steam boiler replacement

Matt_21

Matt_21

i have to replace an existing steam boiler

can i replace it with the same size or should i add up all the radiators to figure the btu's? i know older hot water boilers are usually oversized and you should figure the actual btu loss to size the boiler but i wasnt sure if this applied to steam boilers if i add up the radiator areas, is there anything else i have to figure in to size the boiler?

Brad White_9

It is all in the radiation

Figure out your connected square feet of radiation ("EDR" or Eqivalent Direct Radiation") and size your boiler to be close to but still exceed this number.

Where building heat loss comes into play with a steam system is how your radiators (the EDR again) are sized in the first place. Unless you are planning on removing radiators, use the connected radiation to size the boilers. If you use the I=B=R capacity, that has a 33% (1.33 multiplier) factor built in. If your mains are insulated and piping is limited, this may help you if your boiler size to radiation size is close to the margin.

Unknown

everything

Everything what Brad said is correct... Do you have any specfiec brand boiler? No matter what brand, the new boiler will be junk if its piped in wrong... Make sure you get a true boiler company to do the job...