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is am improperly pitched wet return actually a system upgrade?

I have recently fixed the wet return lines to my 27yr old steam boiler.
they pitched the wrong way and were sub-slab in the basement and rotten right through
the sludge was incredible in all these pipes.
the system was never maintained or weekly "blow-down'd"
the boiler itself is remarkably clean
i assume this is so because the sludge did not pitch into the boiler

my new wet return pipes introduce sludge drains at these lowpoints

is this a way to protect our boilers over the years?

Comments

  • SWEI
    SWEI Member Posts: 7,356
    Keep your system tight in order to minimize makeup water consumption and make sure the chemistry (specifically pH and chlorides) of the water stays within bounds.
  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 24,151
    The pitch of wet returns is irrelevant, provided that they are wet. Having a drain at all low points, however, is a very very good idea indeed.
    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England