Installation of my Burnham Steam Max Boiler 175K BTU Natural Gas

umichaelx

I just had this Burnham Steam Max 175K boiler installed about one month ago at one of my properties here in NYC. This boiler uses Natural Gas. This is a 2-family home with a total of 10 radiators - a 2K square foot home. I am thinking of asking the Contractor to come back and put in a king valve as shown on the diagram - credit to Dan Holohan and Heatinghelp.com. I am posting this picture of my boiler to get constructive criticism from you which will be greatly appreciated. I did clean up the floor in the boiler room later.
Thank you for your time and feedback.

ethicalpaul

I like the near-boiler piping. Was the inspector happy?

It looks like the skim port has been reduced, but as long as they skimmed it and it's not surging, I'm happy.

What is the total EDR (sq ft of radiation) of your radiators?

Can we see the front of the two gray boxes over on the left side?

Is there just a single main? If not, can we see where the vertical supply feeds into them?

Can we see a picture of your main vent(s)?

Is that a check valve below your autofeeder?

trivetman

Theres plenty of boilers which seem to be maintained and last a long time without having king valves.  Theres those who do love to have them on this site but they don’t seem critical to have and keeping them functional can also be an issue and at least one person on this site put them in and they were the source of leaks.

If you’re going to do the maintenance yourself and are intent on doing the blowdowns, call the guy back.  Otherwise leave it alone.

I had a larger steammax put in last winter (no king valves)  So far so good though its needed a lot of skimming beyond what the installer did.

pedmec

king valve is way more important in a commercial application than a residential application. it allows you to blow down the boiler and to chemically clean the boiler without disturbing the rest of the system.

EBEBRATT-Ed

How did they size the boiler it seems quite large for the house?

umichaelx

Thank you all for your feedback. This is all useful information. In response to "ethicalpaul" questions: - I will get the pictures you requested next time I am at the property. This is one of my investment properties here in NYC.

pecmsg

That will answer the question 
how was it sized

thats a lot of Steam!

Mad Dog_2

I think you got an excellent job.  I would liked to have seen the 3"Header a few inches higher, but thats just me.  Ward Fittings!!  Made in USA!!! Bravo. I don't see one trace of excess pipe dope, wick or Teflon Tape.  I only install a King Valve in Large Residential, Commercial, or if they 
Are willing to pay for the upgrade.  Aside from a Power-Blow-Down, King valves and gate valves on the return is a life saver when troubleshooting or for a suspected boiler leak.  Without knowing the Connected EDR load (Super important), I'll throw him an A...A plus if its sized closely.  

If you have the extra disposal income, Get a price from him and go for it...pretty easy install.  Mad Dog 🐕 

trivetman

Thats high praise.   MadDog gave my install a C+

Mad Dog_2

👍 Yes. I am The Plumbing & Heating Drill Sgt..and I am hardest on myself....Believe me..I don't always get "A"s either, but boy do I kill myself trying. 😂 🤣 😆 😄 .  Mad Dog 🐕