Pipe Question

Mike J

I am the owner of a 80 year old brick, 2 story row house, 1,800 square feet. It utilizes a hot water/cast iron radiator system. The original boiler was coal fired and gravity fed as evidenced by the existing plumbing. The current boiler is about 60 years old with 1 circulator pump. It is single zone. It feeds 10 radiators of various sizes. There is a seperate trunk line for suppy and return. (No continuous loop). All boiler connections are made with 1.25" id black iron pipe. This pipe almost immediately expands to 2.5" id and is reduced as the trunk travels down the line. All branches to and from the radiators are .5" id. I am going to replace the boiler this Spring. I would also like to replace the trunk lines as they are hanging at 6' and would allow me to refinish the basement if they were anchored higher to the ceiling. Do I need to use the large pipe or can I run the trunk at a constant 1" or .75"? Can I use copper with brass conectors to the threaded radiator feeds, or do I need to stick with black iron?

John Ruhnke1

Manifolds with flow meters

Mike,

Cut out the entire main. Run 1/2 pex pipe from all the radiator feed and returns. Pipe it all into a manifold with flow meters on it. Once done it will be alot easier to balence the system. I did this and the client loved it.

JR

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