New homeowner had plumber rip out all steam piping

Mad Dog

dry return and leave plenty of service valves and flush stations on ANY piping below the water level. Also, if you do run a wet return, try to use 2 45s at turns rather than a standard 90 (better for maintenance and flow). Oh yeah and don't use such a long nipple on the Hartford loop connection like we did - late night emergency guys - what can I tell ya.........Mad Dog

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Paul Mitchell

steam piping from scratch

Dan and all,
I have a job we are looking at that the homeowner had a plumber who was going to fix all those crazy steam pipes for him. Well he did alright, He ripped out all the 2" mains and returns and replaced them with copper so they had better head room. from this i take it you see what i am up against. i have the total sq.ft. edr at 524.5. new pipes nt insulated with a pick-up factor 1.25. this makes total 655 sq.ft.edr. 157,200 btu boiler..should be good there. gonna be wet return,one pipe system. most of the risers to the radiators are still there. only two need replacement. gonna run all 2" black pipe steam main,connect to risers, all return condensate from radiators coming down the same riser the steam is going up. been that way from the get go. Just wanted to run the basic plan by everyone to see if i am forgetting anything. looking in a book i received at a steam seminar from Dan back in the wallace-eanace days."Hoffman steam heating systems design manual and engineering data" Any input would be appreciated before i bid this one. thanks to all

Steamhead

Sounds like you're on the right track

I assume there were at least two 2-inch mains. Each 2-inch pipe can handle 386 square feet.

Make sure the near-boiler piping is correct. If the manufacturer is still in business, get the diagram from them and follow it to the letter.

Leave a tee for a main vent before each end-of-main drip. Measure the length of each main after it's installed and we'll tell you what vents are needed.

The main should pitch down from the boiler at least 1 inch in 20 feet. If this leaves inadequate headroom toward the end of the main, you can install a "rise and drip" which lets the main be raised and drains the condensate.

Runouts to risers should pitch toward the main 1 inch in 10 feet, and if over 8 feet long should be one size larger than the risers.

Insulate the main and runouts using fiberglass pipe insulation with 1" wall thickness.

When you finish, and the system works perfectly, get ready for all the referrals you will get from this customer!

Finally, Dan's old Wallace-Eannace book has grown into "The Lost Art of Steam Heating". You can order it on the Books and More page of this site.

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Paul Mitchell

good deal thanks