One-pipe steam problem

[Deleted User]

in the gage glass doing? Is it bouncing dramatically? Is water priming down from the top of the glass?

You may have shaken years of crud from the pipes into the boiler. Priming may be shoving lots of water out with the steam. If so, spitting vents. Might need a good skim and flush.

Yes. You can reduce the input of an atmospheric boiler. Just don't get too radical. Flue gas temperatures must be kept high enough to prevent condensation. Our procedure is to remove burners on both ends and plug the manifold tappings where the orifice spuds were. You must still provide enough input to fill those larger than necessary mains, with steam, on each cycle.

Of course, the optimum would be a new boiler, with properly sized piping. Kind of pricey. Good luck.

Thomas E. Spall

Steam Problem Desparetly seeking solution!!!!!

We have a one-pipe steam system that has had its connected load decreased substantially from 1100 SF to 450 Sf, however, the sizes of the mains are sized for the total SF produced by the boiler as from the original installation. We are experiencing water spitting from the vents on the remaining radiators. From costruction/demolition that took place some of the piping pitches were altered and in some cases pitching the wrong way, we corrected all of the piping issues in the basement, and by the way we removed a tremendous amount of water during the correction process. We restarted the boiler, system operating pressure is 1.5 psi, and it worked fine for a week and then the spitting problem reappeared. Do you think that possibly it took a week for water to build back up in the system, because the condensate is not being pushed back into the boiler and instead being pushed by the steam out of the radiators. Would you agree that I would need a 42 inch or greater standing column of water to push condensate back into the boiler operating at 1.5 psi. We are grasping for a solution, what is your professional opinion on this potential remedy? 1) Install 2 condensate return tanks at the low point of 2 condensate return lines and 2) install F&T traps at each riser on the condensate return. The homeowner has been patient but I think he is starting to get a little pissed. I appreciate any guidance you might have.

Thank You

Steamhead

I'll bet you still have

the same boiler as before, firing at the same rate, which is now grossly oversized. This is pushing the steam so fast that it doesn't let the water flow back in the opposite direction. The water backs up in the radiators, and the vents spit.

You might be able to get out of trouble by reducing the firing rate of the boiler. Check with the boiler manufacturer to see how far down you can go. If this doesn't help, you may have to replace the boiler with a smaller one.

I'm curious- why were half the radiators removed? What replaced them?

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Tim Carlson

Spitting?

Are all the rads spitting? Have you replaced the rad valves?

We have had spitting air-vents where the rad valve stem bib screw has broke, the handle turns so we assume it's open, but the bib washer has fallen down on the seat. Steam can still come in through the open screw hole in the bib washer, but condensate cannot drain out.

It takes days, but eventually the condensate level in the rad gets high enough that the vent starts to spit.

Have the same problem when home owners try to shut off an old rad valve. They will close tight enough to hold back condensate, but leak enough to allow steam in.

Just something simple to check.

Tim

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Thomas E. Spall

Spitting

Steamhead,
Ther were recessed convectors for the first floor that never really worked the best. The floor convectors had outside air ducted thru them and then supplied air via a duct to supply registers at the first floor level, very expensive to operate and did not perform very well. By the time we got to the job the outside air duct had been disconnected and a makeshift fan system was added that also never really worked well.

We ende up removing these large cast iron units and installing hot water fan coils and a small boiler.

At this point I would like to be confident that whatever recommendation that is made is going to work.

The boiler has ribbon burners and can not be downfired, without owning it!

Would you agree that the existing steam piping sized for the 1100 SF, although the steam less places to go, should have the proper velocity? Or would you say that due to the fact it has less places to go that it is forced thru the smaller pipes going to the second floor radiators, at wich time the velocity increases drmatically and forces the condensate back into the radiator? But why did the system work fine for a week after we corrected piping issues in the basement? Was it because we drained the water, possibly excess, from the system? Boy am I confused now, who has the magical answer?????

Thanks for everything.




Tom

Steamhead

The mains are probably OK

but the runouts and risers are no doubt problematic, since condensate flows against the steam in these lines. If that were my job I would have solved the performance problems with the old indirect radiation, or found some good used free-standing radiators and installed them.

Try flushing the lines out as Ron suggested. If that doesn't help, you'll have to down-fire the boiler.

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Thomas E. Spall

One pipe steam problem

Steamhead,
Do you think that downsizing the boiler, sizing it to the radiation existing, and using the existing mains would remidy the situation. Thanks for the input.

Steamhead

Yes I do

but I've said this many times before- check with the boiler's manufacturer before down-firing it that much. This way you know you're doing it right.

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