2" CI fin tube baseboard for steam distribution? How to measure EDR? What are these called?

BTU

Burnham V-33 steam boiler, single family home. "First house built in town after WWII." Maybe a supply ration meant they couldn't use tube-type radiators?

So all over the house there's these lengths of 2" cast-iron pipe with fins, air vents on the far end, and pretty metal coverings.

Also the copper supply pipes seem a little small for steam, but I'm just trying to size the system...

BobC

Those are convectors, I don't know what they are rated for but I'm sure someone will chime in with the information.

How well does the system work now? What pressure does the boiler run at when making steam?

The air vent you show is not very good, if you have to replace them go with Hoffman, Gorton or maid O mist vents - much better quality.

That boiler piping is not right give us more shots from further back so we can see how it's tied into the system. It will probably result in wet steam that can burn more fuel than it should. You might want to look for the books for sale on the site, "We got Steam Heat" is a good primer, "The Lost Art of Steam Heating" will explain exact;y how steam heat works and how it should be put together.


Bob

Fred

I saw tons of those in old manufacturings buildings in a Company I worked for. There were 33 buildings in the complex, most built in the late 1800's very early 1900's. The company had it's own steam plant and underground pedestrian tunnels that connected all those buildings. Steam pipes traveled those tunnels and were mounted to the upper side walls. Kept all those tunnels very warm. Anyway, those pipes went, continuously around each floor of each building, under the windows, three rows high. All those buildings are gone now but I think it was a low cost way to get the needed capacity to heat those spaces. I would say these were installed as a budget way to build radiation. Copper obviously isn't the best idea but, it is what it is.

BTU

Thanks Bob. I have both those books, and it's the only reason I was able to understand there was a piping issue here (How the hell can steam AND condensate move through such small supply pipes?)

Though the client reports no banging, some of the CONVECTOR vents hiss when the heat turns on. He used to replace them when they leaked water, but doesn't bother now.

Pressure gauge read ~1psi during operation.

I also found a strange expansion tank looking thing on the water main supply to the house. It's not related to the boiler, but any ideas what it is?

BobC

The fitting on the water pipe may be some kind of water hammer arrester.

Also that pressuretrol might be set higher than it should be by what I can make out, are you sure that gauge is any good at the low end of the scale?

Bob

BTU

Near as I can tell, the whole system appears to be running fine. Like I said, no reports of banging or clanging pipes, no serious issues with venting other than some hissing. Exhaust gas tested a little smoky and the burner was running high 70s for %efficiency.

That said, it's often difficult to tell when the pressure gauge is resting right below 1psi or when it's reading at or around 1 psi. Pressuretrol set to cut in at 4psi.

I don't think the steam header was a full 24" above the water line either, so wet steam seems likely. But again, no serious water hammer reported.

Thanks for the insight on the water hammer arrestor. When I zoomed in you can indeed read the words "Eliminate Water Hammer" and the location Ocean City, NJ.

Fred

4PSI is extremely high, be it Cut-in or Cut-out??? It doesn't look like the header is even 16" above the water line and it looks like two mains are bull headed off of that one Tee. All things to consider/fix when the boiler is replaced. Fix copper too, at that time.

PhilDavid

If you don't have Dan's book 'EDR every darn radiator', get it. There will be something in there to guide you. I can tell you that the high pressure is prob the reason for a lack of major water hammer. The steam is moving slower and not impeding the condensate flow so much. And those nifty water hammer arresters tees calm things down as well. Steam will compress as the psi increases so using smaller diameter pipes can accommodate both the steam and condensate. Think about this before tinkering with the pressuretrol too much. This install was a "budget" install and hacked in pretty horribly.

JUGHNE

FWIW, from 1954 schoolhouse blueprint. Convectors with 1 1/4" pipe. steel fins 4 1/4" Square and 1/4" spacing of fins has 6.9 EDR per foot.

You have more pipe ID, maybe less fins because of 2" ID. Just some form of guide. Look for the EDR book by Dan.

gcp13

This might help here are the specs for
HB smith fin master radiators

BTU

@all, thanks for the assistance! Maybe those specs can get posted on the museum section of the website.