The lost art of Steam Heat

HVAC_Journeyman

HI



Wanted to start a thread on steam heat, ask some questions and share

some of the things I've learned ( hopefully correctly) about steam heat.



I've got an 1880's Grand Victorian which  I was pleasantly surprised to find

had a one pipe Steam boiler. We just bought the house this past fall, so I have been tinkering with it all winter. I've always wanted a house with steam heat, since I grew up in a house that had it.



One of the things I had to fix was the Hartford Loop. The plumber that installed the boiler

( it's about 4 years old)  connected to the equalizer line about 3 inches above the top of the boiler!!! I have it now about 2 inches below the normal site glass level, which is where Weil Mclain wanted it according to the unopened installation manual I found. That seemed to stop the flooded radiators we were experiencing.



I talked to a few people, and it's amazing of the answers I got. One guy actually told me that Hartford Loops are things of the past, and aren't needed with today's modern boilers. My argument back was that if it wasn't needed, the manufacturer wouldn't have spent the time to draw a nice picture with dimensions etc, and recommend it as well.



My next project this summer will be to fabricate a new header. The one that's in place now is a little undersized ( I think) which the installation manual confirms. Also, they didn't take the time to use eccentric reducers, so there's a few spots where water is pooling up. I'm going to weld it up on piece with unions on the bottom for the boiler connections and  unions to connect the equalizer and main . It's also uninsulated so

I think I'm losing some steam because of that.

Steamhead

I wouldn't weld the header

it needs to move a bit as the boiler sections expand and contract. Threaded fittings will do that, welded (or soldered) ones won't.



Pre-fabbing header parts using threaded pipe is easy on a Tri-Stand. Gordo and I do this all the time.



If your boiler has more than one riser to the header, then the best header is a drop header. Each riser to a drop header has two swing joints which make it much easier to put together, and it takes up expansion much easier. Go here to see some drop headers:



http://www.heatinghelp.com/article-categories/164/Steam-Piping

Unknown

I think this is what Frank means,,,

Except I`m using a tandem-vise for a short piece of 2-1/2".

Steamhead

That's the big boys' version

for those not familiar, the Tri-Stand is the smaller, tripod-mounted chain vise.