Need a steam man in Clifton NJ area. What I need done, inside:

Shalom

So I need to find a steam guy (or gal, whatever) in Clifton/Passaic/Rutherford area. I have some stuff needs done, as follows:

1. Two boilers (single pipe steam) to clean and make ready for the heating season. (One for each floor of a two-family house). Clean out, maybe with one of those wands I've seen on here, make sure the LWCO on the older boiler is working (the other is a probe type, I don't know if those need periodic maintenance, if so that needs to be done as well). Make sure pigtails are clear, everything works as intended.
2. One or possibly two second-floor radiators are condensing more steam than their risers can handle. Condensate gets held in the risers and gurgles there until the boiler shuts off on low water. I think that installing drip lines for the condensate might be a more economic way of dealing with these than replacing the existing risers.
3. While doing the above, need an estimate on running a line to the attic (3rd floor) from the boiler serving the second floor, and installing a radiator there.

Who of you is available to work in the area and can take this on? Please post here or PM me. Thanks.

(I've posted some details of my systems here in the past; check my old posts.)

Fred

The gurgling is most likely from a horizontal pipe (from the vertical over to the radiator that is not pitched properly. I doubt that it holds enough to shut the boiler down on Low Water. You may have a wet return that is clogged and slow to return condensate. It's possible the boiler just needs a good skim or the pressure may be high and preventing condensate from flowing back. You should have that looked at also, when you have a Steam Pro out.

Shalom

I don't think so; I can localize the gurgling to two specific risers. Also we have dry returns here, except for a short run right by the boiler, and that has to be clear because the fresh water feed is right there. We did have the radiators re-pitched a few years back when the boiler was installed. It doesn't hold a heck of a lot of water; doesn't take much to shut it down. One of the things I want checked is to see if the LWCO is even installed in the correct place, because the low waterline printed on the face of the boiler is rather lower down than the LWCO itself...

Fred

If you hear gurgling, there is water (condensate) there boiling. If it is around the radiator, it is either in the bottom of the radiator or in a horizontal pipe on the supply line feeding that radiator (probably under the floor). Repitch the radiator and, if the gurgling is under the floor, raise both ends of the radiator with shims and then re-pitch the radiator. That should add a little pitch to the horizontal supply pipe.

Shalom

It's not around the radiator, it's inside the wall downstairs, inside the riser.

Fred

Is it actually gurgling or expansion noise? Do you notice it when the steam first starts to fill the radiator run-outs or after the boiler has been running for a while? If it is actually gurgling, go to the horizontal pipe at the bottom of that vertical and see if its at that location.

Shalom

It's after the boiler has been running a while.

I don't think there's a horizontal pipe at the bottom of the riser, it goes into a 45° pipe that then goes into the top of the main. This is right at the wall between the basement and the front crawl space, so access is a little limited.