents with new boiler Didn't make sense to me.

ed wallace

new boiler

when replacing a steam boiler do not allow installer to do the header in copper have you checked this site for an installer near you i am in watertown you can get my contact info under find a proffessional

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