Header? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Header!

New England SteamWorks

head·er
ˈhedər/Submit
noun
1. SOCCER
a shot or pass made with the head.
2. Informal
a headlong fall or dive.

I'm leaning towards #2

New England SteamWorks

Ilka's having none of it!

Danny Scully

Lol, so close!

New England SteamWorks

But there's work to be done. High fuel bills, spitting vents, bang, bang, bang.

Nothing a little re-piping can't remedy!

New England SteamWorks

Sorry, Gorton, there's a new kid on the block and your time has passed. Complacency is a terrible malady...

May I present The Big Mouth:

New England SteamWorks

I think it'll work now...

BobC

Do it right or someone will have to do it over, no danger of that here!

Bob

ratio

Is that a strainer before the big mouth vents?

Fred

If I remember correctly, @RI_SteamWorks uses a strainer ahead of all of his vents and now the Big Mouths too.

EzzyT

Nice clean work

ratio

Seems like a good idea on rework. Ever had one foul?

JUGHNE

I put them on with the plug down and add a blow down valve there with a plug in it. I have found those cast iron plugs tough to remove after 2 years. The valve will tell you quickly if junk was getting close.

Also an easy way to time the exact arrival of the steam without the pipe having to get hot. It seems like the screen might slow down a water slug if one came along......maybe wishful thinking.

Cheap insurance if you have several high dollar vents in one place.

ratio

Wouldn't it cause hammering if it holds water because it's facing down?

ChrisJ

ratio said:

Wouldn't it cause hammering if it holds water because it's facing down?

The boiler holds water too and doesn't hammer.

Steam hammer doesn't happen unless the water gets in the steams way such as restricting flow, or dripping down into the flow of steam.

Laying in the bottom out of the way is harmless.

New England SteamWorks

Oh, -always wanted to ask: You'll note the pump in the picture hooked up to the skim port. I call it power skimming, wanting to skim as quickly as possible and save the customer labor $, and avoid call back aggravation. What I do is hook up the pump to the skim port with a hot boiler and throttle the water feed to match the pump output. I don't expect it to catch everything, but it does seem to get a lot of it quick, and the customer just follows up with some slow-trickle skimming into a bucket. Had a seminar once with Hydrolevel and they stated that boiler castings now are required to use water-soluble oils (EPA or some such) and the oils no longer (at least from the casting) can be reliably skimmed from the surface, so before I power skim I hook the pump up to a boiler drain and do the same thing at the bottom. If it's cold out, I close the return valve, make steam, and pump (or drain) the condensate before it gets back to the boiler, again matching with the water feed. Is it effective? I sure move a lot of water in a short time, and I don't get any complaints, so I have always assumed so, but never heard it discussed (that I can recall), -so I thought I'd throw it out for a good August conversation starter:

Power Skimming: A Worthwhile Endeavor?

You decide...

JUGHNE

Strainers: As soon as I posted that, I started to think about the trapped water in the bottom of the strainer. Been on my mind part of the day. But as ChrisJ pointed out it not only is in the bottom of a fitting, it is recessed from the steam passage. I never have heard any noise at the vents. They are usually in the boiler room at the end of a dry return.

When I check them cold there is a dribble of water. When hot it is just a mild steam blow down.
If the strainer/blow down valve is installed before a F&T, then you can check for trapped condensate.....one system I had a real issue problem with. With a tee/ valve installed after the F&T you can test if the trap is passing steam or not, (again the same problem system).

Remove a plug/cap with pliers and open a valve to see the situation that would other wise require some time wasted.

bob_46

I was taught and Sarco says Y-strainers installed for steam use should have the pocket horizontal.

Canucker

RI_SteamWorks said:

Oh, -always wanted to ask: You'll note the pump in the picture hooked up to the skim port. I call it power skimming, wanting to skim as quickly as possible and save the customer labor $, and avoid call back aggravation. What I do is hook up the pump to the skim port with a hot boiler and throttle the water feed to match the pump output. I don't expect it to catch everything, but it does seem to get a lot of it quick, and the customer just follows up with some slow-trickle skimming into a bucket. Had a seminar once with Hydrolevel and they stated that boiler castings now are required to use water-soluble oils (EPA or some such) and the oils no longer (at least from the casting) can be reliably skimmed from the surface, so before I power skim I hook the pump up to a boiler drain and do the same thing at the bottom. If it's cold out, I close the return valve, make steam, and pump (or drain) the condensate before it gets back to the boiler, again matching with the water feed. Is it effective? I sure move a lot of water in a short time, and I don't get any complaints, so I have always assumed so, but never heard it discussed (that I can recall), -so I thought I'd throw it out for a good August conversation starter:

Power Skimming: A Worthwhile Endeavor?

You decide...

I think it's a good idea @RI_SteamWorks . Have you considered putting a cartridge filter on the pump outlet with a hydrophobic filter inside and recirculating it to catch the oil? Might make it a little automated for you so you could take care of some miscellaneous stuff at the end of the job while it circulates? I don't know how hands on you have to be with your present set up

SWEI

Something like this ought to do the trick.

Canucker

That's exactly what I was thinking of

gerry gill

outstanding job RI....i love it

Fred

I installed my Big Mouth vents on my system today Too. Seeing yours motivated me to get a jump on fall prep!