Steam Heat

Dean_7

I am a homeowner who grew up with low pressure steam heat. I currently live in the home I grew up in. Two years ago I replaced the old Utica Red Square boiler (originally coal fired, converted to oil then gas) with a Brunham PV 2. The contractor sized it correctly for the connected radiation however it did not appear to be working as well as it should. I did some research on this site and learned what was missing. I replace all the main vents that were originally installed (only one of four was still in place) and replaced all the radiator air vents with new ones. I also adjusted the pressuretrol down a bit. The system now runs at 1/2 psi as originally intended. The end result was, I live in Northwest Lower Michigan right on the Lake Michigan shoreline by the way, a Feb. gas bill of $57.00 and a Mar. gas bill of $48.00. This is 75% LESS than my average gas bill before optimizing the system. The parts paid for themselves in less than two months. The gas company sent someone out to check my meter because of the reduction in gas usage. Thanks for the good information.
P.S. My neighbors don't think my radiators are funny anymore

Ken_8

Way 2 GO!

Isn't this place cool.



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Mad Dog

You are a living success story

good man. Mad dog

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JB_2

steam heat

Spread the word dean, way to go! jb

Steamhead

This is typical

of the savings that are possible when a steam system is repaired by a knowledgeable person. Bet your scorched-air-suffering neighbors were using two or three times the gas you used.

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Dean_7

Homework

This was all about doing homework. I researched my system from information on this site, I purchased The Lost Art of Steam Heating, and EDR and read both. I read what all the professionals on this site had to say and paid attention. So I have to say thank you and keep up the good work. Knowledge is power.
By the way my immediate neighbors all had Feb. gas bills of between $180 and $230.

Weezbo

Dude! You caught it!

Thats Great!
Seems like every now and then somebody actually lets the ideas rattel around in there before it rolls out the other ear:) Now, when some one comes along and trys to pry you loose from your steam system you just dial out thier advise,call "Home" if there is one of us still walking we will help when your neighbour turns up there nose at your ancient technology realize you can still afford groceries:)

Kal Row

shhhhh!!!, i'll tell you a secret...

steam heat is the original - radiant heat - only mo-bettah - since cast radiators have a resistance value of "ZERO" – compare that with “staple up” and carpet on top - ugh!!!

the only reasons not to use “shteeem” that I could think of, would be if you have a very compartmentalized house and only want to heat small parts of it at a time – but then, you would have to run all you water/sewer lines alongside the Hydronic system to keep it from freezing at the extremities – another would be if you have a huge solar collector array and a septic tank size storage – and slab or aluminized sub-floor radiant – “oder zan dose, I tink shteem, vinz evvvrree time”

Steamhead

It is possible

to generate steam using solar energy. Somewhere I have an article on this- when I get the scanner running again, I'll send it to Dan to put in the library.

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Christian Egli

Another boiler hugging guy

Fantastic, Dean

You did a nice job of documenting your feat. I am hoping you didn't get these impressive results by buying yourself a nice sweater!

Actually, I am quite inclined to trust your account of the neighborhood on the only grounds that I have never heard complaints form people who stayed true to their original steam system, but have spoken to others disappointed with a watered-down conversion. Moreover, I have never heard of people, having tasted both types of heat, who preferred hot air blown into their face. I have heard many unfounded complaints on the relative charm of a radiator, I think they are hot beauties.

Congratulations.

Please give your boiler a hug on my behalf.

Kal Row

only durring such times when you dont need heat..

unless you are talking about water in a in a sealed tube collector, with the pressure so low, it boils at low temps, and carries the latent heat up to a condensing point, where the latent heat of condensation, is carried away Hydronicly to the storage tank - more and more solar collectors are being made like that every day, as you get temps matching the loads and more done in less square feet

it’s like talking a whole bunch of low temp thermocouples in a flue of a non-condensing boiler – tying them together and running an electric tankless heating element on the return water – you have effectively concentrated a large area of low heat into a small area of high heat – where it’s temp ratio makes for good heat transfer –
another way would be, if you put those low pressure water, metal steam solar type tubes, into the flue gases of a non condensing boiler, the “wasted” heat can focused into a 150 degree or more point, were the boiler’s 120 or higher return water, can suck the btu’s out of It!!! – “aint SHTEEM von-der-full!!!”, even at low temps steam is the best – water’s latent heat of evaporation/condensation transfers the most btu per pound out there, 970, ammonia which is the next closest, and is about 250 btu less per pound –

the buduru$ semi-condensing oil models, do a some basic concentrating on a smaller scale

I would bet, that a non condensing boiler with a correct pri/sec/injection setup, and such a flue heat recovery system, would get you into the nineties, like the WM ULTRA or the vie$$mann vidodens since they too, start to loose eff, if the load has a high return temp – like, if you have a staple-up job with carpet on top – the 120 return water is real close to completely mitigating the condensing value of those boilers – you cant suck every drop of heat out of flue gas with hot water!!! – but with a flue heat concentrator, you have matched temps to loads, – yes, the law of the lever – “exchange distance for force” works with btu’s also,

we haven’t even scratched the tip of the iceberg yet – but we will, as energy costs go up…up…up – there is a flue gas heat concentrator coming to a boiler near you!!!

Steamhead

The article I have

was published in the 1930s I believe, and in some way they generated steam at atmospheric pressure using solar energy. The house is in disarray from moving Lady Steamhead's things here, but I'll find it, I promise!

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Dean_7

Boiler

Oops typo, the bolier is a Burnham Independence PV

Dean_7

Steam vs Hot air

To madhouse
This is what happened when I cleaned up and restored my system