What's Wrong With These Pictures?

saikosis

Here are some pictures of my near-boiler piping. Based on a couple days of research, I see a few problems already. I'm sure someone more experienced will notice even more.



First up, the risers and the header (I think it's the header) are copper. The riser in the back leaks a little bit of water sometimes. After reading a little about this stuff, now I know why. There's also a lot of soldered joints in the risers. Even I know that can't be good.



Second, you can see that the risers connect to a header AND to a copper pipe that goes directly to one of my radiators. It can't be good to tap into the header like that, can it? Also, there is no vent on that line at all. That means I have to rely on the vent at the radiator to let out the air. This particular radiator gurgles and spits like a maniac.



Third, there are lot of tee joints. Is that bad?



Finally, the only two main vents are right next to each other. That seems odd to me, but I'm new to this.



What do other people see?

Rod

Bad Boiler Piping

Hi- I'm not quite sure where to start. Do you have the boiler's Installation manual? If not give us the make and model number and possibly we can find one for you. This info should be on a placard on the boiler, The installer obviously didn't read or follow the manufacturers installation instructions.  Configuring the boiler piping correctly is critical to the proper operation of the boiler. Here's a link to a good video on the importance of proper boiler piping:  http://www.heatinghelp.com/article/107/Steam-Heating/118/Steam-boiler-near-boiler-piping

Basically from what I can see your whole boiler near piping needs to be redone, and done in properly sized black pipe.



On the two main vents- It's hard to tell from the close up photo how and where they lead but generally the two return pipes should not join until they are well below the boiler's water line level.

- Rod

saikosis

I Was Afraid You'd Say That

It's a Utica SFH4150ST. I do have the manual, but the boiler is getting replaced soon anyway because I'm switching from oil to gas. I was hoping the old pipes were okay and that just the new copper stuff was bad. Can anyone recommend a good steam guy in Southeastern Massachusetts (or Rhode Island)? I've tried contacting a few of them from the Find a Contractor page, but either haven't heard back, they aren't motivated enough to set up a proper appointment, or they don't service my area. I talked to a local heating contractor today and he said a few of the right things (like that he wouldn't have used all that copper), but I'd really like to find someone who knows a lot about this stuff and can work with me to resolve the issues.

Steamhead

We've converted those boilers to gas

using Carlin EZ-Gas burners. They run nicely, and are more efficient than the usual atmospheric gas steamers.



The installer obviously never read the manual. That particular boiler requires a 2-1/2" header. With a proper header and an EZ-Gas, you won't need to buy a whole new boiler.

saikosis

The Vents

I'll assume the horizontal copper pipe is the header and the rusted horizontal pipe at the top is the main. The main does a loop around three walls (the exterior walls) of half of the basement. At the end of that loop is the top vent. It has a 90 degree bend down and then another 90 degree bend horizontal. That's where the second, lower vent is. The lower vent is on a four-way joint: one up to the lower vent, one through the elbows to the upper vent, one down through another 90 degree elbow to the small black pipe that runs under the stairs and back to the right side of the boiler, and one through the wall to the other side of the house. On the other side of the house, the piping runs around the exterior walls. There are no vents on that side.

saikosis

Contractors Won't Do It

The contractor today said he wouldn't do the conversion because Utica says it isn't supported. He's the only one who has been to the house and seen the system. The only contractor from this site who has gotten back to me said he wouldn't do it because it wasn't safe. I'm having a really hard time getting him to get back to me to set up an appointment.



Another local guy told me over the phone he'd do the conversion without even asking anything about the boiler. He even gave me a ballpark price without knowing anything about the system at all! When I asked if he needed the model number, he said it didn't matter because they're all the same.



I'm getting a lot of great information here but I'm having trouble translating it to the real world because I haven't found the right contractor yet.