Old steam heating system

Jason_5

Hello,
I Have a few questions that I was hoping I could get your advice on. I recently bought a house that was constructed in they early 1900's it. it is steam heat and the boiler has been replace with in the last 5 years. I am now looking at renovating the basement and I have these huge old rusty steam pipes that are in the way that I would like to re-pipe so that I can hide them. With that in mind here are the questions that I have.

1) I have 2 main feeds that run the length of the house and all the radiators are then branched of them. The main "trunk" lines also have a smaller pipe coming off of them (I assume that this is for the condensate as they run to the lower part of the boiler). Do I need these smaller pipes or can the main trunk lines return the water back to the boiler? If I do need them what is the proper pitch for them?

2)Can I replace the old trunk line with new copper piping? and also can I use a smaller diameter pipe? (right now the main line is 3" cast/steel) also if I need the smaller "condensate pipe" (that pipe is 2") what size should that be?

3) last question. What is the proper pitch for the pipes that feed the radiators? and what is a safe distance from the rafters that these "feed" pipes should be at ( what I was hoping that I could do was move the "feed" pipes up into the floor joist spaces, is this a good idea?)?


Thank you for your time
Jason

Mad Dog

It's all in Dan's book \"Lost Art \"Jason.........

buy one and read - you'll be amazed . mad dog

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Steamhead

Mad Dog's Right, Get the Book

but I'll try to answer some of your questions......

1. Yes, you really do need those return lines from the steam main. It is possible in some caes to pipe the mains so they will return condensate to the boiler room (called "Counterflow") but I have a feeling your system might be too big and/or not have enough room to pitch the pipes to make this work.

2. DO NOT use copper on steam-carrying pipes. The soldered joints can break loose. Copper is fine for those low ("wet") returns since they only carry water. Also, do not reduce the size of the pipes, or the steam won't circulate.

3. Radiator run-outs should pitch back toward the steam mains 1 inch in 10 feet, assuming they're no more than 8 feet long or so. If longer, they should pitch one inch per foot and be one size larger than usual. This will prevent banging.

Steam-carrying pipes really should not touch any wood. They should also be insulated, this will keep the fuel bills down.

Mad Dog and I have both built steam systems. When they're running as they should, you can't beat them.



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