Latest Steam Boiler Install

JStar

Replaced an old WM oil-fired boiler with a new Peerless 64-10 in Montclair, NJ. The old boiler was piped correctly, but only had a 3" header, trying to move 515MBTUH+. We installed a 5" drop header with two 3" boiler risers. Added a Vaporstat and 2-stage GCV. The system is a mix of one-pipe radiators throughout the house, and two-pipe indirect heaters in the basement. The wet returns were 30" high off the floor, so we kept our Gifford Loop above that level to keep them wet. The old boiler sections looked like they were never cleaned, and the soot had turned into concrete. Of course, the service tags were always filled out.

JStar

And the new boiler.

Steamhead

What was the old one- 76 or 78 series maybe?

SWEI

Nice work (as usual)!

JStar

Steamhead said:

What was the old one- 76 or 78 series maybe?

480. Which WM made from 2002-present. That's a lot newer than I thought. The inside looked like it had been neglected for decades.

Steamhead

Those 80-series boilers run nicely with gas burners. But like anything, if they're neglected enough, they won't last. And the 4-80 requires a minimum 4-inch header- only the 3-80 can get away with a 3-incher.

Nice work.

JStar

We discussed the option of converting the existing boiler to gas, but the homeowner wanted to replace everything. Good thing, I suppose, from the way it looked on the inside. I don't think it would be too much longer before the sections would start to deteriorate and leak.

RobG

How many times did you trip over that wet return running across that entryway?

JStar

Luckly, that was not our entrance. Instead the basement doors were about 50 ft away, around two corners, and through a doorway where an indirect heater had previously fallen off its hangers on the ceiling.

RobG

JStar said:

Luckly, that was not our entrance. Instead the basement doors were about 50 ft away, around two corners, and through a doorway where an indirect heater had previously fallen off its hangers on the ceiling.

Sounds like fun!

At least it wasn't a hoarders house by the looks of it.

JStar

Of course, the bigger the boiler, the further the boiler room is from the basement entrance, and the more narrow the stairway is.

RobG

JStar said:

Of course, the bigger the boiler, the further the boiler room is from the basement entrance, and the more narrow the stairway is.

Do you have a company you use to replace rickety stairs or do you leave that to the client? I've got a carpenter that I will refer the HO to but it is between them and him. Some of those old stairs I will refuse to bring a boiler up nor down.

JStar

We don't at the moment. Sometimes we'll offer a price to sure up the stairs ourselves since we do some handyman style work. I had an instance at another company where my helper convinced me that he could handle the top of the hand truck. We got to the first landing on the stairs, and the boiler dropped straight through to the floor. I don't even remember how I jumped out of the way.

JUGHNE

Another great looking job!
Looking at the first new boiler picture, the steam main on the left appears to be counterflow for the first 3-4' before the 90. How far could that go before turning into parallel flow without causing a problem?

Not being critical, just that there are a couple of situations I know of that might get re-piped in the future and there is about that horizontal distance before reaching the high point of the steam mains. They are parallel flow for the rest of the main. Reusing that existing portion of main would save a lot of grief and probably pain.
Thanks.

JStar

My rule is that the pitch can go either way as long as it's before the first radiator run-out.

JUGHNE

Understood; no radiator condensate should flow back into the header, only steam main drip and that should be very little especially if the main is insulated.

So consider that as an extension of the vertical main riser off of the header?? Just don't leave it flat to pool water.

See why you should stay in the field to direct/advise newbies like me? I would have pulled both arms out of the sockets and probably cut up floor joists trying to "correct" that slope.

Thanks again.

Dave Stroman

Could you tell be about the 2 stage gas valve. My local Peerless rep is telling me it should not be done on this boiler. Does it have 2 gas trains?

Paul48

JStar.........Why is the Hartford loop so high?

Steamhead

Paul48 said:

JStar.........Why is the Hartford loop so high?

JStar said:

The wet returns were 30" high off the floor, so we kept our Gifford Loop above that level to keep them wet.

Paul48

Sorry....I missed that.

Dave in QCA

Love that header!!

ChrisJ

Are those cast iron fittings as usual Joe?
Beautiful work.

JStar

ChrisJ said:

Are those cast iron fittings as usual Joe?
Beautiful work.

$$$$$$$$

kcopp

No Pro press? just kidding!!!

Abracadabra

kcopp said:

No Pro press? just kidding!!!

heh... propress is only for vertical headers

JStar

I would only use ProPress fittings on my old boss's steam boiler.