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Getting to know my near boiler piping

davidski
davidski Member Posts: 11
in Strictly Steam
Hi, all. I'm a new homeowner with a 2 pipe steam system. I've been lurking for a while and slowly going through Dan Holohan's "The Lost Art of Steam Heating" to get myself acquainted with how these systems work. I've yet to figure out the role of a segment of piping near my boiler. There's a heart shaped vessel labelled "condensator" which I don't get. I'm attaching photos and would be very appreciative of any points on what this device does (in layperson terms :) ).

Thank you very much!




Comments

  • ethicalpaul
    ethicalpaul Member Posts: 6,568
    Interesting! Is it just a collector of condensate that provides a large surface area of water to kill any steam that reaches it? 

    It has its own little gauge glass and everything!

    NJ Steam Homeowner.
    Free NJ and remote steam advice: https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/new-jersey-steam-help/
    See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el

  • STEAM DOCTOR
    STEAM DOCTOR Member Posts: 2,204
    Seems to be a boiler return trap. I believe the way these things work, is that if the condensate would rise up too high, which can happen on vapor (very low pressure systems), there is a float in there that will open and allow Steam to enter, which in turn will force the condensate back into the boiler.
    davidskiLong Beach Ed
  • retiredguy
    retiredguy Member Posts: 974
    It is supposed to be a boiler return trap as @steam doctor indicated. I said, supposed to, be if it is still connected correctly to the return piping and the boiler. Most of the contractors have no idea what this is or how it operates and therefore have no idea how it is to be connected to the system. It actually could be called a steam pump by the way they operate since it is steam pressure and the height of the water in the trap that causes the water to flow into the steam boiler. When they operate correctly they do a good job of returning condensate back into the boiler.
    davidski
  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 16,400
    what @retiredguy said is correct. You have a low-pressure vapor system. It is described in the LAOSH.
    davidski
  • davidski
    davidski Member Posts: 11
    Appreciate the insight! The boiler return trap description helps quite a bit, and the explanation of returning condensate back in explains the gauge glass as well!
  • davidski
    davidski Member Posts: 11
    For the archive, using the boiler return trap magic phrase, I found one of Dan's videos explaining the operation in detail. https://heatinghelp.com/systems-help-center/boiler-return-traps/

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