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Here Comes the Heating Season!

Dave in QCA
Dave in QCA Member Posts: 1,788
in Strictly Steam
Let the steaming begin!



Nice to see all of the familiar faces returning after summer vacation.  Kinda like returning to school for the winter, no?  Good to see Rod (he never takes a vacation), nbc (never takes a vacation either), Crash, all the pros, and everyone else too!  Would be nice to see Jamie Hall back here, jpf#### too!



I'm looking forward to a some chilly weather. 

BTW, the house I live in has a great old cast iron hot water system.  It works great, but is soooo boring!  It gradually gets warm, gradually cools down, but it never makes a sound and there is virtually nothing to tinker with!  Ugh!
Dave in Quad Cities, America
Weil-McLain 680 with Riello 2-stage burner, December 2012. Firing rate=375MBH Low, 690MBH Hi.
System = Early Dunham 2-pipe Vacuo-Vapor (inlet and outlet both at bottom of radiators) Traps are Dunham #2 rebuilt w. Barnes-Jones Cage Units, Dunham-Bush 1E, Mepco 1E, and Armstrong TS-2. All valves haveTunstall orifices sized at 8 oz.
Current connected load EDR= 1,259 sq ft, Original system EDR = 2,100 sq ft Vaporstat, 13 oz cutout, 4 oz cutin - Temp. control Tekmar 279.
http://grandviewdavenport.com

Comments

  • crash2009
    crash2009 Member Posts: 1,484
    Hi Dave,

    Good to see you are still around.  Noticed you are taking bids.  Gonna yank out that water system and join the club :).  Must be boiler time over at The Best Home, or have you picked up another project?  Saw a nice Dunham Return System yesterday http://www.heatinghelp.com/forum-thread/142693/Excessive-water-demand Gerry and NBC nailed the traps, Steamhead Id'd the system.



    Not much of a winter last year, I got bored with steam and decided to get ready for the Digital Migration.  Been hangin out at TheGreenButton.  The guys over there have been showing me how to build a TV.  Fun stuff, but not easy.



    Catch ya later
  • Hap_Hazzard
    Hap_Hazzard Member Posts: 2,846
    Can ya build one

    that runs on steam? :-D
    Just another DIYer | King of Prussia, PA
    1983(?) Peerless G-561-W-S | 3" drop header, CG400-1090, VXT-24
  • Dave in QCA
    Dave in QCA Member Posts: 1,788
    edited October 2012
    Reminds me of steam typewriters!

    Many years ago in an issue of Mad magazine, there was an illustration of a lady sitting at a typrewriter.  Attached to the back of the typwriter was some very very large equipment, piping, boiler, and a huge smokestack reaching high into the sky and belching out thick black smoke.



    The caption read, "New steam powered typewritere reduces effort."



    Dunno why, but it struck me funny and I have remembered it for over 35 years.  Perhaps it is because I spent so much time around steam engines and steam tractors as a child.
    Dave in Quad Cities, America
    Weil-McLain 680 with Riello 2-stage burner, December 2012. Firing rate=375MBH Low, 690MBH Hi.
    System = Early Dunham 2-pipe Vacuo-Vapor (inlet and outlet both at bottom of radiators) Traps are Dunham #2 rebuilt w. Barnes-Jones Cage Units, Dunham-Bush 1E, Mepco 1E, and Armstrong TS-2. All valves haveTunstall orifices sized at 8 oz.
    Current connected load EDR= 1,259 sq ft, Original system EDR = 2,100 sq ft Vaporstat, 13 oz cutout, 4 oz cutin - Temp. control Tekmar 279.
    http://grandviewdavenport.com
  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 16,316
    Love the fall

    Most people think I'm nuts but I hate the summer.

    My system has already steamed a few times over the past 2 weeks.  We are suppose to see 31F as a low this Friday.

    Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.

  • Rod
    Rod Posts: 2,067
    edited October 2012
    How to tell If you are a Steam Man

    Thanks Chris, you just added a new one to my "You Might be a Steam Man" list

    - Rod

    You might be s Steam Man:

    1. If an antique radiator turns you on more than the latest Play Boy centerfold!



    2. If you use the term "condensate" for the liquid most people call water!



    3. If your nose wrinkles up when you see copper pipe!



    4. If the first thing you do when entering another person's home is look for radiators!



    5. If when looking for a house to buy, you ask the realtor if they have any with a vapor system!



    6. If, when visiting a home with steam radiators, you ask your host if you can see his basement!



    7. If your Christmas wish list includes a 60 “ Rigid pipe wrench!



    8. If you hate summer and can’t wait for cold weather!



    9. If you have a 32" plasma installed in the boiler room!



    10.If you have spare 4 inch pipe fittings in your basement!



    11.If when driving on a major highway, the next exit is an-inch-and-a-quarter miles away!



    12.If you use polished antique radiator vents as Christmas ornaments!



    13.If when you boil water for pasta on the stove, you grab a chair, a stop watch, and a

         notebook!
  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 16,316
    Uhoh

    When we were looking at houses, after looking at 4 of them I told the Realtor I wanted one with steam heat.  I got a weird look and the next time we went out I got what I asked for.



    :)

    Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.

  • Dave in QCA
    Dave in QCA Member Posts: 1,788
    Guilty!

    Yes, Guilty as charged.
    Dave in Quad Cities, America
    Weil-McLain 680 with Riello 2-stage burner, December 2012. Firing rate=375MBH Low, 690MBH Hi.
    System = Early Dunham 2-pipe Vacuo-Vapor (inlet and outlet both at bottom of radiators) Traps are Dunham #2 rebuilt w. Barnes-Jones Cage Units, Dunham-Bush 1E, Mepco 1E, and Armstrong TS-2. All valves haveTunstall orifices sized at 8 oz.
    Current connected load EDR= 1,259 sq ft, Original system EDR = 2,100 sq ft Vaporstat, 13 oz cutout, 4 oz cutin - Temp. control Tekmar 279.
    http://grandviewdavenport.com
  • crash2009
    crash2009 Member Posts: 1,484
    Xmas wish list

    9. You have a 32" plasma installed in the boiler room
  • Dave in QCA
    Dave in QCA Member Posts: 1,788
    I meant guilty of "most" of the list.

    Ok, I don't have a plasma TV in the boiler room, but it sure sounds like a good idea!  I am guilty of many buy not all of the items on the list.  I sure try to get a look in the basement of any house that has radiators!  I have also been accused of spending so much time on this website that I must enjoy it as much as porn, to which I immediately stated, "no, it's not THAT good!"  Ha Ha!



    But it does keep my mind busy, and I enjoy both learning and teaching.
    Dave in Quad Cities, America
    Weil-McLain 680 with Riello 2-stage burner, December 2012. Firing rate=375MBH Low, 690MBH Hi.
    System = Early Dunham 2-pipe Vacuo-Vapor (inlet and outlet both at bottom of radiators) Traps are Dunham #2 rebuilt w. Barnes-Jones Cage Units, Dunham-Bush 1E, Mepco 1E, and Armstrong TS-2. All valves haveTunstall orifices sized at 8 oz.
    Current connected load EDR= 1,259 sq ft, Original system EDR = 2,100 sq ft Vaporstat, 13 oz cutout, 4 oz cutin - Temp. control Tekmar 279.
    http://grandviewdavenport.com
  • JStar
    JStar Member Posts: 2,752
    Heating man

    10. When driving on a major highway, the next exit is an-inch-and-a-quarter miles away.
  • JStar
    JStar Member Posts: 2,752
    Heat

    11. When you boil water for pasta on the stove, you grab a chair, a stop watch, and a notebook.
  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 16,316
    boiling water

    You know the other day I did this and made a mistake, I guess.



    I put the water on and when it started boiling I turned the burner down to low because I was on the phone and then I came back and it had stopped boiling, so I turned the burner back up.



    Well, after quite  awhile of it not boiling I became suspicious.  I moved the pot a little and it boiled some and stopped.  I had heard about this before, but never saw it before.

    I then dumped the pasta into it and it exploded all over the stove. :)



    I'd still like to know what exactly causes that, and does it actually ever happen in a steam boiler?

    Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.

  • Alan (California Radiant) Forbes
    Alan (California Radiant) Forbes Member Posts: 4,214
    Before it gets busy

    It's time for our annual trip to Utah.  We leave in 10 days to a place where I can clear my head.
    8.33 lbs./gal. x 60 min./hr. x 20°ΔT = 10,000 BTU's/hour

    Two btu per sq ft for degree difference for a slab
  • Bio
    Bio Member Posts: 278
    Radiator hunt

    14. When you are the only one chasing radiators in your house
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