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Mystery Pipes? ...or just a dumb question?

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Tekton8
Tekton8 Member Posts: 2
in THE MAIN WALL
Need some help identifying the uncapped black pipes exiting this boiler from the front and angling toward the floor (Please see photos). This steam unit (and house) has been drained and winterized and I believe it has an integral tankless domestic water heater system. Are these pipes part of the domestic hot water system that was partially dismantled as part of the winterization? I am making an offer to buy the house but wanted to get a jump on estimating costs to repair.

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  • nicholas bonham-carter
    nicholas bonham-carter Member Posts: 8,576
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    Two open pipes

    They are the drain from the low water cut off, and from the skimming port.

    The presence of the skimming port is a very good sign, as it is needed to clean all the oils out of a newly installed boiler.

    Even more important would be the layout, and installation of the steam supply pipes above the boiler. Hopefully, if the installer knew of the necessity of the skimming port, he knew how to follow the boiler maker's installation instructions. A picture of those would be useful to post here.--NBC
  • Tekton8
    Tekton8 Member Posts: 2
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    more photos

    Thanks for the quick reply. I've attached all the photos I have at the moment, hopefully they are sufficient.
  • JStar
    JStar Member Posts: 2,752
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    Steam

    It's incredibly rare to see but that system actually looks like it was installed correctly. Congratulations. You picked a winner.
  • bill nye_3
    bill nye_3 Member Posts: 307
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    Looks good

    Let me recommend a book....



    http://www.heatinghelp.com/products/Steam-Heating-Books/25/61/We-Got-Steam-Heat-A-Homeowners-Guide-to-Peaceful-Coexistence
  • SWEI
    SWEI Member Posts: 7,356
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    I believe this may be the first

    at least during my short tenure here.
  • BobC
    BobC Member Posts: 5,478
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    Looks pretty good from here

    In the 5th picture I see a main air vent that has to let all the air in the pipes out before the steam can fill them. It's to small and could be costing you fuel - at $4 a gallon you don't want to waste it.



    How long is that steam main and what size pipe is it?



    Bob
    Smith G8-3 with EZ Gas @ 90,000 BTU, Single pipe steam
    Vaporstat with a 12oz cut-out and 4oz cut-in
    3PSI gauge
  • Ironman
    Ironman Member Posts: 7,376
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    Tankless Coil

    You do have a tankless coil. It's on the left side of the boiler in the 3rd pic. You would save yourself a lot of dough by installing an indirect water heater in place of that setup.
    Bob Boan
    You can choose to do what you want, but you cannot choose the consequences.
  • icesailor
    icesailor Member Posts: 7,265
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    Internal Tankless:

    It may be true that a indirect might be better.

    However, the house is for sale, the person asked what we thought of the installation and what were the pipes.

    In my personal opinion of what I see of the boiler, it was thoughtfully installed. Better than most we see here.

    There may be other things about this house that would get my fingers wrapped around my pocket worry stone (toilets falling through floors, water stains on ceilings below roofs or tubs, etc). The boiler and the heating system wouldn't cause my fingers to twirl in worry.

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