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Boiler Coil and DHW

John Albright
John Albright Member Posts: 7
in THE MAIN WALL
Can the flow restrictor be unclogged, or does it have to be replaced? I tried steam cleaning the coil by raising the Aquastat temp to 220 and shutting off the cold feed to the coil to boil the water in the coil and flushing, but that didn't give me any more pressure.

I should've already mentioned that the plate on my boiler says it's a Smith No. 110L-1100L with a Carlin Model 100 CRD burner.

Comments

  • John Albright
    John Albright Member Posts: 7
    Boiler Coil and DHW

    Hello all,
    I'm new to one-pipe steam heat, as we recently purchased an 1870s home with an old oil-fired Smith boiler with a domestic hot water coil. Very recently, the hot water pressure has dropped at all faucets in the house to almost a drip. I suspect that a blockage in or around the coil is causing this. What can be done? Can the coil be cleaned or replaced, and what can I do to prevent this from happening again? I have read quite a bit of negative things about coils here, so what is the best alternate way to heat DHW with this type of system?
  • Al Corelli_2
    Al Corelli_2 Member Posts: 395
    Clean coils

    Sometimes coils can be cleaned.

    Options for domestic water heating are available.

    Indirect heaters
    Gas or oil fired heaters
    Coil/aquabooster system

    Where are you located?

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  • John Albright
    John Albright Member Posts: 7


    I'm located in central NJ, not too far from PA.

    Are electric hot water heaters and Boilermates considered indirect and what do you do with the coil when it isn't doing the DHW heating?
  • Al Corelli_2
    Al Corelli_2 Member Posts: 395
    Indirect

    A BoilerMate is an "indirect". My definition for an electric heater is that it is a "direct" heater.

    The coil may be abandoned in place.

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  • John Albright
    John Albright Member Posts: 7
    Add Indirect Tank to Failing Boiler Coil

    If I install an indirect tank, then the boiler coil will still be heating the DHW, right? Would the addition of an indirect tank solve the water pressure problems caused by the coil without replacement/cleaning?
  • Al Gregory
    Al Gregory Member Posts: 260


    It may be a clogged flow restrictor that is causing it. Smith boilers usually needed one because the recovery of the coil was slow.
This discussion has been closed.

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