Gas steam heat with baseboard hot water loop

scudder

I want to replace my old oil well mclain oil steam boiler with a new gas steam boiler.
My 1927 house on long island also has a ineffective electric hot water heater with a circulating pump that sends head to a hot water zone to far end of second floor.

Does anybody make a gas steam boiler that also has a hot water loop off of it.

I like the steam system but the second electric system sucks. I want this done right.

Thoughts?

Fred

Just about any cast iron steam boiler can have a hot water loop installed on it. Like anything else, it has to be properly thought out and installed.

scudder

Thank you for the reply. Is there a manufacturer/model that the boiler comes through with the apparatus as part of the boiler?
I have heard of one that runs on oil, but is there for gas?
Thanks

HVACNUT

What are you using for domestic hot water? Like Fred said, just about any steam boiler can be piped to accommodate a hydronic loop, but it has to be done right. No steam boiler has a special tapping just for a water zone. What you might have heard with an oil fired boiler with a tankless coil is using the coil as a 12 psi heat exchanger. Your hydronic loop(s) must be incorporated into the piping. If you have an existing oil, gas or electric domestic water heater, you can install an indirect water heater, giving you 2 hydronic zones. The only info I can give you without knowing the system design is, use bronze circulators and install a wye strainer on the loop.
Also, don't hire a plumber, get estimates from reputable HVAC companies.

scudder

I have a separate oil fired hot water heater supplying the showers, sinks etc.

The heating loop on the second floor used an electric hot water heater and a circulating pump. This system puts out very little heat.

When I replace my 30 yr old oil steam boiler, I want to ditch the electrical system and try to use the piping from the electric to pull heat from the steam system.

I realize this is tricky and Definitely something a seasoned HVAC pro should do during the replacement. So I am trying to educate myself when I get estimates.
The biggest problem is finding a few steam gurus on long Island to get good estimates

Danny Scully

My name is Danny Scully and I operate Scully's Plumbing with my brother and father in the Nassau County Area of Long Island. Check us out at http://www.scullysplumbing.com. We'd be glad to help if we can!

Fred

@scudder , if you can get @Danny Scully out, do it! He does excellent work, some of which you can see in various posts on this site.

Mad Dog_2

Yes, Scully is also a licensed plumber. Granted, I have seen some botched steam jobs by plumbers and plenty by supposed hvac specialists. There are quite a few licensed plumbing companies that do very competent steam boiler work in Nassau and Suffolk. Mad Dog

Mad Dog_2

The best ones are usually very busy. They may charge a fee to come out and spec the proper size boiler and details. Worth every penny. Mad Dog

HVACNUT

Also on L.I. serving the east end.
Did not mean to offend anyone, but you've all heard a customer say "my plumber installed it" when you need shears to cut the top of jacket off to brush and vac, or replace the circ on the floor, on the return, behind the boiler that's in a closet.
Apologies.

Danny Scully

I'm confused with some of these comments. Why did this thread become an attack on licensed plumbers? Or am I misunderstand the intent here?

neilc

I always thought of it as the plumbers do the domestic and drain waste,
and heating contractors did hydronics and steam, ( and HA)
and there were also plumbing and heating contractors, doing both,
and then we have all seen what some folks, I won't call them contractors, do to some systems here, right?

Mad Dog_2

No offense taken. Most Plumbing trucks say Plumbing and Heating, but even the guys/companies that can do both well, don't often do furnaces, duct work or AC. Mad Dog