Big Old Church

Steamhead (in transit)

one can do with a steam heating system to make it more flexible and efficient. Doing so is probably the most cost-effective way you can go. Remember that once the boiler makes the steam, its job is done. From that point the system must move the heat to the rooms. This is where many systems lose efficiency, but these situations are usually pretty easy to fix.

Don't get an atmospheric gas boiler. These lose a considerable amount of heat out the base. With that rating you probably have a Weil-McLain 88-series boiler or similar. Generally, these can be changed to gas firing by replacing the burner and a few trim pieces such as the draft regulator. The newer 88 series 2 boilers are much more thermally efficient than the older versions, and also can be fired with oil or gas. And make sure the boiler is actually sized properly! Over-sizing is very wasteful.

Low-high-low firing on the new boiler or burner will also boost efficiency. We have a customer who saved 40% on his gas consumption after we hooked up a low-high-low setup the original installer had ignored. This was on a large Broomell Vapor system. If full modulation is available in the burner size you need, it's even better than low-high-low.

Steam systems can be zoned room-by-room if you wish, without changing piping around, by using thermostatic radiator valves.

There are plenty of good steam men in Massachusetts. Click on Resources above, then Find a Professional to locate them.

Tell us more about your system. Is it a one-pipe or two-pipe system?

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Peter Johnston

Big Ol' Church

I am the facilities manager of a church in Quincy, MA . We currently have an oil fired Weil Mclain monster with a net IBR of 6,130 Sq ft of steam. We are looking to redesign our heating system and convert to gas at the same time.

I am looking for recommendations for contractors who wouild be interested in helping me to think outside of the box to help us design a new heating system that would maximize our fuel savings and provide us with the flexibility that we need.

I want to avoid just replacing the "monster" with another "monster" that is just more efficient and shinier. I want to take this opportunity to uprade and redesign the system so that we can afford to heat our church for the next 20 to 30 years. Any recommendations for contractors that can handle a job of this magnitude and complexity would be greatly appreciated.

bob young

Brad White engineering consultant

Let Brad White evaluate & if applicable re-design. plenty good heating contractors in your area on this forum. you probably hit the jackpot.

Robert O'Brien

If

you get Brad White,you hit the lottery!

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