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Vapor Restoration
Dan Foley
Member Posts: 1,264
Poppy and his crew restored this vapor system in a 1916 rowhouse in Columbia Heights, DC. Only two of the graduated inlet valves remained and neither worked.
The Peerless boiler is fairly new. While not perfect, it is piped better than most we see. We added a skim port and installed a Vapor-Stat set to 8 oz.
There were no steam traps as the original system relied on low pressure and graduated inlet valves to keep live steam out of the returns.
The Peerless boiler is fairly new. While not perfect, it is piped better than most we see. We added a skim port and installed a Vapor-Stat set to 8 oz.
There were no steam traps as the original system relied on low pressure and graduated inlet valves to keep live steam out of the returns.
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Comments
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We elected to go with orifice plates, rather than traps, to mimic the original graduated valves. At low pressure, it will not allow more steam to pass than the radiator can condense.
Poppy drilled the copper plates with a specific size bit to match the EDR of the radiator.1 -
The owner had these Pierce Butler radiators hot dipped, sand blasted and re-finished.2
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Pierce made the original valves too. Most suppliers offered graduated valves back then.
Did "Chem Strip" do the refinishing? This looks like their work.All Steamed Up, Inc.
Towson, MD, USA
Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
Oil & Gas Burner Service
Consulting0 -
Frank, you have a good eye. Yes, Chem Strip did the re-finish work.0
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Thought so. Nice work! Bet this system works perfectly now.All Steamed Up, Inc.
Towson, MD, USA
Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
Oil & Gas Burner Service
Consulting-1 -
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I wonder how well TRVs would work on these old systems? Can steam TRVs be set so that they don't close entirely?0
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Yes @jumper, you can’t close trvs completely.0
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Do you mean TRV's with the orifices installed?
Was there a reason for the dead men to pipe in and out of the same end of the rad?
Did you size the orifices for 80% of the EDR at 8 ozs? Just curious. When I drill orifices I put them in a union with a nipple attached, that holds them pretty well. I order all of them with an 1/8" pilot hole predrilled also.
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nice job, beautiful radiators.gwgillplumbingandheating.com
Serving Cleveland's eastern suburbs from Cleveland Heights down to Cuyahoga Falls.-1 -
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@ JUGHNE
I have never combined TRV's with orifice plates but I don't see why it would not work.
I don't know why the dead men piped the radiators on the same side. I have seen them piped both ways.
I like your idea of using a union and nipples as a jig to line up the bit.
Where do you get pre-drilled blanks? I get mine from Tunstall but they are not drilled.0 -
I think some of those radiators that are piped on the same side have a tube in them that runs across the inside bottom of the radiator to the other end. Just a thought.0
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@ Fred. Yes, I have seen that on hot water radiators but not on steam.0
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Dan Foley, I ordered the orifices with 1/8" drilled, they are from Tunstall.
Were you able to buy direct from Tunstall?0
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