steam

Steamhead

The short answer is- either way works fine when properly installed and maintained. But a dry return on a one-pipe system will need a slightly larger pipe for a given capacity, and a wet return may plug up with system dirt (although there's less chance of this if the wet return is piped in copper). It really depends on the building the system is installed in.

On a Vapor system, the radiators vent thru the return so it has to be at least partially dry. But on some Vapor systems (notably Hoffman with Differential Loop) the dry return pitches away from the boiler, into a drip which leads into a wet return. In this case, the condensate and air flow in opposite directions.

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Gary Usa

steam

hiya guys,how we all doing,hope life is treating you well as it is indeed treating me very well,now living in a place that we have desired for so long and to work for an exceptional company,as i am working have come across a few steam boilers ,learning the header,equalizer,hartford loop ,using two flows and returns one for each side of the house to balance the system,converting a dry return into a wet return,please may i ask what benefit are their from utilizing a wet return over a dry return.

many thanks again as always

all the best

gary usa

Unknown

Ummm

Makes it much easier to get through doorways if the return is on the floor. Hehehe

ScottMP

pretty funny

Probably not to far off, Noel.

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Boilerpro

I thought dry returns were better?

Pretty unlikely dry returns are going to plug up and rot out, but I haven't been around steam that long.


Boilerpro

Unknown

I have to agree with that.

In New England, they drop lots of times to run across the floor from the wall to the boiler. On really wide buildings, they drop down and become wet when you run out of "A" dimension.

Boilerpro

So you like copper for wet returns...

I was always a little concerned that water hammer could blow them apart much easier when something goes wrong in the system. Do you use copper for your near boiler return piping...basically short wet returns? I imagine it saves alot of time on an install. Ever try using CPVC?

Boilerpro

Unknown

We have been using

copper on return piping for years , without any major problems to speak of . On the occasions where we go back and flush out the returns , we have som major water hammering when cleaning them out , but havent seen a leak develop from it . Its kinda funny when the customer comes running down and wondering how I made the banging noises louder from cleaning the system .

Steamhead

Never had a problem

with copper wet returns- ever. Note that when I flush the gunk out of a return, I usually hook up a hose to the main vent opening rather than start the boiler and try to flush with steam. Water hammer is not a factor on a system I've repaired.

I wouldn't try CPVC though- if I remember correctly it's only rated for 180 degrees.

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