Header piping

Mijola

I have been asked to solve a short cycling and water hammer problem on a one pipe system. The boiler was replaced about four years ago and they have been having problems ever since. The boiler is a 240,000 BTU Burnham with two, two inch outlets. One in front and one in back. ( When you get to this size, I prefer a Utica boiler with two Four inch outlets.) A four inch header runs along the back of the boiler and the rear tapping ties into the end of the header. The front tapping is plugged. As soon as the boiler starts to make steam the water level tilts a good eight inches and the boiler goes off on low water. You can watch the water in the sight glass drop to nothing. As soon as the pressure goes down, the sight glass rises and the boiler starts up again. I intend to put an elbow at the end of the header and run it along the side of the boiler to the front to pick up the front tapping. Both two inch feed lines will be before the take offs to the rest of the house. The bottom of the header is about 26 inches above the water line, but because of the 2 inch lines feeding it I want more height to insure dry steam. I was thinking of going straight up and dropping down into the top of the header instead of going in on the side. I have done this on large commercial jobs (N.Y.C. schools) but not on small systems like this. I wonder if it is worth doing. I would appreciate any comments. Ray Binder, R. Binder Plumbing & Heating.

Mijola

I have been asked to solve a short cycling and water hammer problem on a one pipe system. The boiler was replaced about four years ago and they have been having problems ever since. The boiler is a 240,000 BTU Burnham with two, two inch outlets. One in front and one in back. ( When you get to this size, I prefer a Utica boiler with two Four inch outlets.) A four inch header runs along the back of the boiler and the rear tapping ties into the end of the header. The front tapping is plugged. As soon as the boiler starts to make steam the water level tilts a good eight inches and the boiler goes off on low water. You can watch the water in the sight glass drop to nothing. As soon as the pressure goes down, the sight glass rises and the boiler starts up again. I intend to put an elbow at the end of the header and run it along the side of the boiler to the front to pick up the front tapping. Both two inch feed lines will be before the take offs to the rest of the house. The bottom of the header is about 26 inches above the water line, but because of the 2 inch lines feeding it I want more height to insure dry steam. I was thinking of going straight up and dropping down into the top of the header instead of going in on the side. I have done this on large commercial jobs (N.Y.C. schools) but not on small systems like this. I wonder if it is worth doing. I would appreciate any comments. Ray Binder, R. Binder Plumbing & Heating.

gerry gill

it will help alot

to do that..we do that all the time, like this.

Unknown

It's the latest craze

dropping into the header , that is . And it's a great idea for commercial and residential . I think Gerry Gill posted a picture recently of a Burnham with 2 - 2 inch tappings that went immediately to 4 inch and into a 4 inch dropped header . Fantastic job , does anyone remember the name of the post ? Here a pic of a recent Burnham steamer we installed , nowhere near as good as Gerry's , but it's a start .

Earthfire

drop header

take a look at the pictures in the "New burnham steamer Thread with a March 10 date. A Drop header with 2 risers of the boiler will help with your water tilting problem

Earthfire

At the top

I think I just brought it up to the top

Steamhead

That will work great, Ray

and a drop header is also much easier to put together. Make sure the piping betwen the steam risers is also four-inch.

The tilting waterline results from that plugged front tapping. Steam builds up so fast inside the boiler that it overwhelms the single 2-inch riser.

Here's a Columbia we did with a drop header.

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Steamhead

That will work great, Ray

and a drop header is also much easier to put together. Make sure the piping betwen the steam risers is also four-inch.

The tilting waterline results from that plugged front tapping. Steam builds up so fast inside the boiler that it overwhelms the single 2-inch riser. Adding the second riser will cure the problem.



To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"