Header and Riser Steam Velocity Tables, for Residential and Small Commercial Boilers

ted_p

Hi all,

Here's the tables I've put together to date, for residential, and small commercial steam boilers. I've uploaded them in .pdf format, so they can be viewed and printed using Adobe Reader and similar programs.

Here's a sample of what they look like:

This is the list of the ones that I've uploaded so far. I've tried to group similar, and identical, boilers together in one file.

Burnham Holdings manufactured boilers:

• Burnham: Independence, MegaSteam, and V8H
  
• Crown: Bermuda, Kingston, and Freeport 2
  
• New Yorker: CGS-C Series, and CL Steam Series
  

ECR International manufactured boilers:

• Columbia: CGEID Series, CSFE Series, and CSFE Series IV
  
• Dunkirk: PSB, and ESC V
  
• Pennco: 16 Series, and KSC V
  
• Utica: PEG-E, and Starfire SFE V
  

Peerless: Series 63 & 64, Series WBV, Series EC and Series SC

Slant/Fin: Galaxy, and Intrepid

Smith Cast Iron Boilers: 8HE Series, and GSX Series

Weil McLain manufactured boilers:

• Weil McLain: EG Gas, and GOLD SERIES
  
• Williamson: GSA, and OSB
  
• Union Steam: GSA, and OSB
  

The Slant/Fin Intrepid and Peerless Series SC are combined in the one file, because their tables share the same, peculiar, table structure, due to their use of two different-size risers on the same boiler.

Comments, corrections, and suggestions are welcome, particularly recommendations of boilers you'd like to see added.

Tables for larger commercial boilers to follow.

Ted

Steamhead

Thanks for doing this!

ethicalpaul

Pretty pretty pretty good

Dave0176

Thanks. It also brings to light that some boiler manufacturers would benefit if they increased the tapping sizes to at least 3”

ted_p

Dave0176 said:

..... It also brings to light that some boiler manufacturers would benefit if they increased the tapping sizes to at least 3”

Agreed. But just wait until you see the tables for the commercial boilers, which I'll be uploading shortly. The steam velocity in risers of many of those is over 60 fps, with the manufacturer's recommended piping; a few go well north of 100 fps.

ttekushan_3

Excellent work!

ethicalpaul

ted_p said:

Dave0176 said:

..... It also brings to light that some boiler manufacturers would benefit if they increased the tapping sizes to at least 3”

Agreed. But just wait until you see the tables for the commercial boilers, which I'll be uploading shortly. The steam velocity in risers of many of those is over 60 fps, with the manufacturer's recommended piping; a few go well north of 100 fps.

So lower velocity is good, I guess to reduce/prevent carryover right? But how high is too high? It depends on the design of the boiler I guess.

In looking at my soon-to-be-new boiler, the Peerless 63, the manufacturer thinks that anything less than 34.5 feet/second is fine. I know that Dave and other installers never let that happen, but does anything bad happen at 34.5 for that boiler I wonder?

Dave0176

So lower velocity is good, I guess to reduce/prevent carryover right? But how high is too high? It depends on the design of the boiler I guess.

In looking at my soon-to-be-new boiler, the Peerless 63, the manufacturer thinks that anything less than 34.5 feet/second is fine. I know that Dave and other installers never let that happen, but does anything bad happen at 34.5 for that boiler I wonder?


@ethicalpaul
Probably nothing bad is going to happen, however there will most likely be water carryover. But if you pipe to the minimum manufacturers specifications it should work. The boiler manufacturers do this to keep the boiler install as cheap as possible but on the ragged edge. To me it’s stupid to siphon water outta the boiler run it through the header and down the equalizer back in the boiler.

There’s like three types of installers. Ones like myself and others on this forum, the ones who usually try to do the cut and slide, and the ones who don’t read the manual and pipe every steam boiler with one two inch riser and header, because they’ll tell you that’s how they were taught and don’t need anything else. Lol

Ironman

Excellent job!

Thank you.

motoguy128

Pretty cool.

Erin Holohan Haskell

We've shared @ted_p's tables here: https://heatinghelp.com/systems-help-center/category/rules-of-thumb

Thanks for the great resource, Ted!

ted_p

Thanks Erin!

RayWohlfarth

@ted_p Really nice work Keep up the good work