Thoughts on new boiler install and main vents

NewbieInQueens

Hi, I am posting this link to some pics of my boiler install for opinions on how terrible it may or might not be. I asked them to put the riser 3 feet above the jacket, but I think they thought I was nuts. Anyway, this is what it turned out like.

https://postimg.org/gallery/o8nseefq/


Also some new Gorton #2 vents there were installed at the end of the main right before the last risers because there was no room on the end. I had asked the guy to do them in an antler configuration like I've seen here, but he didn't listen to me and just did it this way.
thanks all

Fred

Well,
I don't like where he put those vents. They may work OK but they probably will be subject to issues down the road. They certainly should have been raised higher up on an antler.
The header looks OK but he should have used both risers out of the boiler and he most certainly should have dropped both mains into the header instead of Tee'ing one off the side of that riser. This looks like a counter flow system? I don't see any wet returns but he should have dropped that dry return down to the floor and then back up, creating a water seal/Hartford loop so that steam can't get into that return should the water level drop below that connection. Did he measure your radiator EDR to size the boiler? Did he install a skim port?

NewbieInQueens

Here are some more pics where he put the vents.

https://postimg.org/gallery/3ahbu9g2e/

They are currently now where that orange cable is on the top left. I took a picture from both sides. Basically that main that you see there is split closer to the boiler and has another main running parallel to this one to heat the adjacent apartment. That main then turns back into this wall ( you can see small hoffman vent) and drops into that pipe on the floor.

That pipe on the floor then runs along the wall back towards the boiler and then goes back up into the wall where it has another hoffman vent and into the wall (not sure where it leads).

It's confusing for me because I've only seen steam boilers where they have a downward pitched pipe that returns to the boiler. These that go along the floor and then rise up back into the wall confuse me.

I don't think he put a skim port, he said he put some chemicals in there and I should just drain some water weekly.

He didn't measure, but I had done it beforehand and came up with 500 edr. I suggested the eg-55 rated at 520sq ft, but he said it was too close and I wouldn't heat up the top floors. He insisted on the eg-65 rated at 650 sq ft, 250k BTU. I didn't push back too much considering I was previously running a 520k BTU boiler, I didn't want to insist on the wrong thing.

Paul S_3

@NewbieInQueens Why didnt you use a contractor from this site? Especially if your in Nyc...(unless your name doesnt have anything to do where you live)....theres a bunch of really good contractors out there .... im out tbere at least twice a week.....thats a big boiler running with one riser....even if the manufacture says its ok.....without measuring the EDR he had no way of knowing whether or not those radiators would heat or not....ive taken out 350K boilers and installed 125K boilers just by checking EDR....i couldve gone smaller using less of a pickup factor

Fred

You need that skim port installed. A new boiler /piping will need skimming multiple times to get the oils out. Chemicals won't do the job. Also, those pipes on the floor are wet returns. I'm not sure what that pipe midway up the wall is suppose to be, a dry return I guess but I don't see where it drops into the wet return anywhere.
Your original thought for the size of the boiler was the right thought. What he installed is way too big. As @Paul S said, if you are in the New York area, you had a lot of choices for great Steam Pros.

KC_Jones

Paul S said:

@NewbieInQueens Why didnt you use a contractor from this site?

^^^^^^^This....1000x this?!

Steamhead

Well, I have to say I've seen a LOT worse than this one.

It looks like they used a full 3-inch riser and header. The tee is the same size and is not bullheaded, so each main gets a full share of steam. Many of us would have used two risers from the boiler to the header, but assuming that piping is 3-inch and the header (horizontal pipe) is at least 24" above the boiler's waterline, this job conforms to W-M's piping diagram. So at least the installer read the manual. And the workmanship looks good.

I've installed many vents the way those Gortons are installed. This isn't a "textbook" method, but as long as the end of the main is 28 inches or so above the boiler's waterline (the "A" dimension) and the returns aren't clogged, they will work fine.

I'd look at the other main with the cute little Hoffman #4A vent and see how long it is and what pipe size. I'd bet it needs an upgrade too.

Abracadabra

The header looks reduced from the riser. Maybe it's just an optical illusion on the photo.