Original Dunham Vari-Vent system

Dtmack87

Looking for thoughts.

Have a customer who called regarding no heat to 3rd floor oh home. Walked into home and saw this. Research and experience has taught me how this system works. Unfortunately , someone got to this system before me.

The vacuum pump has been cut off and disconnected. Parts of the vari-vent control have been damaged or modified to make it inoperable. Orifices in steam valves to radiators have been removed. Steam traps are original and intact. Traps appear to be operable.

I can't create a vacuum this system needs without some type of pump, which i am sure will be very pricey and difficult. Steam is not moving to third floor at any good pace due to the 3/4 and 1/2 lines feeding it. Outside of lowering the pressure at the radiators, by doing something that i know is completely wrong, does anyone else have any insight as to how this system can be restored, or altered in such a way to provide the needed steam to the furthest reaches of the home? Is this as simple as locating a new, properly sized vacuum pump and install a new vari-vent control with new Dunham Valves?

Thank you in advance. I do not want to move forward on this without some input from others who have played with this one more than i have.

Steamhead

Where is this system located?

Pumpguy

I might be able to help you with a small stand-alone vacuum pump. Piping and controls will depend on what's there now.

Get in touch with me off line and we can talk about the details.

Good luck.

Noel

You can probably get away with just the vacuum pump and pump controls. The system will work without the balancer control and with the king valves wide open. The whole system will operate at the same steam temperature, but it can be balanced at each radiator using the valves on them if needed. I worked with a large building that had two zones on a vari-vac controller, and it had been adapted this way. It worked out OK.