HELP Lodge has cracked boiler

KGM

Looking for some help for our lodge with replacing our boiler. Our building is 90 years old, so is the system. There has been to many cooks in this boiler room , and on the system.



We had a peerless 211 1mil. Btu. We need to replace it . At this time we would like to find someone with knowledge of steam to survey the entire system



Not having much luck finding a good steam man



Please help me find one



Thanks

SWEI

Where are you located?

We may know someone who can help.

nicholas bonham-carter

Cracked 211a

Don't forget to post some pictures of the piping around the boiler, in case faulty piping contributed to the failure. Is this 1-pipe or 2-pipe? How old is this boiler? How did it fail-dry-firing, corrosion from too much makeup water due to leaks?

The new boiler must be sized from the addition of the EDR of all the radiators, so do not assume the present boiler is the correct size!

If it is the correct size (unusual), then the sections could be replaced, but any defects in the piping must be corrected, or you will be doing this regularly!--NBC

KGM

MORE information

This is a two pipe system

It is a three story building

We have the lower floor radiators below water level of operating boiler

Cannot fix old boiler , have already removed it



Old boiler was 1,050 ,ooo btu, 650,000 per hour. Have not ordered new



By rad count need is 502,000 . How much do we add for pipe? Some say 20%. Some say 30%



One source told me that you need to look at efficiency of the boiler. If it is a million and 79% eff. Then you are only working with 790,000



Is it the total need and gross BTU's the boiler can do or are you looking at per hour?

BobC

Ignore the btu rating

Steam boilers are best sized by EDR, you match the boiler sq ft of steam rating to the radiator EDR (sq ft of radiation) in most cases.



You stated the radiators totaled up to 502,000 so am I correct in assuming you have about 2100 sq ft of radiation? If so you would start by looking at boilers that were rated for 2100 sq ft of steam, that number assumes a pickup factor of 30%. In some cases you might have to go a bit larger to account for a lack of mains insulation but with fuel costs these days I can't understand whay anybody would not insulate the steam mains and near boiler piping.



It might be better to think about using a modulating burner on a single boiler or better yet use two boilers that could be staged so you would not have to be firing at a high rate all the time. In either case you need to find a good steam pro so the design and installation is done correctly, saving a few dollars on the install almost always garrantees high ongoing fuel bills and poor performance.



Bob

nicholas bonham-carter

Sizing a boiler

Can you tell us the EDR of the radiators served by steam above the waterline, and then those that use a hot water loop below the waterline of the boiler?

Apart from whatever problems killed the boiler, was the system keeping the building warm?

Don't forget to use the find a contractor button to see if a qualified pro is near you (where are you?).--NBC