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9 units

jrbayside
jrbayside Member Posts: 81
in THE MAIN WALL
How difficult is it  to convert from steam to water heat?

Comments

  • lchmb
    lchmb Member Posts: 2,997
    more

    work than it's worth. IMHO...
  • nicholas bonham-carter
    nicholas bonham-carter Member Posts: 8,578
    have you performed the test yet?

    vent off--with assistant by the boiler, fire it and see if air is coming out of the vent tapping of the cold riser radiator.

    warning, steam coming out of the radiator will remove wallpaper in 15 minutes, or human skin in 5 minutes!--nbc
  • jrbayside
    jrbayside Member Posts: 81
    9 units

    I did fire it up to 75 to kick the boiler on and went to the long run which gets hot to within 5 feet of the tee to go vertical. I took off a 3/4 plug to see if any steam came out, it didint. Then i put a lighter over the hole and the  flame was sucked in. Im thinking of putting a large hoffman valve there and see if it helps. What do you think
  • BobC
    BobC Member Posts: 5,502
    Piping problem?

    It sounds like it's time to draw up a rough diagram of the system showing what parts work and which don't. Include rough pipe sizes and check the pitch of everything with a level, also show the location and types of vents. Old systems develop sags that are very effective at stopping steam and there is a good chance positive harm has been done by those who don't understand steam.



    Post that diagram and some photos of the piping (especially coming and going from the boiler) and we'll see what can be done to get the system working the way it's supposed to.



    If you do convert over to hot water be prepared to replace all the pipes and the radiators because that might be exactly what you have to do. To many start out thinking they can just covert the boiler and change the controls and then the real fun starts; what waas going to cost a few grand ends up costing tens of thousands.



    Bob
    Smith G8-3 with EZ Gas @ 90,000 BTU, Single pipe steam
    Vaporstat with a 12oz cut-out and 4oz cut-in
    3PSI gauge
  • jrbayside
    jrbayside Member Posts: 81
    9 units

    how do I draw on the website to shoe the piping and related stuff that goes with it?
  • Rod
    Rod Posts: 2,067
    Drawing

    Hi- The best thing to do is to drawing out a schematic of your system on a piece of paper and then scan it and upload it to this website. The website will except both JPG and PDF files.

    - Rod
  • STEVEusaPA
    STEVEusaPA Member Posts: 6,505
    microsoft paint

    is easy too.

    There was an error rendering this rich post.

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