Museum Quality Original B&J Vapor System

New England SteamWorks

This one is all original, including the boiler we think. Circa 1933. Couple has owned the house for 40 years and have made no changes.

Can anyone confirm this boiler is insulated with asbestos? That's at the top of the agenda with regard to removal.

Enjoy:

New England SteamWorks

For the wonks among us:

EBEBRATT-Ed

Would have to get it tested but I would say 99% it's asbestos.

Nice to see an old job properly done that ran well for years

Jamie Hall

EBEBRATT-Ed said:

Would have to get it tested but I would say 99% it's asbestos.

Nice to see an old job properly done that ran well for years

Not to mention the pipe insulation.

Danny Scully

Come on now @New England SteamWorks, be a man and restore their domestic hot water with another external heat exchanger, gravity . That’s the original tankless water heater! Hard to beat that domestic hot water production.

STEVEusaPA

She's a beauty. I'd vote asbestos...but who put the clamps on? They can't be original.

Gordo

I wonder what current cage unit fits that thermostatic trap?

Sailah

@New England SteamWorks what do I need to do to get that vacuum gage in my grubby little hands?

New England SteamWorks

Sorry! That gauge still works, and the system goes into, and holds, a vacuum.

So I am going to reinstall it!

Steamhead

One of our customers has a 1930s B&J Vapor system that's almost this pristine, but the Condensator and air trap are gone- probably removed when the boiler was replaced some time ago. We have it running on a Vaporstat now.

If you run into any B&J BD-series F&T traps on this system, and the float mechanism is bad, you'll need to replace the entire trap as we had to. it is not repairable. If the center-to-center dimension between inlet and outlet is too narrow and you can't modify the piping so a standard Sarco-type F&T will fit, try a Sterling FT-69-15- its center-to-center is 1-3/4".

Phil53

Wow - amazing. A testament to simplicity of design, quality components, professional installation, and good maintenance.

SlamDunk

Man! Did they wash and wax it every year?

ScottSecor

Thanks for sharing, great to see a system of that age still intact and in that condition. Make me think of all the older ones we replaced over the years....

Gordo

@New England SteamWorks : They are some really nice looking radiator valves! Do they still move? Do any need replacement handles?

Any idea what cage unit goes into that thermostatic trap?

Below is a video of the B&J 1-1/4" type BD which I sincerely hope you do NOT have at that site (or anywhere else where you work)! So far as we can tell, this trap is not rebuildable and difficult to replace.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6utQJ_zUyw&t=4s

New England SteamWorks

Thanks Gordo! Fortunately, no F&T. The cage unit for the traps is a 1748.

ChrisJ

Why is the asbestos being removed? Are you replacing the boiler?

New England SteamWorks

Yes, the boiler is being “retired”.

ChrisJ

New England SteamWorks said:

Yes, the boiler is being “retired”.

That's a shame.

She's leakin?

New England SteamWorks

No, the boiler is fine, though inefficient as you might guess. It’s the old gas conversion burner. She’s had it.

Doesn’t really make sense to put a new burner on an 85 year old boiler.

ChrisJ

> @New England SteamWorks said:
> No, the boiler is fine, though inefficient as you might guess. It’s the old gas conversion burner. She’s had it.
>
> Doesn’t really make sense to put a new burner on an 85 year old boiler.

I would've guessed it was fairly efficient. That's a 3 pass no?


Out of curiosity, everything else aside are contractors allowed to install a new burner in something like this, and if so is it still a huge liability?

Steamhead

Short answer- yes. Pretty much every oil and gas burner is listed for use as an upgrade or conversion unit as well as for OEM use. Some inspectors will give you trouble though, mostly just because they can.

Were this not the case, it would have been illegal to convert coal-fired boilers to oil or gas firing. We all know this was the usual way of switching fuels back in the day. @Tim McElwain has converted thousands of boilers to gas and never had an issue.

The exception would be if the burner manufacturer's instructions were not followed. I've seen cases where they weren't, and the result was usually high CO and excessive fuel consumption- easily fixed with a combustion analyzer and the know-how to use it. This just underlines that you can't fix stupid.

AMservices

I'm happy to hear your using that vacuum gauge on the new boiler. It's going to look even better on your pressure manifold.

You just can't go down to Jamaica plain any more looking for a good B&J. Not without getting in trouble.