Carolinas contractor
Comments
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a residential steam person in SC is as rare as a residential steam system in SC. Your best bet will be to look for plumbing/heating contractors who relocated from the North East.
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A residential steam person is getting rare everywhere
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@tsburris , where in SC?All Steamed Up, Inc.
Towson, MD, USA
Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
Oil & Gas Burner Service
Consulting1 -
I have just such a friend the moved down to NC, but he haw ZERO interest in getting involved in such things. Your only shot is to hire Steamhead to consult on it. He's a Mechanical Genius, and an absolute gentleman. As Consultants, we devise a plan of attack and then come up with a simple step by step regimen that ANY good mechanic can follow. Mad Dog0
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Thanks, @Mad Dog_2 .
Looks like theoretically one could ride down US 1 to get there from Baltimore, but it would probably take a week
@tsburris , can you post some pics of the boiler and a few radiators?All Steamed Up, Inc.
Towson, MD, USA
Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
Oil & Gas Burner Service
Consulting1 -
I'm in NC, and there is no one here that does residential steam. To be honest, it doesnt get cold enough to run steam except for the coldest 2-3 weeks a year. So, it is easy to understand why not.1
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Steamhead said:Thanks, @Mad Dog_2 . Looks like theoretically one could ride down US 1 to get there from Baltimore, but it would probably take a week@tsburris , can you post some pics of the boiler and a few radiators?
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I live in Charleston SC, but I am confined to a wheelchair. Is the system in an accessible home? It appears to be installed properly, are you experiencing any problems that need to be addressed now?
Are you just looking for a service provider for normal maintenance?Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
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Is the pressuretrol, pressure gage and low water cutoff on the other side?0
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Dinner in the diner,Mad Dog_2 said:Carolina on my mind..
nothin' could be finer
then to have your ham and eggs
in "Caroliner"
If you follow my Train of thought!Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
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Bad water hammer on startup. I had a ~12’ section of 2.5” pipe replaced, and the water hammer has been worse since. The pipe I replaced was leaking badly, and I was essentially having to fill the boiler a few times a day. My water bill was out of this world. With the new pipe in, I believe there’s now pressure where there wasn’t before…not sure if the hammer is from an unlevel pipe or do I need a steam trap? Or is my return clogged? I am lost. Need a once over from someone who knows what they are doing. Local plumbers are unqualified, and the local boiler people don’t do steam nor do they work on residential.EdTheHeaterMan said:I live in Charleston SC, but I am confined to a wheelchair. Is the system in an accessible home? It appears to be installed properly, are you experiencing any problems that need to be addressed now? Are you just looking for a service provider for normal maintenance?0 -
All Steamed Up, Inc.
Towson, MD, USA
Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
Oil & Gas Burner Service
Consulting0 -
Can you show us what pipe was replaced? A supply line or a return? The one in the crawl space picture?0
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And, can you tell us what setting is dialed into pressuretrol? Maybe a better photo of the scale?0
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the one in the crawl space. Yes its galvanized.
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Looking for a service provider to help with the water hammer and regular maintence.
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Well, if the pipe replacement made the hammer worse and if that pipe had to be replaced in the first place then I would start there. Pipes start leaking because water sits in them when it shouldn't be. Pipes start banging when water sits in them when it shouldn't be. Check that length of pipe for proper pitch. I'm assuming your system is parallel flow so should be pitched away from the boiler about 1" every 20ft. Also make sure nothing in the new fittings of the pipe replacement that can trap water. Eventually insulate that pipe but make sure the pitch is right first.
Can't see from any of your pictures what you have for main venting and as others have mentioned what pressure you have the ptrol set at.
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Sorry for the delay. Ptrol was originally set very high 8+ PSI. I dialed it back to 2 PSI after reading up Dan Holohan's We Got Steam Heat. Attached are tight shots of the ptrol from when I adjusted it last winter.
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Piping around boiler looks ok don't know if the header is 24" up above the water line.
You could call ECR and see if they know of a contractor in your area. Also a visit to a supply house or 2 they may know someone who does steam
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Thanks. I'll give ECR a try. See attached photo of rig. I don't have a measuring tape in there for scale, but I'm confident the header clears 24" above water line.
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No it's not OK. You can see in an earlier pic where they bushed the steam outlet from 2-1/2" down to 2". That's wrong- read the manual.
All Steamed Up, Inc.
Towson, MD, USA
Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
Oil & Gas Burner Service
Consulting0 -
Looks like you should have two possibly three main vents from the looks of the mains branching from the near boiler photo. See one vent in the photo which is probably inadequate.
You can also slide that ptrol slider down to just barely above the 0.5. Take the cover off and verify that the little white dial is set on 1.
I know crawl spaces are no fun but have you checked to be sure there is no sag in that repaired pipe?
Are all of your radiators properly pitched back toward the inlet?
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Yes, there are two main vents…one for each "loop" of piping coming out of the header. One "loop" goes to one side of the house that's above the basement, the other goes into the crawlspace that's under the other half of the house. (The basement is only under about half the house.) Both loops reconnect at the wet return before it goes under the concrete and then comes back up at the boiler. The run underground isn't more than 10 feet.
See below photos of each vent. The vents are new - I replaced them both about a year ago - with no measurable difference in water hammer. All of the pitches THAT I CAN SEE seem OK, but its entirely possible I've got sag somewhere deep in the crawlspace. The crawlspace narrows to a point at the far end of the house that's almost impossible to maneuver in. I've also avoided going into the crawlspace because the piping that's in there is wrapped in old TSI that has asbestos, which is deteriorating and crumbling. I've got a service coming this week to remove it and the contaminated dirt so that the crawlspace is more accessible.
Is there any way to locate water hammer? Could it be that the wet return that's underground is either clogged or so deteriorated that it needs to be replaced?
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Do you mean here?
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Other side.
And, those main vents look too small. How long are your mains, and what pipe size?
All Steamed Up, Inc.
Towson, MD, USA
Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
Oil & Gas Burner Service
Consulting1 -
Hi, the basement is definitely not wheelchair accessible. I'm looking most importantly for someone to diagnose and fix the water hammer issue, and secondarily, I would like to get in touch with a service provider that could do annual maintenance on the boiler.
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2.5" mains…the runs from the boiler to the far end of the building must be 40+ feet each way. A big "U" with the bottom of the U being another 15ish feet.
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I would add a Gorton #2 to each of those mains. The Gorton #2 vents 1.75CFM at 2oz pressure. You have over 1.8cuft per main to vent. I have about the same volume in my mains and I put on two Gorton 2's. The Ventrites you put on vent about 20% of a Gorton 2.
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I would assume that the underground pipe is clogged with rust. It probably has channels in rust to allow condensate to return but it is probably not returning as fast as it could. My original boiler, 1930 vintage, had an above ground return that was never flushed and it was 95% clogged. My replacement boiler return lines has tees and valves and I flush them out annually by connecting a garden hose to one valve and flushing thru other. Comes out oil black everytime. What @Steamhead and @dabrakeman said, bigger vents. You can get Gortons from Supplyhouse.com pretty quickly.
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aren’t you in North Carolina? Can you recommend someone to plumb replacement boiler lines, or do you think a regular plumber can do it? The guy who replaced the section of my main could do it but would rather have someone with a little more experience w boiler plumbing specifically.
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Unfortunately, I don't know anyone. I had to install and plumb a new boiler myself, but I am a life long, multicrafted, mechanic.. And, we are in a time and place where it is hard to find people to do something like this- even in a commercial/ industrial environment.
Your boiler is in good shape. You can add pipe hangers to straighten out pipes (remove the droops) and find someone to deal with undergrounds. I would guess that all pipes above the boiler's waterline will be pristine.
Any plumber can do it @tsburris. Even you can do it., All anyone would need is pipe treading tools, a pipe cutter, a source for black iron nipples, fittings (Fergusons) and pipe (lowes). Everything 1-1/2" and smaller, I used harbor freight hand treaders and tossed them when done. All you or the plumber need to remember is all pipes should pitch back to the boiler. It doesnt need to be a severe pitch either. Water flows down hill; steam can go uphill.
just replace like for like.1 -
@Steamhead @dabrakeman @SlamDunk
Replaced both of my Vent-Rite main vents with Gorton #2s this afternoon and I am absurdly happy to report that the hammer is gone! Not only does it mean I’m - for the moment - hero to my wife for making the “banging” go away, but it also means I don’t have to dig up that subterranean return…at least yet. Thank you for your input! I guess the Vent-Rites were undersized and creating too much pressure in the lines??
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