Reminder: If you have original wet returns it is time to replace them!

New England SteamWorks

New England SteamWorks

Unless of course they put drains on them and you've had them flushed annually for the last 100 years or so. But likely not, and if so your wet returns now look like this:



You're already suffering from degraded water quality. But it's just a matter of time before the water can't return at all. That's not a problem you want to have in the middle of winter...

So change them already, and be sure they can be flushed in the future:



You'll thank me.

Jamie Hall

Not to mention that they can and do corrode through from the inside...

Dave0176

Every job I do that has a wet return I recommend replacing it, and every time we cut them open, what a mess, usually clogged almost solid.

MilanD

Out of curiosity, what is the function of that drip off the main into a large pipe by the boiler? I've never seen that fitting that looks like a cast iron up side down faucet connected to the larger pipe with a drain?

EzzyT

@MilanD That's a Hoffmann Differential Loop system

MilanD

Thanks @EzzyT ! I'll re-read about it in LAOSH.

EDIT: better yet - a quick google search for it has @gerry gill's company website come up #1. What a great device!

Danny Scully

You mean, like this? This was on a system @EzzyT and I worked on today. They're nice and clean now!