Conversion Steam to Water System???

Casinojunkie

Well here in Cedar Rapids, IA flooding, has occured, and sent me a blow.
The company that was supplying me with district steam are not sure when (or if) they will be able to supply me with steam this heating season. If they can, their price is going to be 4&1/2 times pre flood cost. So I am looking into having a contractor install a new enegy efficient boiler. House built in 1918, 2,000 sf, walls/ceiling insulated, new vinyl replacement windows. Have 6 radiators, 5 baseboard and 3 thin wall units in place now. What is the pros and cons of converting to hot water as opposed to staying with steam. Thanks in advance for your replys.

Steamhead (in transit)

That's risky enough

that our company does not recommend or perform such a conversion, and will not work on a system someone else has converted. We don't need the liability.

Two big problems are the old pipes and radiators can leak under the increased pressure that hot-water needs, and the existing radiation may not have enough capacity to do the job with hot-water.

For an in-depth discussion, go here:

http://www.heatinghelp.com/newsletter.cfm?Id=22

There are some nice steam boilers out there now, like the Smith G-8 which can burn either oil or gas. You don't need to do a risky conversion or an expensive, disruptive tear-out and repiping to get a well-operating system.

"Steamhead"

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