Hydronic heat off of steam condensate line

Jon Held_2

Hello all.
I have a WM SGO3 boiler with a domestic hot water loop in great shape, a steam system that heats the home quickly and quietly (since we redid all the near boiler piping, insulation, breathers, slopes, etc).
We're converting an enclosed porch into a home office and I wanted to add a baseboard unit in the room. I'm a bit confused regarding the mechanicals involved.
The room is adjacent to, and above the boiler, so the run is relatively short.
Is there a tutorial or reference material out there that would explain what I need? Not many contractors know anything about steam in my area, and most don't want to touch it.

Jamie Hall

There are a number of different ways to do that. You could add steam heat in there, if it is on the floor above the boiler. That would probably be the easiest thing to do, and might well be cheapest. Depending on the capacity of the domestic hot water loop in the boiler, you could add hot water heat using that (assuming, that is, that you aren't already using it for your domestic hot water -- if you are, you can't do it easily). Or you could add hot water heat using a heat exchanger heated by hot water from the boiler, and circulating the resulting hot water.

If the new room is on the same level as the boiler, though, you could also add hot water heat by simply circulating boiler water.

Your title, though, suggests you're thinking of trying to use returning condensate. That won't work -- there is nowhere near enough heat there to warm your coffee, never mind your room.

Jon Held_2

Thanks for the reply Jamie.
The domestic loop is used for domestic hot water now. It works well and I'd rather not change it.
I suppose it would be easy to add a small steam radiator, as I could tap right off the main on that side of the basement. The run would be short and pitch wouldn't be an issue.

Not certain I have ports available for another heat exchanger on the unit.

DanHolohan

Hi, Jon. This should help:

https://heatinghelp.com/systems-help-center/how-to-run-a-hot-water-zone-off-a-steam-boiler/

Jon Held_2

That's the ticket. Thanks Dan. You're the best!

New England SteamWorks

Dan's article is perfect if you have to run a hot water loop.

But far easier, cheaper, and more economical to pipe it with steam if possible. Sounds like your project is possible.

Jamie Hall

New England SteamWorks said:

Dan's article is perfect if you have to run a hot water loop.

But far easier, cheaper, and more economical to pipe it with steam if possible. Sounds like your project is possible.

not to mention more reliable... no moving parts, except a vent.

Jon Held_2

Yea, I much prefer steam. Trying to get in touch with a contractor who understands. Not as easy as it sounds.

Jamie Hall

Where are you located? We may well know someone, or you could try "Find a Contractor" on this site.

mikeg2015

Hot water will work better overall since the heat loos profile will be very different from the main house. Plus you can go cheaper on radiators and just use fin tube. Downsize is that you now create a freezing risk. Steam is nice because it can't freeze other than the boiler itself. But again, you'll be limited by cycle times to the main house. Even with a TRV, you might have large temp swings.