Steam heating

Steamhead (in transit)

is what I would have said too. I would add that a lot of improvements you can make to steam systems aren't that expensive, therefore the payback is rather short.

Tell us more about your system- one-pipe? Vapor? If you're not sure of the system details, post some pics of the boiler area and a few radiators, and we'll try to help you out.

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Al_33

Steam heating

I have cust. with 5000 sq ft home is considering water or air replacement sys. currently has steam sys. in good cond cost to much for fuel to heat home has early 80,s boiler propane in good cond. is 350,000 btu. what recomendations do you have to rase efficiency. things considerd: vacume sys. any other sugestions and where to get info on proper installation of systems.

Brad White_198

So many ways

to improve a steam system before one goes to rip it out. Folks will go for years tolerating banging and high fuel bills to the point that they call it "normal".

I would seriously start with Dan's "The Lost Art of Steam Heating" and "We Got Steam Heat!". Short of the study curve (there will be one, accept that), a short list in semi-priority might be:

1) Reduce the pressure, down to as low as the instrumentation allows. A step up from this is to replace the pressure control with a vapor-stat, which controls in the range of ounces, not pounds. Many steam systems work on less than a pound. (The Empire State Building uses 2 PSI, why would an average house need anything close to that?)

2) Check and replace main vents. Many times these are capped (to fix a leaking vent which spits, a cap sure solves that problem but creates another- air can no longer get out quickly..)

3) Check and replace if needed all radiator vents (if one-pipe steam) and traps if it is two-pipe steam. (Older vapor systems use express returns to below the water-line and do not have traps but DO have radiator vents, so choose your system to see what you are working with here.)

4) Insulate the piping. Just do it. Fiberglass, at least an inch and thicker near the boiler if at all possible. Even the returns, but focus on the supply mains for a faster effect, then go back and do the returns.

5) Near-Boiler Piping: See if it remotely resembles what the boiler manufacturer says. This really should be further up the list...

This is often "the first thing I look at", but is also "the last thing anyone wants to deal with". Start here. If it is wrong (colliding boiler risers, wishful equalizer, you name it), little else you do will matter. At least a Hartford Loop as a safety measure...

There are a lot of other things to check (clogged returns, sags in piping, dirty boiler... ) I saved "dirty boiler" because any work you do near the boiler will require a cleaning anyway. A bouncing waterline is a sign of a dirty boiler, the solution is skimming which takes time and patience.

Another thing to consider is how well-sized the boiler is. It should match the radiation, not necessarily the heat loss (even if it once was, many older homes have been insulated over the years but the radiation remains as it ever was).

This is not to say that you should replace the boiler, but that long-term, if a steam boiler is to be replaced, proper sizing evaluation is key. Evaluating radiators and reducing them to reflect the current heat loss can reduce the boiler a size or two if you have the ambition to do so.

That 350 MBH boiler, if an "input" number, would yield about 280 gross output MBH at 80% efficiency and a net capacity for radiators of about 210 MBH. That is about 42 BTUH per SF over your 5,000 SF. May be high if you are in a single-digit design temperature area, may be ok if you are in a -10's design area, older structure somewhat improved. Just a reference point.

You get the idea, some "low hanging fruit" has good value but also thoroughness and an open pair of eyes and open mind go a long way to make steam the best it can be. Do buy the books. I would do these things first then consider other measures especially before ripping it out.

gerry gill

also

the beast in the basement doesn't matter if its not being asked to come on..not to say don't do all stated above..of course do so..but remember the boilers only turning on to replace the heat that was lost...don't forget the building envelope..obviously when the beast is asked to come on, then one would want it to run as efficiently as possible..

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Bob Gagnon plumbing and heating

Boiler Sediment

An inch or so of sediment built up on the bottom of an old steam boiler can really slow the heat transfer. Consider adding some thermostatic radiator valves to automatically shut off some of the radiators in that big house.

Thanks, Bob Gagnon

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V8toilet

Your thermostat

May I add that the type of thermostat you have also greatly affects the efficiency of your system as a whole given you have it tuned properly. You need to get an adaptive type learning thermostat like Honeywell’s RTH 7500 because steam systems are inherently slow and many of them have oversized cast iron radiation that keeps warming the house long after the boiler shuts down. This is even more problematic when the house envelope is tightened up. These thermostats have an almost unlimited anticipator that will learn to shut down the boiler before the hot radiators cause the air temperature to overshoot beyond the wanted set temperature and cause you to waste fuel. If you can get the system to be balanced through venting and get the system to vent quickly than with a thermostat like the above mentioned Honeywell thermostat you'll have really good control over temperature and won't waste fuel heating the home more than you need it to be like what might happen with an old mercury T-87.