2 Insulation Questions

Rem77

I have a 100 year old, 9 family 3 floor building with a 1 pipe steam system and about 150ft of wet returns. I had the near boiler piping redone and vented out the mains with Barnes and Jones Big Mouth vents. In certain rooms in the apartments there is a 2 inch riser pipe and a radiator right next to it. Will it help the radiator to heat better if I insulate the riser??
Does it make any sense to insulate the wet returns??

Thanks
Bob

Jamie Hall

Insulating the wet returns is a waste of time. Don't bother. Insulating any steam carrying pipe is going to help a lot -- so do it!

Hap_Hazzard

Insulating wet returns is worse than a waste of time. The insulation traps mosture in the summer when the basement is cool and damp and makes the pipes rust from the outside in.

Rem77

Thanks for the quick responses.

Bob

Clance

I'm just a home owner learning about stream so listen to the pros on here -

but I think I read in The Lost Art of Steam that Dan says insulating the returns is important - I cant find where he wrote it but it had something to do with keeping the condensate hot as possible to minimize carbon dioxide absorption because carbon dioxide in water forms carbonic acid that rots the pipes.

Perhaps someone on here knows the specifics...