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Downfiring a W-M steamer?

Al Letellier_9
Al Letellier_9 Member Posts: 929
in THE MAIN WALL
With the tech dept blessing, I have down fired an SGO 35% with no issues. Had a counterflow system and the 3 section with standard issue nozzle made steam way too fast. Put in a .65 and its been fine for the last 6 years

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Comments

  • Jim Franklin
    Jim Franklin Member Posts: 170
    W-M SGO-3

    I have convinced a friend to keep his steam system, but he needs to get a new boiler as his is about 50 years old. He's looking at a Weil McLain SGO3 but at .95gph/354 sq ft, it's about 20% more than he needs. Can this be downfired to around .75gph and still deliver reasonable efficiency?

    thanks,
    jim
  • Steamhead (in transit)
    Steamhead (in transit) Member Posts: 6,688
    How about

    a Burnham Mega-Steam 288? Smaller rating and a much better boiler. How much radiation is on that system?

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  • Jim Franklin
    Jim Franklin Member Posts: 170


    257 sq ft. I've pushed the Burnham but he wants a used one if he can find it. The SGO is 3 years old and about half price, but it's the only one that has come close to being small enough. By the time he gives in and buys a new one, he'll have wasted the $1400 in oil this season alone.

    jim
  • J.C.A._3
    J.C.A._3 Member Posts: 2,980
    Ya can't fix stupid...

    Make him sign a waiver stating you'll do what is requested. Do the work...and stipulate that there is NO WARRANTY.Parts OR labor, because he didn't take your advice.

    Worst case scenario...you get to do the job twice...after telling him..." I told you so!". Chris
  • ed wallace
    ed wallace Member Posts: 1,613
    down firing

    Hi Jim re you going to pipe your frirnds boiler as a dropped header ? what shape is the used boilerv in
  • Jim Franklin
    Jim Franklin Member Posts: 170


    Yes, we'll put in a dropped header even though he has the headroom to get a huge A dimension, just because we can :-) The W-M he's looking at is 3 years old, they did a swap out for forced hot/cold air.

    I can't find any info on the W-M website about downfiring ranges, but it does have a 10.5 gallon water capacity, close to the 11 gal of the 282 sq ft Burnham. I'll call them in the morning.

    jim
  • Steve Garson_2
    Steve Garson_2 Member Posts: 712


    I called WM about downfiring the SGO series. Was told that you can drop the firing rate by 15% without a problem.
    Steve from Denver, CO
  • Jim Franklin
    Jim Franklin Member Posts: 170


    Interesting...the tech told me no more than 10% downfiring otherwise I'd get condensation on the back where the flame didn't reach. He also thought it came with a .85 instead of a .95 like the web site says, so who knows. Maybe he wasn't a tech. That particular one sold it's moot now.

    thanks for the info,
    jim
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