Old vapour system

5019

I have come across this old vapour system that needs a boiler replacement.  The existing boiler is not original to the system.  The replacement boiler is 40 years old, but the system is about 110 years old.  What is this device?  It has three dry returns into the top.

jpf321

maybe something like this....

actually .. i think it's this .. an automatic-pressure-regulator (http://screencast.com/t/YTMzNDU2) .. from PDF page 139 [url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PHhEAAAAMAAJ&oe=UTF-8]http://books.google.com/books?id=PHhEAAAAMAAJ&oe=UTF-8





i also found this .. found in Baldwin's Steam Heating for Buildings book .. PDF pg 126 ..

http://screencast.com/t/MDNhOTc5OWQt .. but I'm pretty sure this ain't it.



i think Dan spoke about this last night in his school .. but I don't remember exactly what he said about it... i remember him mentioning "bowling ball" copper float .. he said so much ..



below is the plaintext of the pages regarding "Vapor System" which reference this device ..





Vapor

Systems. Vapor heating is distinguished from vacuum heating, in that

the steam pressure carried in the supply piping is slightly above that

of the atmosphere, whereas in the latter system it is below atmospheric

pressure. Low-pressure steam, vapor, and a vacuum are merely relative

terms when applied to heating, the first applying to pressures of 1 to

5 pounds; the second to pressures of 1 to 5 ounces, and the last to any

pressure below atmospheric.



The system illustrated in Figs. 87, 88, 89 and 90

commonly operates under a pressure of 1 to 2 ounces. Temperature

regulation is secured by means of a fractional or graduated valve on

the supply end of the radiator, by means of which the amount of vapor

admitted











Fig. 87 Fig. 88



can be regulated to suit the requirements. A

sectional view of this valve is shown in Fig. 87. At the return end of

the radiator is a water seal (see Fig. 88), which balances any slight

difference in pressure between the radiator and the return main when

the supply valve is partially closed. One of the important features in

this system of heating is the method of automatically maintaining the

lowsteam pressure under which it operates. Figs. 89 and 90 are

sectional views through a "receiver," which is placed at the side of

the boiler. The main return from the radiators enters at the top of

receiver through a water seal (see Fig. 89) and passes into the

boiler through the return outlet at the bottom, the connecting pipe entering below the water line.















The air passes from the radiators with the

condensation and is carried off through a special pipe connecting with

the top of the receiver just above the water seal. This pipe first

enters a condensing coil for removing any vapor which may be present,

and is then usually connected with a chimney flue. The condensation

which forms in the coil returns to the receiver by gravity.



The action of the automatic-pressure regulator is easily explained











by reference to Figs. 89 and 90. The receiver is

open to the atmosphere and there is a free passage for the water to

flow between the receiver and boiler in either direction through the

return outlet at the bottom as indicated in the cut.



The slight steam pressure in the radiators and

piping is maintained by the water seal at the top of the receiver. When

the fire becomes too hot and the steam pressure rises above the point

for which the regulator is set, water from the boiler backs into the

receiver, the latter being at all times under atmospheric pressure. Any

rise of the water level in the receiver lifts the copper float, and by

means of connecting chains closes the drafts to the furnace.















A drop in pressure below

the normal has the opposite effect and opens the drafts. A safety

device for preventing the water from being forced out of the boiler and

overflowing from the top of the receiver, if the ash-pit doors should

happen to be left open, is shown in Fig. 90.



Should the float rise to a sufficient height to

lift the "adjusting rod" the relief valve will be opened and steam

admitted to the top of the receiver, thus relieving the excess of

pressure in the boiler and allowing the water to flow back from the

receiver through the return outlet.

Steamhead

It probably is an old pressure regulator

but my question is, with three dry returns ending in that unit, how does the air get out? Maybe one of those "dry returns" goes into the chimney thru a condensing radiator?



Also, did you find a name on that regulator or on any of the original valves or traps in that system? This would help us ID it.



Where is this job located?

5019

Old Vapor System - what next?

Thanks for the replies, but I still have more questions.  There is no name on this water column anywhere. It is marked on the bottom front with the letters"OZ." Does this mean ounces?  Above that lettering, there are demarkations labeled 1-9.  There is also a ½" tapping below the letters "OZ" and what appears to be a support bracket of some type at the top of the casting and then a T with a ½" plug facing forward in the center dry return.  I believe that this was for a gauge glass to mark the level in that water column.  I cannot find any way of venting air from the system. 

So my question is, how does this water column relate to the water level in the boiler? The water level that I am proposing to my client will be a different height than the current water level in the existing boiler.  Also, what are the implications for replacing this boiler? 

Additionally, this is the piping arrangement at the end of supply and return mains - approximately 40' from the boiler.

5019

Here is the picture in the correct orientation

Sorry, In my last post, the picutre was not in the correct orientation.  Here it is again.

Jamie Hall

Bet you're right

and I'll bet that one of those "dry returns" is actually the air line to a condensor, and thence to the chimney -- and the big cylinder looks remarkably to me like the draft regulator which was used on Broomell systems in the bad old days of coal.  Could it be?