Which system is this?

Leo_10

You have a pressuretrol which is the steam safety. I am an oil guy and you have a boiler that was bulletproof in it's day but is now an oil guzzler. Time for anupgrade.

Leo

1897 House

Which system is this?

We just bought an 1897 house, located in the northeast. It's about 4500 sq ft. I am trying to figure out the type of system I have and the only thing I can imagine is that it is an overhead gravity hot water system. I can't locate an expansion tank in the attic, but I may not have looked in all the spots. Pls see the pics and let me know if you agree. Thanks!

[Deleted User]

You've got STEAM !!

And you WON'T find an expansion tank.

Looks like it is time for a new boiler as well...

Got Carbon Monoxide detectors YET?

ME

Steamhead (in transit)

Actually, it's VAPOR!

which is a sub-class of steam, designed to run at something like 1/2 pound or so. The two devices to the rear of the boiler confirm this, as do the radiator hookup. This was the Cadillac of residential heating in its day and is still one of the best out there.

Get Dan's book, "The Lost Art of Steam Heating". This type of system is covered in Chapter 15. You can order a copy in the Online Store of this site.

The larger device behind the boiler, with the sight glass on it, is a Return Trap. Its job is to make sure the water can return to the boiler no matter what pressure the boiler is at. It is basically a steam-pressure-powered pump. I see lettering on it but can't make it out, can you tell us what it says?

The smaller, round thing is a Vent Trap. This is probably the ONLY air vent in your system. It contains a float which closes the vent port if water backs up into it. It also may have a vacuum check on the vent port, which should be removed since vacuum doesn't work well on oil firing.

As for the boiler, the only part that looks decent is the Carlin oil burner, which looks like a 601CRD but I can't swear to it. It's time to replace that old beast. Several manufacturers have recently come out with higher-efficiency models of their larger boilers- it looks like yours is big enough that you could use such a unit as a replacement. If you can get one with low-high-low firing, it will further improve your efficiency.

Most importantly: Where are you located? Let's hook you up with someone who can make your Cadillac system last another 100 years!

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Vinnie Smedick_2

Replacement

If your northeast home is in CT give me a call for a replacement. Looks like you need a more efficient boiler.

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