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Drop header

ScottMP
ScottMP Member Posts: 5,883
in THE MAIN WALL
Does this help ??

Scott



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Comments

  • Boston_2
    Boston_2 Member Posts: 107
    Drop header

    Hey all,

    Had a new PIN6 boiler installed (converted from Oil to Gas) sever months ago, I posted some pictures of the job in the past. Plumber used copper piping and didn’t do a very good job. I have been fighting with him ever since to replace all of his copper with black steel and do a drop header but he has refused; He took our money and ran. We have very low ceilings in the basement, and the boiler is sending a lot of wet steam into the mains. We have broken the bank with the project and I can’t afford to have another person correct what this guy messed up on. I am going to attempt to build a drop header myself; could some of you guys please post some clear pictures of past jobs so I can recreate? Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.
  • Robert O'Brien
    Robert O'Brien Member Posts: 3,562
    I

    can't help you with pics as I don't do a lot of steam.Do a search and you should find many.I'm curious what made you select this contractor in the first place?

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  • Steamhead (in transit)
    Steamhead (in transit) Member Posts: 6,688
    You'll find drop header pics here:

    http://www.heatinghelp.com/library.cfm#Steam Piping

    It pays to wander off the Wall, as Dan would say.

    I'd also suggest enlarging the horizontal portion of that header to 3-inch. Burnham only requires 2-inch for the IN6 but 3-inch will dry out the steam much better.

    "Steamhead"

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  • Boston_2
    Boston_2 Member Posts: 107


    Ya I saw those pictures, I was hoping that someone might have a cleaner shot. For a home owner it’s really hard to see what’s going in some of them. I will post picture of my masterpiece once i get it completed.

    Should I use both risers? It shows it as optional for the Pin6 in the Burnham manual. What is the benefit of using both; the Plumber who did the orginal install caped one of them off, but i assume it is there for a reason.

    Also, I need to skim the boiler, since I am on my own now. Can I skim off the pressure relief valve? Do I just fill the boiler using the manual switch on the auto feed until the water starts coming out of the valve?
  • Boston_2
    Boston_2 Member Posts: 107


    Scott,

    Very nice!! This is perfect! I can even get my parts list form this picture. Thanks
  • Boston_2
    Boston_2 Member Posts: 107


    Scott,

    Very nice!! This is perfect! I can even get my parts list form this picture. Thanks
  • David Sutton_6
    David Sutton_6 Member Posts: 1,079
    Scott!

    It gives me goose pimples seeing stuff like that !!

    David
  • Brad White_198
    Brad White_198 Member Posts: 72
    Scott!

    Beautiful shots, Scott, but how can you call those He-Man dropped headers, "Gurley" headers?

    :)
  • David Sutton_6
    David Sutton_6 Member Posts: 1,079
    ROTFLMAO

  • Leo_16
    Leo_16 Member Posts: 37
    Maybe

    Maybe Chris did those gurley headers. :)

    Leo
  • bill_97
    bill_97 Member Posts: 172
    Here are a few

    We like to keep the drops high and tight . 1 to 2 street ells are all the extra fittings you need at a minimum . I've installed enough steamers with a drop header to say they do work better than no drop at all .
  • Billy March_2
    Billy March_2 Member Posts: 57


    Here's a couple of boilers I'm in the process of building for a school. The boilers have two 4" feeds on either side and a 3" feed in the middle. I dropped all 3 feeds into a 6" drop that will eventually be piped to an 8" header.
  • Billy March_2
    Billy March_2 Member Posts: 57


    Here's a couple of boilers I'm in the process of building for a school. The boilers have two 4" feeds on either side and a 3" feed in the middle. I dropped all 3 feeds into a 6" drop that will eventually be piped to an 8" header.
  • Billy March_2
    Billy March_2 Member Posts: 57


    Here's a couple of boilers I'm in the process of building for a school. The boilers have two 4" feeds on either side and a 3" feed in the middle. I dropped all 3 feeds into a 6" drop that will eventually be piped to an 8" header.
  • Billy March_2
    Billy March_2 Member Posts: 57


    Here's a couple of boilers I'm in the process of building for a school. The boilers have two 4" feeds on either side and a 3" feed in the middle. I dropped all 3 feeds into a 6" drop that will eventually be piped to an 8" header.
  • Brad White_194
    Brad White_194 Member Posts: 74
    Nice work, Billy

    Where are the schools?

    Good work on the header fittings; noticing the outfeed above the OS&Y gate valve, it goes to welded pipe. What made the decision to use fittings on the header, rather than welded, may I ask?

    Reason I ask is, I have a pair of 1117's in design, replacing old (1925) Smith 60's in the Boston area. I am designing the four 4" feeds to go to 6", rise then drop into an 8" header with 8" outflow to the existing 10" header, all welded with flanges on the boilers. Granted larger, but all of those fittings seem like more work especially in that 6" size.

    One gentle observation/suggestion if I may? The clevis hangers- would you consider up-sizing them with saddles to allow continuous insulation or do you intend to over-insulate and cement the covering over the hangers?
  • Keith_35
    Keith_35 Member Posts: 1
    drop header

    Which manufacturers give direction as to when and whether they want to see a drop header? I've never seen instructions on how and when to build one in any manufacturer's literature that I've read. Although I've built them on MBS systems in commercial buildings, it was because they were detailed that way in the plans. I've installed a couple hundred residential boilers with a standard header, low ceilings, high ceilings, in the pit and on blocks, never with a drop. I always follow the instructions of each manufacturer and never have the slightest of problems.

    How do you know you need a drop header and what justifies installing it?

    Thanks
  • ScottMP
    ScottMP Member Posts: 5,883
    Ya

    your right, those are Gurley headers, thats vhat ve do !

    Come On do it, Do It NOW

    Arnold Milne

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  • bob young
    bob young Member Posts: 2,177
    drop headers

    although drop header technology has been around for a hundred years, it seems to just becomming popular for residential & lite commercial& probably due to this forum.we just never thought of it !! i know i am now an addict after doing without for over forty years. burnham now includes drop headers in their piping diagrams thanks to Glen Stanton ,their super rep. i would say its just a fielders choice mostly but definitely always a superior piping option. from me they usually get it whether they need it or not !! just a couple extra fittings !
  • bob young
    bob young Member Posts: 2,177
    that job is lovely, bro

    was wondering when you were going to bring in the welder !! ya musta used compound wrenches on the six inch !! nice.
  • Anna Conda
    Anna Conda Member Posts: 121


    The residential drop header started as a solution to the problem of achieving the manufacturer's recommended riser height while tying in to a low-hanging main. That's really the only situation where an installer may *need* to use a drop header rather than the manufacturer's suggested piping. The drop header is also easy to build and install. But the reason it's caught on so fast is because people have noticed an improvement in the quality of steam and steam heat, especially if they upsize the header.
  • Mad Dog_2
    Mad Dog_2 Member Posts: 7,485
    Hope this helps...

    sorry for your trouble...yeah how did you come across this yo-yo? This was a similar job. Mad Dog

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  • Boston_2
    Boston_2 Member Posts: 107
    Drop header

    Family member did the job, he has been in business for 20 years and has a very loyal following. He has done very well in the plumbing trade; we just found out to late that he doesn't know anything about steam. This is our first house, and we made mistake. Hopefully i can fix it!

    This wall is great, thank you all for your help and advice!
  • bob young
    bob young Member Posts: 2,177
    hey dawg

    HEY MATT, Is that a 22 * on the equalizer ?? where the hell ya dig that up ? drainage fitting? lol bob why the king valves. man , you go the extra mile. i love it. that customer must have a biiiig bankroll !!!
  • Billy March_2
    Billy March_2 Member Posts: 57
    thanks Brad

    Thanks for the compliment Brad. The school is in Brooklyn, NY. The reason I used screw pipe rather than welded on the header I built is because the manufacturers instructions recommended it. They said it would allow for better expansion than welded pipe.

    To be totally honest with you, this is the first job I have ever done this big. Its the first two pipe boiler I have ever replaced and the first time I'll be installing a receiver tank. That's why I digested the installation manual and I am trying to do EVERYTHING it suggests. Interestingly enough, the paperwork did not make any reference to a dropped header. I decided to do that on my own because of what I have learned on the wall.

    At first I thought to myself that I had bitten off MUCH more than I could chew. But the more I thought about it, the more confident I felt.

    I have two copies of LAOSH and any questions I might have about a steam job seem to answered in the pages of that steam bible.

    As far as the clevis hangers go, we have professional insulaters who take care of all the insulation.

    I will try to post more pics as the job progresses so all the experts on the wall can critique them and maybe make me a better future "dead man".

    PS.......even though it is my first time you don't have to be gentle with the comments............lemme have it
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