Less than optimal steam system

ScottSecor

We take care of many homes and commercial buildings that are heated with low pressure steam. Most of the systems warm the space adequately, however they are rarely piped perfectly. As we are all aware, many contractors neglect to read the installation manual and/or they do not understand the principals of steam heating.

Today we got a no heat call from a new customer. When I arrived, the owner showed me her new modern addition on the back of the roughly one hundred-year-old house. This roughly fifteen by twenty foot three-sided room with a wall of windows was just installed. The general contractor was on site and mentioned the walls, ceiling and floor were well insulated. They chose to install a four-foot strip of hwbb with ¾” element on the interior wall of this room. To date this hwbb has never produced heat.

The homeowner pointed out a new three-foot strip of hwbb in the kitchen. The kitchen was formerly heated with a cast iron radiator, they removed it because it looked old. The homeowner mentioned this new emitter doesn’t provide much heat and the vent drips constantly on the brand-new floor. They use a Tupperware container to catch the water since they turned the heat on for the season.

When I looked inside the hwbb cabinet in both rooms I noticed it was ‘regular’ ¾” copper element with ¾” pex riser. When I went down the basement I was amazed. Apparently, the ‘heating specialist’ that removed the cast iron radiator for the kitchen he disconnected it from the original horizontal 1.25 steel steam riser. Then he installed a reducing coupling on this same horizontal feed and ran a piece of ¾” pex horizontally to the two new hwbb elements. This wavy pex appears to be filled with water and is pitched away from the steam main and runs about twelve feet under the new addition I suspect the specialist thought the 3/4 “ pex would carry the steam and condensate needed to heat these two large rooms. Never saw one pipe steam piped in this method before.

The boiler may have been piped by the same crew or a very close relative when it was installed seven years ago. Again, we see less than optimal near boiler piping on a regular basis. In this case I think the photos will tell the story. For the record the steel supply coming out of the top of boiler is full size 3”. The rest of the supply is 2” copper and the ‘equalizer’ is a combination of 1” and ¾” copper. I don’t want to steal Steamhead’s favorite phrase, but I think this job may be fitting of “You can’t fix stupid.”
Now I have to figure out how we will heat the new addition and the kitchen. Sure with they called me before they installed the framing, subfloor and porcelain tile in the new addition. The only access to get below the floor in the addition is a eight inch hole in the original basement wall!

Jamie Hall

Comment cut off, @ScottSecor -- but from the beginning of it, are you surprised? What did you do about it?

EBEBRATT-Ed

Baseboard is always an issue on steam. If it is hooked up two pipe or drop a loop seal off the BB return and go back in the steam main in the bottom of a new tee

ScottSecor

delcrossv

I'm speechless. 😨

EBEBRATT-Ed

Shark bites don't leak, we always leave the old boilers in the basement, you don't need a header on a steam boiler and pexis fine for steam,

Did I miss anything??

What happens when a crappy hot water guy does a steam job

ScottSecor

I couldn't help myself with taking photos with my cell phone. I actaully considered running home to get my camera and tripod and starting a new post "Wall of Shame."

I do not claim to be perfect. Sometimes you have to use a less than ideal fitting on an emergency repair, sometimes you take the old boiler out the next day after working sixten hours straight, sometimes it's ten degrees outside and you have to get the heat on, etc. But this house really stood out. I also noticed there was likeley two separate two inch mains originally. Somone tied them together and used 1.25" for the begginning of one of the mains. Not sure how one gets appropiate pitch when feeding one main from the center. Ever try to feed five decent sized cast iron rads with a 1.25" horizontal main? Ever run a combination of 3/4" and 1" copper for a wet return off the end of the main (about twenty five foot run?

EBEBRATT-Ed

"It will be big enough I have been doing this for 45 years".

I can here them now "just use what is in the truck"

"threading 2" is too hard by hand, do it in 1 1/4""

WMno57

ScottSecor said:

Now I have to figure out how we will heat the new addition and the kitchen. Sure with they called me before they installed the framing, subfloor and porcelain tile in the new addition. The only access to get below the floor in the addition is a eight inch hole in the original basement wall!

Access issues make electric resistance baseboard for the addition something to consider. Kitchen could be a "modern looking" steam radiator, or more electric baseboard.

dopey27177

Robin said to the Batman "Holey Molley"

In reality the whole place needs to be done over correctly. The best thing that your customer can do iis to sue the G.C. and have him pay for the restoration of the heating system.

Jake