Near Boiler Piping -Please see pics

John T_3

We moved into our house 4 years ago. I really have not paid any attention to the steam heat system (gas) until this year. When I purchased Dan's books I realized all that was wrong! I have since checked and corrected pitch on all pipes and radiators, insulated my mains, switched the main vents to larger capacity vents, replaced all radiator air valves with properly sized gortons, skimmed my boiler, replaced the nearly clogged pigtail, and have (since the pictures have been taken) replaced the pressuretrol with a vaporstat and am cutting out at 12oz and in at 4oz.

After doing all these "minor" steps, I have eliminated all water hammer, greatly decreased the time it takes for my radiators to get hot, and have improved the overall efficiency of the system.

Which brings me to this- Near Boiler piping. Please see the attached pics.

Here is what I know to be wrong - 1) The header is below 24" from the boiler water level 2) the header is the same size as the piping from the boiler and the mains where it should be a size larger 3) the main intersects with the header between the two feeds form the boiler, where it should go after both of them but before the piping to the equalizer loop. 4) The shorter main in my house tees of the longer main about 5 feet from the boiler.... ideally these should both connect to the header directly.

Which brings me to my question -

My boiler is at my guess from the early 70's. The heat is working pretty damn good right now (at least compared to before I read Dan's books). Is it worth my time and money in the spring to redo the near boiler piping correctly? With my boiler going on 30+ years, should I wait till the boiler eventually goes? Is there any thing else you see wrong? Would love to hear your thoughts- Do I really need to repipe this now, or should let it go since all is working, and what else do you see that can be improved.

Thanks!

David Nadle

If it ain't broke...

I'm a fellow homeowner, and I just replaced a 35 year old boiler that was working pretty well, even if it wasn't piped perfectly. My reasoning was that the new boiler will save fuel, but more importantly I knew that it is a real challenge to find compentent steam installers and I wanted my boiler replacement to be a carefully planned event, not a mid-winter emergency.

I think if you are not replacing the boiler then don't mess with the piping. The only obvious negative I see is the main takeoff being between the two risers, but it doesn't seem to be causing you any problems. It looks to me like that header is more than 24" to the center of the gauge glass; are you sure you measured right?

What I would do is insulate the near boiler piping, and use the rest of the boiler's life to build a relationship with a great steam heating company, so when the time for replacement comes you can act quickly.

Ken_40

I completely agree...

with David's post above.

You have done wonders with what you have; tweaked that puppy to near perfection with the boiler already in place and the fact hat the boiler has only 75MMBTU input and yet two risers, may be why it runs so well, despite there being a counterflow potential, which by-the-book is a no-no.

Let that sleeping dog lie. Years from now, when you have reason to replace the boiler itself, then is the time to pipe it properly.

Stay on top of water quality, blowing down the LWCO when it's steaming once a month or so and it'll run forever.

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newyorkone

Congrats!

Brian, sounds like you are in a pretty good place. I'm still trying to get to where you are...

I have Dan's book as well but haven't gotten nearly as far as you have. Kudos to your DYI skills.