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Steam systems in tall buildings

Mike_Sheppard
Mike_Sheppard Member Posts: 696
in THE MAIN WALL
What kind of steam systems (piping layout) do you guys generally find in large buildings? Say, 10+ stories. We have quite a few in DC. I’m just wondering what kind of piping taller buildings typically have.
Never stop learning.

Comments

  • Noel
    Noel Member Posts: 177
    Mills system with an Express Riser to the top and down feed from there to distribute the steam to the other floors.
  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 16,501
    two pipe. and as @Noel said the Mills system is the best. keeps everything going in the same direction
    Noel
  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,601
    Some are a mix of one- and two-pipe. One-pipe on the higher floors. That’s Victorian stuff.
    Retired and loving it.
  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,601
    And two-pipe air vent
    Retired and loving it.
  • Mike_Sheppard
    Mike_Sheppard Member Posts: 696
    Thanks guys. Hopefully I can be more persuasive this winter and actually try to talk these people into looking at the whole system, not just the boiler.

    I don’t know what it is about DC, but the problem is in the boiler room 100% of the time. No way a problem could exist outside of the boiler room.

    Last winter had a building with water hammer. I actually emailed back and forth with Dan Holohan and Dan Foley some. They were running the system at 10psi. Two zone valves. Removed vacuum system. It was a mess. Steam pouring out of the feedwater tank. I tried as hard as I could to show proof and provide solutions but they refused to believe any of it. Came back a few months later and found they had someone install a master trap. Even with worse problems than before they wouldn’t believe me.

    Had another property with brand new boilers. Steam pouring out of feedwater tank. This one actually knew they had bad traps in the building. I told them the only solution was to find them and fix them. Another large system with abandoned vacuum pumps. Running 7psi. That one got master trapped too.

    It’s aggravating.
    Never stop learning.
  • JUGHNE
    JUGHNE Member Posts: 11,279
    I have a very small Mills system with express riser to attic mains.
    Steam drops down only 2 floors.
    Steam coming out of dry returns and feeder pump.

    I believe most of the problem was neglected drip traps at the bottom of the steam drops.
    As some rads were capped/removed the drip trap was ignored, they assumed that because the rad was not in the system the steam drop drip trap was never services. I removed several trap elements with 1932 date codes on them. All of these were just 1/2 thermostatic traps.

    For what you are looking at I could imagine fair sized F&T traps in the basement hiding from sight.

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