cast iron baseboard

Gordo

to be heated with circulated condensate from steam boiler in basement. Does anyone here have any experience using CIBB in this application? Any problems purging the air out? Any problems with air leaks? Customer only wants cast iron, thinks the finned stuff looks cheap and tacky. What the customer wants....Would try to heat it with steam (2 pipe), but there's 21 feet of the stuff, and only 5 feet gets hot, which, as I understand it, is the max. for steam in baseboard. Thanks for any insights.

kevin

click...

the Heating Q&A line on the pipe on the side. Checkmout the Condensate heating section. Lots of good stuff... kpc

Gordo

Yes, thank you, however,

I've read Dan's book "How Come". My questions are about using cast iron baseboard with this system. Has anyone used CIBB in this application successfully?

Boilerpro

Only 5 feet

I have an installation with one pipe steam with upward 12 feet of CI baseboard and works fine (even though it should be banging but never does). The units I have seen only have 3/4 inch tappings and this may be your problem. Are the other radiator feeds this small. If not the 3/4 inch tapping is acting as an orifice, restricting the flow of steam to the baseboard. Throttle back on the other rads some and it should heat more completely, if this is the problem.

Boilerpro

Don_2

Whys it matter

If its castiron or copper baseboard.The only problem I could see is that castiron might override the tsat a bit.
I think the thing to worry about here is keeping the water below 180 degree so it wont flash to steam. Are you going with the heatexchanger or no heatexchanger?

Gordo

yep, only 3/4\" fittings

and leaking in several places, so it has to be replaced. Very hard to pitch, being so long, and there are carpentry issues (moldings and such) that the customer doesn't want touched. There are two other long runs of CIBB in the system and only 5 feet or so on them gets hot (3/4" fittings also). The two short runs of CIBB heat just fine. And one of the other long runs of CIBB just started leaking. Figure I can repipe to heat all the long runs with condensate.

Gordo

Plan to use bypass

and thermometer to keep temp below 180*F, by the book, as they say. No heat exchanger use is being contemplated at this time.