New Steam Boiler

Unknown

How many square feet of radiation is connected to this boiler?

What size is the boiler, and what firing rate is it using?

Noel

Boston_2

Direction is needed - Steam Heat

Two years ago I purchased a 1928 fully insulated home just outside Boston with a 1980’s Burnham oil fired (Single Pipe) steam heating system. The boiler takes approximately 35 -40 min before making enough steam to start heating the radiators (We go through a considerable amount of oil considering the size of our home (1300 sf). We have called in more “experts” then you can shake a stick at, giving us their opinions on what the problem is. We have spent a considerable amount of time and money trying to make the system work properly, but at this point we feel our only option is to replace the boiler.

Things we have been told and fixed:

1) We don’t have any main vents in the basement which doesn’t allow the air from the pipes to escape – we were then told by two other heating experts our system doesn’t need main vents because we have very short mains and we have individual returns for each radiator which allows the air to move very freely.
2) Wrong vents on the radiators – All have been changed with expensive adjustable vents
3) Bad burner – New Beckett burner
4) Clogged wet returns – Replace all wet returns under the ground
5) Bad Burner Pump – New high pressure pump

The good new is we do not have any water hammer, very rarely have to add any water to the system and when the house warms, it warms evenly. With the cost of oil we are thinking of replacing the oil boiler with a new Burnham gas boiler (we are paying to have gas brought down the road into the house). Is this a good move in the long run?? Will a new boiler create steam faster then a 20 -30 year old system?

I purchased the book, but I think at this point we are lost.

Boston_2

Re- New Boiler

I’m not sure what the SF measurement comes out to be, but there are 8 (duel tube radiators) 40”H X36”T X 9W, there is one smaller radiator in the bathroom. The boiler is 105,000 BTU and I am not sure what you mean by firing rate, but I do know that the heating company put a 1.0 nozzle in the burner.

Do you think the boiler is undersized?

Unknown

hmmmm

see if you can find the steam rating in sq ft on the boiler rating plate, itself. It'll be right with the BTUH ratings on the label.

Then measure the radiators, using this

Noel