Recalculating EDR - Which Type of Radiators are These?

ChrisJ

You really want to do everything you can to convince yourself to replace that boiler don't you.


As I've said in other threads, I've worked on my neighbors hot water system and hated it. Between having to drain the entire thing to work on it, then refill it, then bleed it, forget it. Steam is the only system for me.

No bleeding, no pumps, no bladder tanks, no flooding.

a3inverter

ChrisJ said:

You really want to do everything you can to convince yourself to replace that boiler don't you.


As I've said in other threads, I've worked on my neighbors hot water system and hated it. Between having to drain the entire thing to work on it, then refill it, then bleed it, forget it. Steam is the only system for me.

No bleeding, no pumps, no bladder tanks, no flooding.

Agreed, all good arguments for steam, but I will counter with better efficiency, potential for zones, better for resale (no firm plans here but you never know), hot water skills are easier to find than steam skills, etc.

Not sure the utilities are going to incent the switch - that's part of the equation as well.

ChrisJ

a3inverter said:

ChrisJ said:

You really want to do everything you can to convince yourself to replace that boiler don't you.


As I've said in other threads, I've worked on my neighbors hot water system and hated it. Between having to drain the entire thing to work on it, then refill it, then bleed it, forget it. Steam is the only system for me.

No bleeding, no pumps, no bladder tanks, no flooding.

Agreed, all good arguments for steam, but I will counter with better efficiency, potential for zones, better for resale (no firm plans here but you never know), hot water skills are easier to find than steam skills, etc.

Not sure the utilities are going to incent the switch - that's part of the equation as well.

I'll counter with two arguments for steam.

Steam, including single pipe can be zoned with either valves or the simpler and more common way is TRVs on the radiator. Every radiator becomes it's own zone.

Next, you already have a steam boiler that's working fine.

Fred

If it were mine, I'd be inclined to clean up that Bryant boiler and keep it as long as it lives. There is no reason to tear it out if it does what it was designed to do. Improved effeciency, if any, isn't going to be enough to tip the scales in favor of a new boiler. Steam is, in my opinion, a lot more managable for the HO than HW but I guess that is a matter of preference. The issue with a switch out is, you know the steam works, you don't know what converting back to HW will do. Why was it converted in the first place?
Replacing any good working boiler is just shortening the life of any new boiler in that if this boiler has five years of life left in it, replacing it now will mean five years of life on the new boiler that didn't need to happen. Let it live. Contemplate a new boiler later down the road.

a3inverter

I certainly don't want to get rid of it, but it's more a question of how many years does it have left (from what others have said here it's at least 40 years old, maybe as many as 60) and what's the cost of inconvenient/unplanned failure during the heating season.

My likely plan at this point is to get through the Winter with this one and, now that I'm much better informed by talking to all the pros on this forum, consider a plan of attack in the Spring.

In terms of cleaning it up, my thoughts were to take off the panels that I can (which means leaving the right panel on), vacuum out any flakes, cobwebs, that sort of thing and then use an inspection camera to take a good look at the castings. I typically blow it down 1x per week during the heating season. The pigtail was inspected last year and found clean, but I'll do it again. The energy assessment guy was here in August and gave the exhaust system a clean bill of health.

Any other maintenance I should be doing?

Fred

I'd check the main vents and make sure they are working properly. I blow mine down about once a week as well. Only blow off a quart to half a gallon from the MM #67 LWCO. If you have a probe type LWCO, blow downs aren't needed. It's run this long. It has to be relatively happy.

a3inverter

I've got the MM #67...

ChrisJ

Wonder if that pressure relief valve works?
If you're going to keep the boiler, and you probably should, I'd change that valve to a new 15 PSI one.

Fred

When the boiler is running, slowly open the LWCO and it should shut the burner off, if the MM #67 is working properly. They should be taken apart every year or two and cleaned out, otherwise the float sticks and won't shut the burner down. Also, I do think you are on the right track to know what size replacement boiler, brand (if you have a preference) and any piping corrections/improvements you may need. That way, should the boiler fail, you won't be in the dark about what you need/want. Now is the time to find a good steam Pro as well. When/if the time comes, you'll be set to make the call.

ChrisJ

@Fred,

Curious why you say to slowly open the LWCO?

I was always in the habit of opening it as fast as possible as I felt it cleaned it better and it also allowed me to test the switch faster without dumping as much water, if that's what I was trying to do.

Fred

@chris , I suggest opening it slowly because I don't know how well a poster knows his/her system or how well it is maintained. I can recall years ago, the weather was sub-zero outside, I had a clogged Pigtail, that I was not aware of and when I went to blow down the boiler, by opening it quickly, it blew a stream of boiling water and steam that hit the bottom of the bucket and flew upward and should have scalded me. Fortunately I had the presence of mind to get out of the way, faster than I've moved in years!

a3inverter

Wound up cleaning out the LWCO as it failed the test above. Works like a champ now. After operating the pressure relief a few times manually, it won't hold pressure - it opens right after the main air vents close.

Time for a new one.

Fred

Yep, they should be replaced every few years.