Is anyone installing residential steam these days?

Mad Dog

hey you never know.....drive up with steamhe4ad for an overnighter. Mad Dog

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kframe

Anyone installing residential steam systems these days?

Just curious.

I grew up in a large Victorian house with steam heat, and always thought the mechanics of the system was pretty neat.

DanHolohan

Mad Dog

Matt Sweeney just installed a two-pipe vapor system in his house, and he used antique radiators. He's my hero.

kframe

The system I grew up with was a single pipe, installed in the 1890s.

The original coal boiler, an 1897ish Weil McLain, was still there until 1982. It had been converted to oil just after WW II.

Parents current house, a 1903 Victorian, has hot water heat with the large radiators. I like it a little more, but it just don't have the same kind of charm that the steam did.

Craig Patrizio

pssssswwwppsssss...ppsssssswwwpppp. click! bang, bang, bang.. nostalgia for the the sound?

kframe

In a way, yes.

There were few things more comforting than coming partially awake about 5:30 a.m. on a cold winter morning as the setback thermostat kicked on and the steam started to rise. It was never loud, but was always pleasant.

What was not at all comforting, however, was coming awake around 6 a.m., realzing that the house was getting colder, not warmer, and knowing that the transformer on the %*(&$)(&$)(*&#$5 burner gun motor had burned out. Again.

jerryb

You have not lived until you exp steam coalfired heat.

Mad Dog

AS Dan always says..........

a properly designed system don't make much noise 't all This one don't....Piped all from scratch the old-fashoined way...got the inspiration from Dan, hisself, and alot of great design ideas from Noel and Steamhead - resident steam geniuses. Glad I did it....steam heat rules!!!!!!!! MAD Dog

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Mad Dog

Ain't life funny...I am one of my hero's heroes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the compliment, Dan, put a shiver down this old Rhodesian Ridgebacks spine, you know right down that funny reverse stripe...hee hee....you know what I mean, right....Mad Dog

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kframe

Whoa. Nice house! Where is it?

Those are also some very ornate steam radiators!

Bud_3

Nice house...I'm Jealous

I live in in area what they refer to as the Madison St historical district...A neighborhood of old victorians / painted ladies. I purchased one of the few Non-victorians from 1900. It must of been built by one of the hard workers for little pay guy down at the foundry. Gravity heat (I tore out and intstalled forced air and all new duct work..For you guys under water here, ductwork is where all the nice properly filtered, humidified and de-humidified air is delivered to each room as the stale air is removed, filtered and re-conditioned you know the type.
Maybe one could take a radiator and drill a bazillion holes in it, burn a slot in the bottom and use it for forced air..the best of both worlds:) and it won't leak
Hey! Really, do not try this at home! you may get wet:)

Bud

Thesheetmetalshop.com

Mad Dog

\"That house is in Floral park, Nassau County

Long Island new york. It is one of the oldest in our village - circa 1896 or '98. The oldest in our village dates to 1789. My house also has the last real barn left in the neioghborhood. You can still see where the horses used to "crib" on the wood. I've been restoring her to her former glory and well beyond for the last 2 1/2 years. Another 4 months and i can move the ever-patient family in. The rads are an assortment that I've been collecting the last few years with this project in mind. Althouth the house originally was 1 pipe coal, there was only one "fancy' radaitor. If you are around, I will be having an "open house" before the walls go back up (3-4 months) away, for all interested parties to see all the piping...cast iron waste, steam piping, copper fire sprinkler system - all installed the old fashioned way. I'll keep you'll posted. Mad Dog

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kframe

I'd love to see that, but unfortunately I'm a couple hundred miles away in Virginia

How about taking lots of pictures? :-)

Bob Bona_4

hey

wait a minute. Copper fire sprinkler piping? Old fashioned way? Whaswrongwitchu?

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Mad Dog

You got me there Bob Bear, but..................................

have you ever opened up a black steel fire sprink system after several years...lots of carbuncles and that retchid smell of rotting fish. an all-Copper system is much less likely to clog up like that. Some day when those heads need to go off, I don't want any flow restrictions. Hey! The engineer spec'd it out for CPVC and thinks I'm nuts to do it in copper - called me a throwback (heard that before, I wear it as a badge of honor). Besides if I don't bend a little with the times I'll never get it done. It's been 2 1/2 years renovating this monster...wife's a saint, but she wants in NOW!!!!!!!!. I wanted to do all emt or at least bx on the electrical, settled on romex. Gotta watch the bucks somewhere. I guess I wouldn't have done radiant under the tile floors either. I'm proud to be called a "throwback", but a dinopsaur I'm not! MAD DOG

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Steamhead

We did one much closer, KFrame

Jarrettsville, MD. Classic one-pipe system with all antique radiators. The house is being added to now, and we are heating the addition with steam also. But it's not nearly as extensive as Mad Dog's!

What part of Virginia are you in?

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kframe

Fairfax, and saddled with a heat pump.

Steamhead

Now there's an ideal situation

for a thoroughly modern steam system.

If that were my house, I'd do a full heat loss calculation, then design a 2-pipe Orifice Vapor system using Burnham or Weil-McLain cast-iron baseboard radiation. This system could run on a half-pound of pressure and would never freeze up. Plus, you could throttle the steam to each individual baseboard either manually or with thermostatic radiator valves.

Our Northern Virginia steam guru is Dan Foley, of Foley Mechanical. Dan has completely rebuilt a one-pipe system and I know he can handle this. Go to

http://www.heatinghelp.com/getListed.cfm.cfm?id=262&Step=30

to see his Find a Contractor ad.

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kframe

No way to get gas into my home.

No place to put a fuel oil tank.

I've been considering putting in a pellet stove for some time, but to tell you the truth the electric bills haven't been all that bad the last couple of years, even with the winter we just had.

I spot heat as necessary with electric heaters.

Steamhead

There's always a place

to put an oil tank. That's why they're made in different shapes and sizes.

At least have someone like Dan look your house over. Then you'll know for sure.

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kframe

Nah, I'm not putting any more big money into systems for this place.

I've made that decision.

The next house, the one where I light for the remainder of my life, preferably in either Pennsylvania or New Mexico, will be the one I do this to.