looking for suggestions on equalizer set up

heat1999

I was talking about this boiler in a different thread, I figured I’d make a new one now that I have the parts in front of me

The first picture is what it looks like now, with the small 1 inch equalizer

The second picture is what I was planning on changing it to

The third picture is what I was thinking about doing if the wet return does not line up well with the hartford loop pipe

What you guys think about that?

I should also note that I plan on replacing The rest of the wet return with 1-1/4” in the future because it’s only 1 inch copper as of right

Danny Scully

2nd pic is ideal. If you have to break back to the return, use a 45 or street 45. I would add a tee to feed the water in down there too. Also, 1” can handle over 700 EDR, so replacing it might not be necessary.

dopey27177

As far as boiler equalizers go the smallest pipe recommended by the manufacturer is 1 /2". That is for small boilers.

The boiler manufacturer tells you the size needed for the boiler you have.

Don't know the height needed for the Hartfort loop. Again the boiler manufacturer tells you that in the instruction manual.

As far as the piping lining up I would keep the wet return along side of thee wall. Using a street ell at Hartford loop is perfect as the closer you are to the equalizer the less likely you will a problem with water getting back into the boiler.

I do not comment on piping because the job makes the rules for your piping configuration!

Jake

heat1999

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1831876#Comment_1831876

thanks for the input,

so your saying if the return doesn’t lineup like in the first picture, I should add a 45 under the union and turn the tee at a 45?

heat1999

thanks for the reply ,

The manufacturer says 1-1/4 for the equalizer as well as the return

i’m using 2 inch for The equalizer just because I had a lot of 2 inch fittings in stock already

that is a reducing tee 2” x 1-1/4”

So from the Hartford loop down will be 1-1/4”

I know the correct height of the hartford loop, it’s 2 inches below the waterline in the manual

jesmed1

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1831991#Comment_1831991

Dan Holohan's book The Lost Art of Steam Heating has an entire section on Sizing the Equalizer (pp 63-64). I'm reading it for the first time, and as it happens, today's reading was that section.

I'm not a steam pro, just a homeowner/engineer, but I'll quote from Dan Holohan's book. Maybe you already read this:

"All of the early books on steam heating I've ever seen caution against using an equalizer smaller than 1-1/2 inch…Unfortunately, many of today's boiler mfrs specify 1-1/4 inch equalizers for small, house heating boilers. No one is quite sure when, how, or why this change took place…For what it's worth, I've seen many unstable water lines on small replacement boilers respond well to equalizers sized larger than the mfr's specs called for…Nowadays, I feel more comfortable with two-inch as the smallest equalizer size, even on small, house heating boilers…it will cost a bit more to install, but you're going to love the way it works."

Just mentioning it since it seems relevant.

ethicalpaul

if the supplies to the header and the header are sized as specified by the manufacturer (no need to exceed them), and the boiler is skimmed also as specified, then the equalizer specification is plenty.

In fact, even an undersized equalizer will be plenty because the amount of water in the header will be a tiny amount of condensate at startup followed by zero after that.

It’s just a drain for the header.