Need help with eddy system steam boiler.

brklynzoo07

I sold a steam boiler job in a very old historical house thinking it was just a typical steam boiler swap out. We'll I get here and start noticing weird things and found out it a vacuum style system called, the eddy system, atleast I believe. But im just wondering if it will still work ok if I swap just the unit out with a new steam boiler and leave the piping all the same. If some one reaches put and knows about this, I have more details. Thanks in advance. Hope someone can chime In on it.

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

You will have to post some pictures of the existing near-boiler piping before we can comment.

STEAM DOCTOR

I sorts of do need to offer some constructive criticism. Never ever take any boiler job without seeing it first. I do got to ask. If you didn't see it first, how did you size the boiler?

STEAM DOCTOR

And we need to take one step back. A straight boiler swap out, can only work, if previous boiler piping is matched perfectly, and previous boiler piping was relatively perfect, and system function properly. Replacing same for same, it's not necessarily the right way to do things.

KC_Jones

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1803087#Comment_1803087

x2 on this. And since it's a vacuum/vapor system, the boiler sizing is going to be especially critical.

Mad Dog_2

Let's go..pictures well get you through it. This is how u learn The Steam . Mad Dog

brklynzoo07

@steamdoctor I will get some pics tomorrow. But yes, I did see the job before qouting it. But it really just looked like a traditional steam boiler at first. The only thing I missed and didn't notice for some reason, was the radiator didn't have a vent, they have a small pipe running down about ⅜" instead of vent. Reason I didn't notice is because they had covers on them. Also, they went down into the basement into what looks like an expansion tank. Which was kind of tucked away too. Only reason I noticed was because the homeowner pointed it out and asked what it was. At first I told him an expansion tank but I had no clue why a steam boiler would have one. So I researched myself and found it was a vacuum system. Which I've never heard of. Besides that, everything else looks exactly the same as a traditional stream boiler.

Steamhead

@brklynzoo07 , the Eddy System is covered in chapter 15 of @DanHolohan 's book "The Lost Art of Steam Heating". Do you have a copy? If not you can get it here:

https://www.heatinghelp.com/store/category/steam-heating-books/

Mad Dog_2

Yes...If you're going to tackle this job, which you should, you MUST purchase & read Lost Art...Mad Dog