Massachusetts steam systems, 😟

GW

Good times 

kcopp

Knuckleheads... see it up here in NH too. Seems nobody wants to read manuals any longer...

GW

K well you just need to boiler the water, it’s easy 

ratio

Who gets to work on steam systems?

   Everyone!

delcrossv

Bet you find a new tee and a union under that duct tape

EBEBRATT-Ed

Piped by a hot water fitter. What's wrong with it??? Supply & return is all you need.

Nice 45 degree offset though 1.414 gotta give him credit for that

Looks like the crappy QB burner and crappier Tiger Loop

I strongly think that years ago when they closed most of the Jr high and high school trade shops that somehow the READING classes were also deleted.

jumper

So do counterflow serve owners better because there's less to be messed up?

GW

Jumper I would think it’s all the same, it’s either piped and skimmed well or it isn’t. Poorly piped means wet steam and it’s downhill from there.

 This system is not counterflow, you can see the return main(s) in the background, lower than the supply.

Also, with counterflow, I bet two dollars and a couple donuts but the sub-par boiler installer would never touch the main vents at the ends of the mains

GW

Ed that’s very generous 😀 

I bet a dollar and a dollar he took a good guess at that offset, and then nippled his way down into the boiler,

That constant-I have remembered since I was a freshman in high school. The other angles, I need to look at my cheat sheet.

GW

delcrossv said:

Bet you find a new tee and a union under that duct tape

I think it’s a giant bushing ✔️

EBEBRATT-Ed

Having seen the glass piped Weil McLain video a few times I'll bet the inside of that riser is nice and clean LOL

Surprised it heats at all

Chris_L

GW said:

delcrossv said:

Bet you find a new tee and a union under that duct tape

I think it’s a giant bushing ✔️

Yes, that is the way both the boilers are piped in my 100-year old, two-family home near Boston.

The tees are original--bushed down from 3.5 inches to whatever was used for the riser of the replacement boiler. And you know what? They work fine that way.

GW

Chris that’s great- if the tee is big enough and the boiler is piped to spec, good times. Nothing wrong with a bushed tee if the velocities are good 

too much steam then it’s best to yank the tee and get two risers of the header (a bit more work)

but that’s not the concern in this pic 

delcrossv

GW said:

....

but that’s not the concern in this pic 

Where's the equalizer?

jumper

I mean that boiler replacement for counterflow system requires less expertise.

GW said:

Jumper I would think it’s all the same, it’s either piped and skimmed well or it isn’t. Poorly piped means wet steam and it’s downhill from there.

 This system is not counterflow, you can see the return main(s) in the background, lower than the supply.

Also, with counterflow, I bet two dollars and a couple donuts but the sub-par boiler installer would never touch the main vents at the ends of the mains

GW

Still not sure what the difference is, maybe a little less work overall, sure 

mattmia2

You can move the boiler to fit the offset. No math or measurement was involved...

GW

Matt, Ed and I were having a math moment, we are all good

GW

EBEBRATT-Ed

Some will use any gimmick to avoid piping it right. No equalizer, no header, used one tapping, riser too small.

But they spent money for a surge tank which could have been spent on the right fittings.

Anything to avoid reading the instructions


Piped by a hot water guy "lets stick this in there it will fix it"

ethicalpaul

I hear it works just as well if you leave it in the box in the corner

mattmia2

Oh, it should somewhat do what piping it correctly would do. Still some unnecessary water and steam colliding, but at least it will slow everything down and let the water fall back in to the boiler, jut not exactly at the best location.

tim smith

that be dern good piping.

ScottSecor

At least I'm not alone with finding the steam boilers with "creative" piping.

GW

There definitely is some water putsing around the system. The system speaks to me 

GW

We are doing some minis on this property, when I quoted the job there were two clunky oil steam boilers- now, this boiler showed up out of the blue. I think there’s a local HVAC company pretending to be a hydronics installer  

Dan_NJ

What, ran out of zip ties for the duct work?  You can daisy chain them you know ...

JUGHNE

You just attract the better jobs....huh?

And out there installing heat pumps too.

GW

J can you rephrase. Don’t understand 

JUGHNE

Here you are the forced air guy, insinuating poor boiler piping........just pulling your chain!!

GW

Ahh I was starting to feel my feelings 😆 
I’m a 1980s plumber turned boiler guy turned hvac guy. Just flowing the green paved road to retirement 

DanHolohan

I love that. 😉

ratio

I like the venturi to help accelerate the steam so it can carry the water up into the system.

<sigh>

GW

mattmia2

GW said:

We are doing some minis on this property, when I quoted the job there were two clunky oil steam boilers- now, this boiler showed up out of the blue. I think there’s a local HVAC company pretending to be a hydronics installer  

its the new vertical header.

did you tell them they might want to not pay whoever did that?

GW

Matt I’m too shy and non confrontational, mum is the word ✅

delcrossv

GW said:

Looks like you unscrewed about half a century of bad piping on that one. 👍

GW

that we did. and got some yellow #5 goop in my hair that day too

JUGHNE

Great improvement!

Do I see new cast iron fittings there?

What happened to the "running trap" that was vented on each side?
And why was it there?

GW

Yes new cast iron, I’m old school 😀

running trap was a head scratcher for sure 😫

GW

We are getting all the mini splits done.We are getting all the mini splits done.Not sure how I missed this detail, feast your eyes