Steam system with a hot water boiler

Davewilson

I'm working on a house that has a steam system with radiators that has what I think is an old hot water boiler I was wondering if that was compatible. It's my understanding that you have to have a pump on a hot water system for a hot water boiler to work this has no pump and it's all gravity fed it's a 25 system with gravity drains on the returns. So when I started to fill it everything on the first floor radiator started to leak. Then I thought well maybe it is a steam boiler it's an old hydrotherm r210 boiler it has no little water cut out it has no equalizer pipe it has no pressure trials the only safeties I see on it is the pressure relief valve that's at 30 lb and of course there's a limit on there that looks like an aquastat. It was initially set at 200 Fahrenheit. Can you give me any guidance as to what to do with this system I'm trying to get it working?

ethicalpaul

A picture is worth 1,000 words. Send many

Jamie Hall

Is this gravity hot water, by any chance? They were pretty common in the day... maybe some pictures of the boiler and nearby piping and a radiator or two?

bburd

Almost certainly that is a gravity hot water system, one of the few remaining that have not been converted to forced circulation by adding a pump. Some boilers can be used for either steam or hot water systems, depending on how they are set up.

Unfortunately hot water heating systems are subject to freezing damage, which may account for the leaks you have found.

Davewilson

Thanks, i have some pics of the boiler And near boiler piping. Like i said there is no equilizer line. The supply vomes out of the boiler and splits to two different areas of the home. I stripped the jacket and dome and did a thourough cleaning. Didnt see any signs of heavy soot buildup. Put it all back as was and fired it up. This system han a tank that is at the high point with a sightglass on the second floor it has a open vent to the attic. The boiler has no power it has a thermopile that provides for the limit and thermostat.

bburd

Yes, that is gravity hot water with the original open expansion tank.

Jamie Hall

bburd said:

Yes, that is gravity hot water with the original open expansion tank.

And they can and do work very well -- provided they are correctly maintained. However... they aren't always happy with modern boilers, and they tend to require some creative modifications to the plumbing and rebalancing to work properly with the modern boilers which have pumps.

The original would not have had -- nor needed -- a pump.

Davewilson

So where can i get info on how to fill and start this boiler. The owners are wanting heat and i was not comfoy leaving it on untill i get more . Safety first.

Davewilson

So I guess what I'm asking is how far do I feel this thing up with water when I initially started to fill it it started leaking out of the radiators on the first floor  they frozen and broke do you think ? Thanks for your help I appreciate it. The radiators don't have any air vents on them they just have manual events at the top of them it's a two pipe system like I said I'm trying to think of all the information I can give you

Davewilson

I'll be back over that way tomorrow I'll get some pictures and send post them

EBEBRATT-Ed

@Davewilson

The first thing you need to do is get the system tight so that it holds water. That is no small task by the sounds of it you have a lot of leaks to fix.

If the radiators are all split then the next decision will be do we fix this system or do we scrap it and put in something new. That will probably be the tipping point

Jamie Hall

Or to put it another way -- it can't be run at all until the system is filled up to the midpoint of that sight glass on the tank you mentioned in the attic.

And you have leaks, so you will have to find and repair all those leaks first. If the house was allowed to freeze without having the system drained completely out...

fueloilrich631

Sounds like you have a gravity hot water system. Been a long time since I've seen one!

WMno57

Davewilson said:

pressure relief valve that's at 30 lb

Gravity Hot Water. Steam would be 15 psi.
Fix the leaks and fire it up.
To find the leaks, open all the bleeder screws on the radiators, then slowly fill till the water starts coming through the cracks. Shut off the water and start draining to minimize the water damage. If the radiators froze and cracked, they should be replaced. Lots of used radiators out there. Make sure to get hot water radiators, not steam. HW radiators have the sections CONNECTED ACROSS BOTH THE TOP AND BOTTOM.