baseboard loop from steam boiler.

Tom M.

> Thanks for the info Tom. Tomorow i'm going to <BR>
> pipe the feed out of a higher tapping. I may use <BR>
> the one that the aquastat is in. The boiler is a <BR>
> Wiel McLain gold oil fired. Ill let you know if <BR>
> this works. <BR>
<BR>

Tim Harkins

we installed a baseboard loop on a steam boiler using a B&G series 100 bronze circulator, two B&G 3/4" flow valves with a copper by-pass between them. We are controlling it with a switching relay to turn the pump on and an L4006A aquastat to controll the boiler water tempature when only the baseboard zone is caling. We fed the zone from the boiler drain tapping on the bottom of the boiler, and returned the loop into a tapping low in the steam piping on the back of the boiler. When the boiler is making steam for the upstairs the baseboard loop works perfectly. As soon as I turn the t-stat for the steam zone down the water tempature in the basebaord zone drops from 180 down so low it wont heat the loop. The baseboard loop is in the basement at the same level as the boiler. We got this piping lay out from a B&G publication dated April 1994. Has anyone piped a zone like this? How did it work? Any ideas on why the water tempature would drop off when the boiler is not making steam?

Tom M.

It sounds to me like the return water is

running in through the return piping, right across the bottom of the boiler and out the boiler drain tapping while all the heated water is at the top holding the aquastat off. Hopefully there is a tapping higher on the boiler below the waterline that you can use. I don't know what manufacturer the boiler is from but I know that Weil McLain SGO has a 1" tapping in the rear section to pipe a circulator and a 3/4" tapping in the side of the rear section to put the control. The return is piped to the bottom left tapping in the front section. The older 66/68 models had a tapping in the left side of the front section but I think it was optional because I have seen some without it.

You may also want to try it for a couple of days to see how it works. Sometimes the logic behind these piping designs is "if its cold enough for one zone to call its cold enough for the other." The pump may run for a couple minutes before the steam system cycles again then everybody's happy. This thinking does not work with an indirect water heater for obvious reasons. Hope this helps.

Tim Harkins

Thanks for the info Tom. Tomorow i'm going to pipe the feed out of a higher tapping. I may use the one that the aquastat is in. The boiler is a Wiel McLain gold oil fired. Ill let you know if this works.

Tom M.

In rear of boiler you will see a 1\" tapping

for the circ. In the past, I have put the control on a tee there but this causes the burner to short cycle. Use the 3/4" tapping in the left side of the rear section for the control.

Tom_10

Have done many of these jobs. W/M gold, I use the 3/4" tapping on the left side as my return, and the bottom front right side tapping as my supply, with my circ. there, bypass between supply and return and thermometer right above the circ. while keeping all components below the water line(circ,ballvalves,thermometer, flo-valves,ect).Hve done with both baseboard and rads. 100% success rate and zero callbacks.