Header Size

Steam_Starter

I am in the process pf planning a repipe of my NBP.  Long story short, I messed it up on a rush installation a few years ago and now I am going to "make it right."  I had a few questions last fall but never got around to the job.   Now I am doing it....



My question...I have two risers and the manual suggests piping everything in 2" since I have three sections.  Saw recent posts about increasing header size to 3".  For economic reasons I want to stay at 2" throughout. (And I can use my hand threaders for 2" and not have to rent a machine to cut and thread 3" pipe.)



OK to leave header at 2" or should I bite the bullet and assemble a 3" header?



Thanks in advance...



JLG

icesailor

3" pipe:

For what it is worth, a good supply house should have pre-cut and threaded nipples and lengths that will allow you to make any size 3" header and not need to use a threader. It's only the nipples and fittings that need to be 3".

I can cut and thread any size nipple I want from 1" to 2" but I still buy pre-cut nipples because it is cheaper to buy them than take the time (money) to cut and thread them.

If the boiler tapping's are 2" and the system connections are 2", and you want a 3" header, it's only going to be nipples and fittings. Tee's. reducers and unions.

Consider it.

Rod

A Size Larger Header Pipe is a Good Idea

Hi- Keep in mind that in the race to achieve the lowest bid, the manufacturer’s boiler manuals spec out the minimum size piping that will function rather than the optimum sizes.  The idea of using a larger header pipe is that it slows down the velocity of the steam.  Slowing down the steam stream allows the water droplets, that have been carried up from the boiler,  to precipitate  out and collect at the bottom of the header pipe where they return to the boiler via the equalizer pipe.

- Rod  

crash2009

Bigger is better

But don't forget the rest...  http://www.heatinghelp.com/article/107/Steam-Heating/118/Steam-boiler-near-boiler-piping

Steam_Starter

Consensus Rules!

I guess I am going with a 3" header and ensuring that the rest is piped accordingly.  I omitted the fact that I am dropping it. 



Two more things...



A) Would using street el's effectively harm the I.D. of the 2" risers feeding into the header or should I just stay with close nipples?



Equalizer:  manual tells me pipe return into eq no more than 2" below waterline of boiler....anything else I need to know re: equalizer connection?



Thanks again all!



JLG

Paul48

questions

(A) Street els won't affect the ID, but adds another threaded connection, and is un-necessary. You'll be sweating every threaded connection, when you fire it up the first time anyway.

(B) The Hartford Loop ties in at 2" below the NWL

SWEI

street 90s

I'm envisioning a street 90 threaded into a standard 90 to create the U-turn feeding the drop header.  That configuration actually removes one threaded joint from the chain (as compared with two standard 90s joined by a close nipple.)

Steam_Starter

Yup....

Swei,



You got it...I am thinking come off the riser with an elbow, male end of street el into elbow then close nipple into another elbow (for the first riser) and close nipple into a tee (for the second riser.  Both the elbow and the tee make up portions of the header (with another tee for the riser into the system and then elbow into the eq.



Yep, I would eliminate two threaded connections this way....



JLG

crash2009

Swing joint

I haven't seen it all, but I have never seen a drop header built with street el's.  Could this possibly "take away" from the performance of a swing joint?

Steamhead

Here are two that I've done

http://www.heatinghelp.com/files/articles/1341/255.pdf



and the third photo in this one:



http://www.heatinghelp.com/files/articles/1348/127.pdf



These both pre-date All Steamed Up, Inc, but I'd have no problem doing this now. The fact that we used street ells doesn't affect the swing joint action, and it eliminates two threaded joints.

crash2009

Thanks

I'll add those to my collection.  So using street el's doesn't bother the performance of a swing joint. 

Paul48

OK

Didn't picture that.

Steam_Starter

Crash...

Whats with the bolted flange connection in the header?



Sharp looking but why?



JLG

crash2009

bolted flange on header

I don't know what is the purpose of the bolted flange is.  My guess is that it's not for looks.