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Stream Boiler

Lee1890
Lee1890 Member Posts: 1
in THE MAIN WALL
Need Help! What is the best way to run a natural gas fired steam boiler in the winter? One member of our Non-profit board has been turning the boiler on in the morning for several hours, heating the building, then off until the afternoon, on for 2 hours and off by 4:30. The boiler is off for the rest of the night and/or weekend. We have tried to tell him this is a bad way to run a boiler, but he insist this is the only way to save money and energy. building gets down to 40 degrees during the nights and colder on the weekends. the Building was built in the 1890 and the walls, floors, and ceilings are 2 feet thick brick, hollow core ceramic brick, and plaster. We say it is bad for the boiler, the building, the pipes and the bills, to run the boiler as an on/off heater. Other problems occurring is flooding of the boilers holding tank and spitting water from the air release valves on the radiators. Boilers are 4 years old, 350,000 btu units. Help!

Comments

  • gerry gill
    gerry gill Member Posts: 3,078
    in my opinion

    I would recommend a device such as Tekmar's 279 steam control, or Heat-timer Company's version to run the boiler.. We've had really good luck with Tekmars unit and i know another good steam guy by me who loves the Heat-timer unit, altho i have no experience with that brand, but i believe it is even more elaborate in its abilities.
    gwgillplumbingandheating.com
    Serving Cleveland's eastern suburbs from Cleveland Heights down to Cuyahoga Falls.

  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Re: Steam Boiler

    Hi Lee-  This  Heating Help webpage has just been updated with a new format so it may take a few days to get some replies to your question. There are a lot of excellent "steam pros" who read these pages so you might want to mention where you live so possibly a steam pro near you might  contact you.  You might also mention some more information like the size of the building, number of units and whether your system is one or two pipe steam etc..



    The way your system is being operated now is rather ..well ..nuts!  It would be similar to driving to work by accelerating to 50 mph, putting the transmission in neutral and turning the key off and coasting to a stop and then repeating the cycle over and over until you reached your destination...not very efficient or comfortable!



    Your best bet would be to get a steam pro to look at your system, have him tune it up and as Gerry Gill (who is a top Steam Pro) mentioned, look into having an automatic control  like the Tekmar 279 (or Heat Timer) installed.  These are sophisticated computer`controls and will automatically run your steam system for maximum comfort and efficiency.

    You might also want to increase your own knowledge of steam heating by reading the excellent articles available on this website - look under "Resources" at the top of this page. I've found them very helpful.

    - Rod
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