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Is the Iron Fireman system regional?

justinnj
justinnj Member Posts: 6
in Strictly Steam
All, sorry to be a pain, but you guys are freaking amazing in your knowledge. My wife I have purchased a home with a terrible 1 pipe system. I've read three of Dan's books, and I am an engineer.

I've come to the conclusion that most of our mains need to be replaced. This is due to (5) leaks and assumed clogs.

I'm quite keen to stick with steam. A steam mini-tube system sounds amazing for this application, however, we don't intend to stay in this house beyond approx 5 yrs from now.

So, my main concern is if we replace the existing 1 pipe system with a mini-pipe system, are we going to get demolished in the home inspection phase of the sale because no one in the northeast knows of the select-temp system? i.e is it just an Ohio thing?

Comments

  • nicholas bonham-carter
    nicholas bonham-carter Member Posts: 8,578
    I think it is unlikely that your supply pipes would be clogged to the point of needing replacement,although a few leaks may be easily repaired.
    Post some pictures of the system, from boiler to radiators, and let's start with the diagnosis.--NBC
  • JStar
    JStar Member Posts: 2,752
    You might not realize the financial return by replacing the whole system, no matter how you do it. However, it may be possible to retrofit the system into some form a two-pipe/vapor that would make sense and save money over those next 5 years.
  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 24,528
    Hold on a bit here. As NBC commented, let's find out what you have and what might be wrong with it first, before ripping it all out! It is rare for steam mains to have clogs. It could happen, I'll grant -- anything is possible -- but it's not common. It is more common for them to have sags which can trap water and behave a little like clogs.

    What are the symptoms which lead you to suspect you have clogs in the steam lines?

    Leaks are another matter. There it depends somewhat on what is leaking and where. So a further description of that might be in order.

    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
  • Eastman
    Eastman Member Posts: 927
    Do you have some pictures of the system?
  • gerry gill
    gerry gill Member Posts: 3,078
    Shouldn't be that hard to switch your one pipe into a two pipe mini.
    gwgillplumbingandheating.com
    Serving Cleveland's eastern suburbs from Cleveland Heights down to Cuyahoga Falls.

  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 16,231
    Where in NJ are you?
    And who inspected the system and said it had clogged mains?
    Single pipe quasi-vapor system. Typical operating pressure 0.14 - 0.43 oz. EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Control for Residential Steam boilers. Rectorseal Steamaster water treatment

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