I'll have the plumber do it.

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

So said the general contractor when a wall was removed and the steam supply and condensate return had to be re-routed.  "Just make sure they know what they're doing", I said.  A few weeks later, the contractor called me back to turn on the boiler before they closed up the wall.



The attached photo shows what the plumbers did and I did a double-take when I saw the copper and then looked closer to see the 3/4" gravity return going uphill. The contractor wants to know what will happen if left in place since he and the owner figures the system will only last another 10 or 20 years.



Your comments?

icesailor

What will happen:

It ought to pound like hell for 10 to 20 years.

You can't fix stupid.

But you can fix a lack of knowledge. Read up and ask others.

That's the competition.

ttekushan_3

Sheesh.

I've insinuated myself into such situations with the full expectation that steam piping will be screwed up without vapor-head input. I guess sometimes my expectations are met!



Like icesailor says, it will bang for 20 years. Or if the pressure is actually as low as it should be, it won't heat at all.



One facility where I've consulted and performed "error correction" on a large steam heating system has just this sort of thing all over the place. And yes, it's been banging since the '70's. At least with that building we have a very handy visual aid for the trouble spots -- galvanized piping. Everywhere there's a screw-up, it was done in galvanized. It must have been the same crew at about the same time. It's amazing how uniformly they knuckleheaded everything they touched! And they did it over, and over, and over. . .

Steamhead

That is not acceptable

if the contractor expects to get paid, he better get it fixed.