New house old heating system

phoneguy

Bought a home which was built in 1948 and has a steam system.  Got your Book We Got Steam Heat?  and has been a lot of help. I notice the closed nipple on the boiler is 19 inches above the water line is this a problem?

nicholas bonham-carter

closed nipple ?

is this 1 or 2 pipe steam, and are you refering to the steame supply header on top of the boiler? if so, generally there should be 24 in. from waterline to header. if it was an old coal boiler, then the capacious steam chest on top of the warterline enabled the steam to be "dry" when it made its way out to the system.

some pics would be helpful. things to check would be :

1. correct low pressure-under 12 ounces.

2.adequate main line venting-usually on returns, unless it is counterflow-1 pipe-steam.

3.clean, well adjusted burner.

nbc

phoneguy

Pictures from steam unit and hartford loop to high?

Thanks Hope these pictures help? I feel when they install this unit in 1992 they left the pipes where they are. I found the old steam unit in the back of the yard when I  tilled for a garden,  1 inch slate panels 3 1/2 by 4 feet and was able to used 3 of them for the garden as a walk way. the other panels where broken .

phoneguy

one pipe steam

as to your last ? it a one pipe system

nicholas bonham-carter

good use for an old boiler!!

why not measure the height of the hartford loop, as it looks high. it should be about 2 in. below the normal waterline level, and the lowest part of the steam piping [usually dry return] should be 24 in. above that waterline as well.

the pressure gauge should probably be vertical on the same pigtail [cleaned out] as the pressuretrol, to protect it from steam and crud. as it is probably a 30 psi gauge, it should remain for code requirements, even though it will be useless for measuring the low pressures these systems thrive on. a 0-2 psi gauge would be a big asset [gaugestore.com] also on the same pigtail.

i am surprised that slate would have withstood the heat, but i am glad they are now "back in service" in your garden!-nbc