Connecting my header to the Main

rwilson2526

Hi Guys,

I was on here last year when I realized my H/E was shot. I decided to replace the heat exchanger and repipe the whole mess. Coming down the home stretch. First thing, lets get it out of the way, I know I should have done a drop header!

That being said I now have to connect my 2" Tee off my header to my 3" main. I don't have the dimensions in front of me but but the offset is just a bit too far to connect with 2 - 45's

Question is which is better? should I just connect them with 2 90's or should I use 4 - 90's and do a swing joint and put the maximum pitch on the pipe? I will have a lot of condensate coming back down as several of my radiators take off before my dry returns but I was wondering if the extra turns is a bad thing.

And ignore those long nipples coming out of the tops of the returns for the vents. I am installing 90's to switch them back and follow the pitch of the returns. (learned that here too!)


Thanks

Steamhead

Looks like 2-inch pipe. I hope you didn't reduce the size of the boiler's steam outlet................

rwilson2526

Nope, 2" tap. Basically fabricated crowns near boiler piping sketch exactly.

EBEBRATT-Ed

Most of the water will be removed by the header. You can connect to the main with 90s. You don't need excessive pitch ...just don't make a water pocket. Once the main is hot not much condensate will form their as long as it's insulated. Just make sure the water can get out

rwilson2526

Thanks for the information. That's the route I will go. This leads me to my next question. In trying to eliminate all copper in this new repipe, the last piece is this 3-2 adapter screwed into my 3" T on the main. On a side note, I know that a T in the center of a main is not ideal but I figured the dead men don't make mistakes and I'm not up for splitting it into 2 right now. Even with my terrible previous installation the house always heated evenly.

Anyway, how would you go about getting this thing out of the T. I was going to cut it flush and then try to split it inside with hack saw blade and chisel. Then I was wondering if that is a screwed on fitting over a nipple and maybe I'll just try to split the fitting on the outside exposing the existing nipple. At least I think that is a nipple in there. Of course we have cold weather coming end of this week so I am tempted to not mess with it at all and sweat a 2" male adapter on it and call it day. Assuming time is not an issue, what's your preference?

delta T

That is a DWV (drain waste and vent) male threaded adapter soldered to a dwv reducing coupling. I would cut it off leaving about 1/4" sticking out of the tee, slice into it very carefully going in almost to the female threads, but not quite all the way, and take a hammer and chisel and collapse the copper inwards to remove, should come out easy.

I assume you have tried to take it out with a wrench? kind of surprised it won't go...

rwilson2526

Thanks for the ID. I tried unscrewing with a 2' pipe wrench with 3' length of pipe on the end. Problem is because its horizontal, 7' off the ground and no wall nearby to have something to push off of I can't get it to budge. I had the same issue with one ofthe connections to the dry returns fortunately the black pipe to black pipe connection further back let go. Even after I gotit down and put it in a pipe vice I couldn't get it undone.