Slow but sure...

ceikey

Well, I've been wrenching away here in Howell, MI. I made some fairly major decisions to modify my system so that I could get it working properly. I had 3 rads that were 2-pipe and the rest are 1-pipe. The 2-pipes had no traps or orifices so the steam was getting into the dry return.



I decided to change the 2-pipes to 1-pipe. Surprisingly I was able to get the returns off and plug the rads. I put Hoffman 1A adjustables on them also. Then I removed the pipe coil I had in the basement (Remember that?) and connected the main into the dry return. The second picture shows where the pipe coil used to be. Then I also moved my main vent back 15" from the dry return drip and put a G2 vent on. I also had to tweak the pitch of the dry retun from the boiler all the way out to the end. I got pretty lucky getting the pipes and rads apart without breaking any pipes.



Next step....still have a pitch issue at the end of the main where it turns 90 deg and continues to the last 2 risers. I'm getting hammer there. I did the other work myself, but I have a contractor coming tomorrow to finish this. So we're going to remove the 3 nearby risers and try to get the main pitched back to the boiler, then recut the risers shorter. I'm crossing my fingers. Last thing is to drip the riser that goes to 2 second floor rads into the dry return with a loop seal (like pg 88 in the lost art). Then finally I will be able to insulate and tweak the venting. Wish me luck and thanks to everyone that has given me advice along the way. With your help and the lost art book I think I have pieced together a pretty good system. Any last minute words of wisdom before 7:30am when we start?



-Chris

ceikey

All done....

Well we got the pitch corrected on the main and put the loop seal in to drip the 2nd floor rad riser into the dry return. Pics are below. Everything looks pretty good now. I ran the heat once to see if there were any major issues and it ran quietly. First time since I've lived here. I can't wait to see how it is running in a few days and after that loop seal fills up with condensate. Of course the boiler water is pretty dirty again with all the work knocking stuff loose. I'll have to clean it in a couple days after it runs a bit. Insulation is next.....

-Chris