1st time homeowner/steamowner - need your help with an overview/piping

alaw

Hi Folks,

We recently bought our first home here in southern Maine. It was built in 1920 and our boiler might have come with it. Our boiler is old, looks like it may have burned coal in its heyday, but has since been converted to use oil. It's a 1 pipe system but has some piping that I can't get straight. I've done some homework online and read "We Got Steam Heat" by Dan Holohan (and another one of his is coming tomorrow) but there are pieces of the puzzle that don't quite fit for me. We're hoping to have the existing boiler last as long as possible but at least through this heating season (which is nipping at our heels) and then reassess in the spring. We have natural gas already for hot water.

My questions are:

1. Anyone got a name I could call for some steam heat maintenance and potentially new steam boiler installation? The "find a contractor" function proved fruitless.
2. The gauge on the front of the boiler? How is that different than the pressuretrol on the top?
3. Is there even an equalizer? Seems like I'm missing something as I don't see a Hartford loop either.
4. On the supply main there seems to be a wet return branched off of it? Its the uninsulated pipe with the air vent on top.
5. There only seems to be one air vent and its the one on that uninsulated pipe that connects to the bottom of the boiler.
6. The previous owner said that they had to add water more frequently this last winter. We've owned for a few months and its lost some water but nothing alarming. Just evaporation or possible slow leak?

The system heats well, no water hammer or spitting, but we would like to better understand this system.

Thank you

alaw

Fred

Wow, you don't have a Hartford loop because you don't appear to have any wet returns (condensate lines below the boiler's water line. It appears all of the condensate returns by way of that main loop, which is fine. What's not fine is that the near boiler piping is not right. There is no header, if that is the vent, above the boiler, it is worthless as it would close as soon as steam get to it so it cannot expel the air in the main. I don't see any radiator run-outs off of that main. More pictures would help. That Pressuretrol, on top of the boiler must be as old as the boiler. I'd be surprised if it still works. At a minimum, you need to take it off and clean that pigtail (looped pipe) it is mounted on. They get clogged and render the pressuretrol useless. The Pressuretrol is designed to shut the boiler down, if the pressure get over a set limit and allow it to restart when the pressure drops below a set point. The gauge just tell you what the running pressure is. Pressuretrol is a safety devise, gauge is not. I also don't see a Pressure Relief valve in the pictures. Is there one on the boiler? It is dangerous if not. Post more pictures around the boiler and of the full length of the Main, if possible.

Fred

I see the vent you are talking about in the last set of pictures you posted. It is OK there but I am sure it is way to small for the air you need to expel with each boiler cycle. How long is each Main(s) and what diameter pipe? That will determine how much venting you need.

Jamie Hall

@Aaron_in_Maine might be worth talking to. Aaron Hamilton Heating, in Lisbon Falls (kind of halfway between Brunswick and Lewiston). I'm not just sure where that is relative to where you are, and Maine is a surprisingly big State.

With some miserable roads (I have no fond memories of Wiscasset, for instance).

All that said -- that boiler has done its time. Do check that the pipe going to the pressure control is free, and it probably wouldn't hurt a bit to replace that pressure control with a Honeywell Pressurestat. They aren't all that expensive, and you could probably do the job yourself, or with just a little help from a plumber -- and us. As @Fred noted, it's a safety device.

You have a low water cutoff -- it's that black somewhat triangular affair with two pipes connecting to the boiler on the left in the second to the last picture. That is also a safety device. There is a handle (yellow on it) which opens a valve to flush out accumulated goop. It would be a VERY good idea to open that handle and let it flush until it is reasonably clear. That often works best if you open the valve, let about half a gallon out, close, reopen and so on until it's reasonable (it doesn't have to be drinking water clear -- just no mud!). Mark the gauge glass with a spring clothespin before you start, and then refill to that level. If you do this with the boiler running, it should shut the boiler off when the level drops -- that would be worth finding out.

All that said... since you report that the boiler works, and heats the house, I would leave the rest of the project -- that is a new boiler! -- until next spring if you can, but it's good to start thinking about it now -- and lining someone up who knows what they are doing to come and work on it then.

alaw

Thanks guys,


re ph






Fred - the main supply? is about 15' in length and I'd say 2-2.5" in diameter and the others are 8-10' however they are wrapped in asbestos.

Jamie - I actually called Aaron and he was kind enough to listen even though he doesn't work with steam but gave me a name but have yet to hear back.

I did clean out the low water cutoff and its nice and clean now. Will make sure to do it with the boiler on next time! I will definitely look into replacing that pressuretrol ASAP, thank you.

Fred

I would replace that vent with a Gorton #2 or a Barnes and Jones Vari-vent (available on Amazon). The other 8' to 10' are probably radiator run outs? They feed your radiators? If so, they don't need to be vented. Your radiator vents will handle that air. If I were you, I'd definitely clean that pigtail under the Pressuretrol and, as Jamie said, consider replacing both the pigtail and the Pressuretrol and I would replace that old pressure Relief valve with a new15 PSI Pressure Relief valve. Safe is always best.

Steamhead

I've worked on boilers similar to yours. This is a three-pass, so-called "all-fuel" boiler. It was designed to burn coal, oil or gas, so it has large flue passages which are fine on coal but wasteful on oil or gas. They let a lot of heat go up the chimney.

It is possible to add baffles to the boiler's flue passages to slow the hot flue gases down and capture more of the heat. This was common during the fuel rationing of World War II. Though this will not equal the efficiency of a modern boiler, it will noticeably increase its efficiency so you can put some money aside and replace it later. Do not try this yourself- find a knowledgeable pro with the proper test equipment and know-how.

I doubt that boiler is original to the house. ISTR the Columbia company didn't form until sometime in the 1930s. The original was probably a round "snowman" boiler, which was horribly inefficient.