Adding a new line to existing steam system

Ken Williams

I wanted to get some heat to my garage (attached to house) and wondered if I could tap in to my existing steam line without degrading the level of heat / efficiency going to the existing radiators in the home. Shoud I look at hot water or other solutions?

Brad White_203

It has been done

but takes a full understanding of how the current system is piped. Elevations, pipe size and pitch, carrying capacity of the piping, etc. It is very easy to mess up a system that otherwise works fine.

Using below the waterline HW via a plate exchanger with glycol on the garage side is probably a safer bet. I am not a huge fan of glycol but it has it's place.

If you go direct to the boiler with HW and no dis-association between the systems, then you have a freeze and burst, you lose both your garage and house heat.

My $0.02

Steamhead (in transit)

This was done frequently in the old days

before cars had antifreeze. I still see a lot of these installations- the steam ones still work, but the hot-water ones have mostly frozen and burst.

The problem with using a hot-water loop with antifreeze is that you have to maintain it, just like in your car. If the antifreeze solution weakens, it can still freeze up.

Get a copy of "The Lost Art of Steam Heating" if you don't already have it. There you will find charts showing how much capacity steam pipes have. If you're within range and can get proper pitch, go for it!

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