Advice on converting single pipe steam to hot water

Dwight

I'm sure this has been asked many times in this forum, but I can't seem to find a thread that captures my situation; so I would truly appreciate everyone's understanding and advice.

We own a 2-storey double brick house, built in 1910 about 2,000 sq feet of living space.

It has a single pipe steam heating system. The boiler was replaced by a previous owner in 1997 with a natural gas unit, I believe 100,000 BTU.

The steam system has been working well since we moved in in 2006 and we have local company that are doing a good job of servicing the system.

However as we look forward, we will need to make a decision about the heating system. Here are some of the factors we need to consider:



We plan to stay in this house for another 10 to 15 years; so we want to make sure we can maximize the value of the property. Housing prices are rising in our neighbourhood and will likely continue to for the next 5 years.

We will have to replace the boiler one way or another before then.

It is difficult to find companies to service residential steam systems in our area.

Many people are nervous about steam heat, because it is so uncommon.

We have to remove and replace the asbestos insulation on our near-boiler piping.



With these things in mind we are considering replacing the steam system with a hot water system int he next few years. This would be an expensive proposition because the contractors we spoke to say we can't use our existing cast iron rads so would have to source used or refurbished units. (As many have said on this forum baseboard hot water units don't offer the same comfort as rads.) I'm also not sure the current number of rads will heat the house with hot water, so more rads might be required.



The contractor also says a new boiler is good for about 15 years; so we would be in line for a replacement about the time we are ready to sell.



So I have some questions. I'm not necessarily asking for technical replies, but more thoughts from life/work experience:

Does it make any sense to convert to hot water?

Does it make sense to replace the steam boiler and stick with the current steam system?



I would appreciate hearing any insights or experiences.

Thanks in advance.

nicholas bonham-carter

what to do

my advice would be to make your present system work as well as possible. with proper maintenance, the boiler should last as long as you will be in the house.

this includes at a minimum:

1.keeping the pressure low with a vaporstat, verified by an accurate gauge.

2.keeping a watchful eye on the water consumption, and if necessary fixing any leaks immediately.

3.maximising the main venting, so there will not be any short-cycling.

4.keeping the burner clean and properly adjusted.

if you were to change over to hot water, there would be a high cost to the running of the new supply/return pipes, as well as buying new radiaros and boiler. in addition, this is not a job to be started as winter is here. 

why not post some pictures of your boiler and it's piping so we can see any potential trouble spots which may need correction.--nbc

Hap_Hazzard

Where are you located?

If one of our pros is in your area, they can take care of your maintenance. If not, they might know of someone who can.



They can also weigh in on the advisability of a conversion. Usually they advise against it, and it's not just because they love steam heat; it's because they've either done them or seen the outcomes. There are a lot of problems to be overcome, and there's usually no net gain in replacing one system with another. It's much better to evaluate the specific problems in the current system--bad piping, bad boilers, lack of insulation, etc.