Replacing Low Water Cut-off (float type)

EdwinD

@JUGHNE Thanks. There are no returns under the floor.
As for leaks, I've never seen any but I'll check - following your recommendation. Likewise, I'll remove the guts in the checkvalve.
For sure, I always have low pressure, the water is clean and I have no hammer - it runs quiet. It's not a huge amount of water loss, I've never had the LWCO actually kick in, its just that when the water is getting low, I hear some hammer. I'd say water is manually added every 40 days or so to bring up an inch (maybe of water to get to proper levels. Maybe 3 times a season.

EdwinD

Fred said:

EdwinD said:

Fred said:

I don't see a bullhead tee but I do see the riser to the Main in between the two risers out of the boiler. That is a no, no. The configuration should be Riser out of boiler, riser out of boiler, riser to main(s) and an equalizer after that.

@Fred
See attached without insulation covers.

@EdwinD , that's not a Bull head Tee. A Bull Tee configuration would cause the steam to hit the back wall of the tee.

@Fred Thanks for the info. Since my original post, I've read up on the Hartford loop/Equalizer. But no, I don't have any bull nose tees. I'm getting there. All info is appreciated

EdwinD

EdwinD said:

Steamhead said:

ethicalpaul said:

Egad, now you maybe just need new near-boiler piping?

This. Look at the instruction manual to see what we mean. Whoever piped your boiler obviously did not.

@steamhead Thanks. The near bolier cast iron piping directly into the boiler is new. When installing new boiler sections, the installer wet near boiler piping after filing and leaving a plug left open, rusting the surface.

Correction: 98% of the near boiler piping is very old. The only new piping is an unnecessary fixture where the fill water goes into the tap on the bottom left.

EdwinD

ethicalpaul said:

> @EdwinD said:

> Will the steam main and condensate piping need replacing or the near boiler piping, or both? I'm trying to figure how far to go with this. I may end up installing a regular furnace and be done with it. Frustrated isn't a strong enough word.



Abandoning a really good heating technology because of something a clueless installer did 30 years ago seems strange 😅



If you are adding makeup water a lot, you may get a chance to have that piping done correctly sooner rather than later. Check it or have it checked for leaks this summer. 30 years is a nice run.



Edit: After posting I saw your above post on the next page, sorry about that. I like your idea. Did you check to see if your boiler can perform OK with a single riser?

@ethicalpaul No probem. Thank you. Yes i did, a steam boiler for a home of my size requires 70,356 BTUs . The EG-55 steam boiler with a single riser generates 167,000 BTUs.

ethicalpaul

That's good news about the single pipe (verified with the manual, see screenshot).

But even I, an unapologetic hopeless fiddler, might counsel you to leave it alone if it's running quietly (and your water filling schedule also seems totally fine to me).

If it were mine, I'd also be hoping that it developed a leak real fast so that I could replace it with a unit that wasn't 235% of what it needs to be.

Did you say your main venting was in OK shape?

Canucker

@ethicalpaul I don't remember seeing an EDR count, so that might be the heatloss number and not the actual size of the boiler needed

ethicalpaul

You’re completely correct @Canucker , thanks

I sometimes forget that not everyone is like me and willing to also replace radiation with proper sizes in addition to a boiler

But even then, I think there's no way I would run a boiler that big even if I had the EDR to support it in a 70k house

EdwinD

ethicalpaul said:

You’re completely correct @Canucker , thanks

I sometimes forget that not everyone is like me and willing to also replace radiation with proper sizes in addition to a boiler

But even then, I think there's no way I would run a boiler that big even if I had the EDR to support it in a 70k house

@Canucker @ethicalpaul
I've been told before by others, the boiler is a lot more than this house needs. Further proof whoever did this job was in over their head. To answer your question, the main vent is fine - its a brand new Big Mouth vent.

I agree the prudent thing to do is to leave it alone. Problem is I'm a stickler for things being done correctly and I just can't leave it as is. I'm comfortable with the risk, now that I have a better understanding of what's involved. First thing, is to remove the bottom plug on the right side. I'm starting here because this plug must removed to add the hartford loop/equalizer. I'll give it a few days of PB Blaster treatment. The sections were bought in Dec '17 but you never know how long they've been sitting.




The plan is to remove only the "right side" 3" riser, elbow and header. I found on Ebay, a 48" aluminum pipe wrench with 8" jaw capacity. I know this requires some muscle power, but from a practical standpoint, is it advisable to hire someone to do the piping - will it require 2 individuals?

I'll add new riser, header and a 3" reducer elbow to accomodate the 1-1/2" piping for the hoffman loop/equalizer. I've done some plumbing work around the house, but nothing like this. As I move along, I would appreciate any insight or advice.

One last thing, what do you suppose the installer intended by connecting a vertical line to the return, and to the condensate line, and also connected to the steam main. Note: out of view is a water line connected to the condensate line to fill the boiler. From my eyes, it looks like he valiantly attempted to create a hartford loop/equalizer - see next 2 photos. Thoughts?

(first photo)
#1 arrow on floor is condensate line.
#2 arrow goes to main






Thanks again.

JUGHNE

So if you are determined to do this, then you could remove the left hand riser. Leave the tee as is and come out of the left port of the tee over to the equalizer which is the pipe coming up from the Hartford Loop.

I don't see the need to remove the right side plug.
You have the HL with the return connected.
You have the equalizer pipe rising up from the HL, it is just not connected in the right place.

If you come out of the left side of the tee, you must stay the same size pipe on the horizontal, then you can reduce on the vertical drop.

BTW, you will need a second big pipe wrench.

ethicalpaul

I’m all for it and wish you luck! It’s the right season for it!

EdwinD

JUGHNE said:

So if you are determined to do this, then you could remove the left hand riser. Leave the tee as is and come out of the left port of the tee over to the equalizer which is the pipe coming up from the Hartford Loop.

I don't see the need to remove the right side plug.
You have the HL with the return connected.
You have the equalizer pipe rising up from the HL, it is just not connected in the right place.

If you come out of the left side of the tee, you must stay the same size pipe on the horizontal, then you can reduce on the vertical drop.

BTW, you will need a second big pipe wrench.

@JUGHNE Sounds good. As always, thank you. As I go along, I'll provide updates.

EdwinD

This thread started with how to add a LWCO, but morphed into a Hartford loop discussion. FYI, for better searchability for others having the same issue, I created a separate Hartford Loop thread and included final pics for the Hartford Loop, see:

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/171023/installing-hartford-loop-on-wm-eg-55-steam-boiler/p2