Iron Pipes replaced with Copper after pipe leak

Marsha

I'm a realtor with clients interested in a house which has a steam boiler system. During the home inspection my client and I were told by the inspector that the system has copper replacement pipes on a system that should have iron pipes.

I would like a steam boiler expert to tell me the ramifications of having copper replacement pipes on the system. Should they be replaced before the system needs to be started up again for the cold weather?

Thanks,

Tim Weaver

Marsha,

I'm a homeowner with a steam system, not a pro, but having read many posts with the same subject, the prevailing opinion by far seems to be that the supply piping has to be iron. This is due to the high heat of steam and the resulting expansion/contraction rates and the ability of the pipe to meet them without failure. There have been recent posts about near-boiler copper piping and all the pros here have generally agreed that not only is it not in the manufacturers specs, it is not proper in any regard. Copper is cheaper to install from a labor standpoint as the cutting and threading of iron pipe is work intensive. It seems that return piping to the boiler below the waterline can be in copper, as the temperature variations are minor in comparison to the supply piping. This would be a good excuse to get a good steam man in there anyway to go over the whole system. Home inspectors usually can only go so far. My 2 cents.

gerry gill

here's some info

http://www.heatinghelp.com/newPages/pdf/32_43_58.pdf

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