Steamer Replacement

EzzyT

Replaced this leaking, oversized, piped wrong steamer with a Peerless and upgraded the main venting.

EBEBRATT-Ed

When you see threaded rod with hangers on a house job there is no need to look any further. Nice job. looks like some counterflow going on.

STEAM DOCTOR

Like the brass nipple for the pressure relief valve. For the life of me I can't understand why a life-saving device like that would utilize a black nipple

EzzyT

Thanks @EBEBRATT-Ed & @STEAM DOCTOR, yes there’s about 15’ of counterflow piping on the steam main and the reset is parallel flow.
Agreed plus I can remove the plug on the tee and wand the boiler from that side too.

EBEBRATT-Ed

@STEAM DOCTOR
Like they always say "follow the money".

Just like black pigtails..junk!

Years ago in MA when I started if you put a low water cutoff or pump control on a boiler every fitting below the water line had to be brass, the pig tail and all the 1/4" nipples on the pressure gauge and pressure controls had to be brass and they used to enforce it. I am talking commercial boilers but most guys doing residential followed that as it was well known. Not any more

ethicalpaul

That's a lot of extra unnecessary iron and labor on that poor little Peerless, @EzzyT!

I love your brass controls structure, but my inspector in Cedar Grove wouldn't pass it (I had to temporarily put the pigtail back to placate him) watch out for that guy

And hey you're leaving the CycleGard on there! I like it!! I can't remember if you were a CycleGard hater at one time. I'm convinced there's nothing safer out there.

The quality of the install is amazing

JUGHNE

Yes, great installation.
Does the cycle guard run the vent damper for each check?

As far as threaded rod and hangers, I use them everywhere for everything.
Mod Con venting, DWV, NG, electrical etc.

I found that they are easier and quicker to adjust as needed.
Plumber's hole strap now always looks hacky to me.

ethicalpaul

I believe it leaves my vent damper open during the test--because it cuts the 120v to everything after it as I recall.

dko

Finally, someone who uses loop hangers for something other than fire sprinkler pipe!!!

They are MSS SP-58 and can be used in lieu of the more expensive hangers in many situations. Loop hangers are very inexpensive and can save you a lot of money.

JUGHNE

Not to steal EzzyT's thunder:

But what is a better hanging support for 8 to 10" smoke pipe?
The hole strap seems to stand out like something floating in the punch bowl.

These are 3 PB stuffed into one room with 12' ceiling.
My theory is that I should be able to stand on most of the pipe hung.
This is my last and only hurrah of steam boiler install.
By using this hanger system I put 98% of this pipe up myself.

Ironman

@EzzyT
Excellent job as always.

dko

JUGHNE said:

Not to steal EzzyT's thunder:

But what is a better hanging support for 8 to 10" smoke pipe?
The hole strap seems to stand out like something floating in the punch bowl.

I carry this for smoke pipe
https://www.walraven.com/us/products/bis-aero/

walraven also makes the hangers for centrotherm

JUGHNE

The Cyclegard I had issues with would shut down the 120 volts and the damper would stay open.
However when it came out of the cycle the damper would close first and then reopen when the tstat called again.

Then the reenergized tstat would go into a "wait" mode before boiler firing (damper opening time).

In this case the cycle timer would run even with boiler not firing, so when there was a call for heat it might be just a few minutes from doing it's check cycle.

So all of this delay combined might cause the steam main vents to open and pull air back into the system.
The cyclegard was replaced with the Safegard and solved many problems.

I have one on the shelf if anyone needs one.

mattmia2

We've seen a lot worse than the old boiler. But the new boiler is in a different league.

ScottSecor

@EzzyT great eat job, as usual.  Nice to see some people still take pride in their work. 

If ever I could pick a residential steam boiler to perform annual maintenance on, I think this is it! Perfect example of going that extra mile. 

Ironman

dko said:

Not to steal EzzyT's thunder: But what is a better hanging support for 8 to 10" smoke pipe? The hole strap seems to stand out like something floating in the punch bowl.

I carry this for smoke pipe https://www.walraven.com/us/products/bis-aero/ walraven also makes the hangers for centrotherm

That’s a spiral seem hanger with a rubber coating. I wouldn’t use it on a flue pipe.

ScottSecor

We have used those rubber coated hangers with Centrotherrm polypropylene venting, supplied by manufacturer. I agree with @Ironman I doubt this type of hanger is designed for single wall galvanized smoke pipe.

JUGHNE

I was wondering about the temp rating of that hanger. But will not need any in the immediate future.

And as far as maintenance goes the plugs and caps make that job easier and the fact that things will be done....no pipes to wrench apart....easy peasey.

SuperTech

@EzzyT that boiler is a work of art. All your piping is so clean. What do you use for thread sealant? I've always used Teflon tape and PTFE pipe dope but I struggle to keep everything as neat and clean as I'd like to. Especially with brass piping I always spend too much time cleaning up excess pipe dope after I'm done getting everything together. 

mattmia2

paint thinner works well to clean up the dope

Ironman

Ezzy is very particular about how much tape and dope he applies.

EzzyT

Thank you all.
@SuperTech as @ironman has mentioned I have some ocds. 1/2” teflon on pipe sizes from 1/2”-2” and 3/4” teflon tape from 21/2”-4”. I used pro dope thread sealant