FROM STEAM TO HOT WATER

BOB_22

HI, I'M THINKING OF CHANGING MY ONE PIPE STEAM SYSTEM TO HOT WATER FOR BOTH HEATING FLEXABILITY AND SAVINGS ON HEATING COSTS. I HAVE A WM EG45 (150K) THAT SERVES SEVEN THIN TUBE CAST RADS. I PLAN TO KEEP THE RADS. I'M IN THE PROCESS OF REDOING THE HOUSE OVER, SO I WOULD BE RUNNING ALL NEW PIPE. I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO RUN RADIANT TO THE BATH ON FL2(WILL OPEN THE CEILING,NOT A PROBLEM)AND TO THE 1FL KIT(OPEN BAS.).THE HOUSE IS SMALL(1100SQ. FT.). NOW FOR MY QUESTIONS. CAN I REUSE THE BOILER (1989).IF SO, MY NEXT QUESTION IS, CAN I ZONE THE 1ST FL WITH TWO RADS TO ONE PIPE WITH MONOFLOWS AND ZONE THE 2 FL WITH THREE RADS ALSO WITH MONOFLOWS. I DID A HEAT LOSS FROM THE SLANT FIN SOFTWARE AND CAME UP WITH ABOUT 30K. THIS IS WHERE I'M STUMPED DUE TO THE VAST DIFFERECE IN VALUES. I MEASURED THE RADS AND FOUND THEY WERE OVERSIZED ALSO, BUT I COULD REDUCE THEM AS NEEDED.ANY INPUT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

Mad Dog

Hold on , Bob....keeping the steam ans upgrading a bit

will save you MUCH more $$$$$$$$$ and will give you a nice, comfortable and pretty efficient system. We'll walk you through what needs to be done. Save THe STEAM!!!!! Mad Dog

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Steamhead

There are many potential problems

when trying to convert a steam system to hot water. In your case, you'd be running some old equpiment at over 10 times the operating pressure. This could result in numerous leaks.

You don't specify what BTU ratings you're going by. The figure you should use for the boiler's capacity is the "Net" or "IBR" rating, not the "Input" rating. The Input rating is what comes out of the burners, and the Net/IBR rating is what's available at the radiators. It accounts for losses along the way. A simpler way with steam is to go by the "square feet" rating, which is the same as Net/IBR but expressed differently.

I agree with Mad Dog. You don't want to convert this old system. Reduce the sizes of the radiators if that is justified, which will let you use a smaller boiler. Install thermostatic radiator valves in the bedrooms to keep them cooler than the main house.

A steam system can be just as comfortable and efficient as hot-water, and it won't freeze and burst like hot-water can in an extended power failure.

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