System Upgrade

AlfredRose

One pipe steam, parallel flow, wet return. A radiator was replaced with 2" steel fin pipe radiation. 3/4" copper installed at the end of steel fin opposite of steam inlet. The copper runs to the wet return with a main vent installed at the end where it feeds to the wet return - no regular radiator vent installed. There is steel fin pipe in another area that has a regular angle vent on the end. Neither setup heats adequately that I can see, at least not as well as a radiator would. Wish to purchase new radiators to replace the steel fin. Two 2" mains going to one radiator and one steel fin each, on opposite sides of a bar room.
From what I can see there are at least three 1" risers that have caps on them. Two of them were for bathrooms that now have electric heaters. Have yet to find where the third one went. Will get boiler specs when I get the chance, practically a brand new Peerless. Returns look to be, two 1&1/4" returns plus the 3/4" copper going into a 2" manifold on the floor that runs through a wall into the boiler room. All have main vents that look like they have been spitting water over the years, especially the copper. No valves installed, ( king or return line ), for blowdown. The boiler is about 4 or 5 years old, has a tankless coil feeding an 50 gal electric water heater. Waterline in boiler may have been set higher than usual to cover tankless better, don't know for sure. I think the boiler has a fair amount of mud in it, along with returns. Do not think heating people would know blow down procedure, (myself included), to blow down boiler even if it could be isolated form the rest of the system. Extra 3/4" tap on top of boiler will allow for flushing as best as possible for now. Water hammer present in bar room but not bothersome or loud. Header piping appears to work OK, do not think water is going to the 2" mains, but it does not look like what would be done by knowledgeable people. Still have to get the OK from the powers that be. It looks like a good crawl space project for the hot summer days..

Jamie Hall

I'm not quite sure what the question is -- but if it is in regard to repalicing that steel fin tube with a regular radiator, that shouldn't be a problem == and will likely get more heat into the space. you can either pipe them in with the existing drains to the wet returns, and the vents, or as one pipe radiators if the supply lines are pitched corretly.

As to the water hammer, odds are that there is a pipe which has lost its pitch somewhere in there...

Do check the operating shutoff pressure on the boiler -- no more than 1.5 pso.

What type of low water cutoff do you have? If it's a float type, it -- not the whole boiler -- needs to be blown down at least a couple of times a month. The boiler itself really doesn't need to be blown down usually -- once a year would be ample, and you don't need pressure to do that.

AlfredRose

Was not asking a particular question, just letting the forum know some of what I may be dealing with. Think I can figure the size for replacement radiators by referring to the book. I think you are right about pitch in the system. Pretty sure pressuretrol is set to the position you have listed. Would guess low water cut off is a McDonald Miller, but it is not a float type like the ones I used to sell. They were mostly mechanical, this one has led's and what looks like self test settings. There is also what appears to be an electronic automatic feed and water level system of some sort. Do not think the system, or any componets have been blown down or touched since install. I will look closer when I get the boiler specs. As I have said before I will not touch the controls on the unit if I get the go ahead for liability reasons, and also because I have never dealt with working steam heating controls before, just sold them. The boiler and controls are only 4 or 5 years old, the piping system and radiators looks as though it was installed in the fifties or sixties'. I can see cut out pieces of pipe laying in the crawl space from past replacements. The piping side of the steam system I have no problems working with as long as I have my "Lost Art" book and the forums advice to work with, I'll be fine.

ethicalpaul

Without a question, my only response can be:

“OK” 😅