Another bites the dust

Randy-LeeBraman

Well started ripping this beauty out today.Was installed 6 years ago by one of the local Heating Experts.I'm only small time work on my own and i don't claim to know it all.But this guy just does so many people wrong.A friend who gives me lots of work during the slow time of my full time job bought this property last spring.Its a old general store with a full living quarters up stairs.I knew when we looked at the property before he bought it i came right out and told him that all the plumbing had to be redone and the boiler had to go and be repiped right.The owner told him they hadn't run the boiler in three years because it didn't heat well and was very expensive to run.I'm including a few pics before i tear it out
so that you can see some of the reasons it was just done wrong.
And on another note i'd like to say thank you to all the people of the wall i don't think ther's a day that goes by that i don't learn something new from the people here at the wall.And to Dan i'd like to say thank you for making this all
possible.
Randy-Lee Braman

Randy-LeeBraman

For some reason i had a problem posting theis other two picks but here they are.

Steamhead

Looks like it leaked there. The other sections look like many other oil-fired boilers we've had to spend the whole day cleaning.

IIRC that boiler is the same as the old Weil-McLain 68 series, which would soot up quickly unless you set it up right.

What are you replacing it with?

Paul48

That nice big slug of condensate in the bottom of the header would make for a fine firehose.

Randy-LeeBraman

Riser ,header and mains all 2 1/2, galv nipples used to tie into mains.Galv bushing used at return into boiler.Bushing used instead of a elbow at end of header instead of down turned elbow so condensate can't run down into equalizer.water feed hooked into where the drain for should be,never drained froze and broke.boiler is rusted right tight in the pin sections.At end of mains only single old dole vents and you can see by the rust marks they never closed.past owner said vents at radiators always spit water and the boilers a hundred sqft over size to the edr.

Randy-LeeBraman

Steam head because all the plumbing also had to be gutted he has given me a smaller budget on the boiler and the syatem.
Plan is the new boiler will be another wiliamson but a four section instead of the five that was there to better match the edr.
All near boiler will be corrected to dry the steam out and mains
will be insulated and new venting on them and rads,they will all be Gorton.The old boilers out and the near boiler piping stripped back to the mains .Tomorrow i have to cut back the returns past the freeze damage and build a new foundation for the boiler.
i'll post pics as it goes.
And Steamed thank you for being here on the wall.

Steamhead

Try to talk him into a MegaSteam. It's not that much more expensive, and he'll appreciate the increased efficiency, with oil still considerably more expensive per BTU than gas.

Randy-LeeBraman

Steamhead the only gas option in area is propane so thats why sticking with the oil.When we built his new office building across the street last year we went with propane,but that was new from the ground up.total radiant floor with a WM CGI boiler .
But i will talk to him about the MegaSteam,looks like we would have to go with a MST 513.

wcs5050

Agreed on megasteam.. Nice, dry steam, easier to clean passages with no pins to trap soot. Be careful of onboard lwco. It's a Cycleguard which shuts burner down during heat call to test water level, causing boiler to lose a lot of steam inertia. Replace with Safgard 450. Looks like existing piping was not well thought out. Your right to repipe. Add a flexible oil line at burner and the door can be opened without fuel line disconnect.

SWEI

That's an awful lot of rust for six years. Is this located near the ocean?

Steamhead

Randy-LeeBraman said:

Steamhead the only gas option in area is propane so thats why sticking with the oil.When we built his new office building across the street last year we went with propane,but that was new from the ground up.

I think you made the right choice to stay with oil. I've never liked propane that much, since it is heavier than air, making it settle to the floor rather than disperse the way natural gas does.

I would have suggested oil in the office building too, for the same reason. But many people just don't want oil......

Randy-LeeBraman

Steamhead we chose lp for that building because we also have a Navien water heater.One side is his office and the other is his girlfriends barber shop,in center is full kitchen,laundry room and handicapped bathroom.Walls are 4 inches of spray foam,under slab is 2 inch with thermo break at wall floor joints .two zones both set at 67 from initial start up,its a pretty comfy place on the 0 degree days we've been having.
If your ever in north east pa. and need a trim stop by the Outlaw Barber shop,Ashley will hook you up.