Latest Steamer (Steamhead)

Steamhead

Columbia CEG-150, replaced an old Ack-o-Matic which was the predecessor to Hydro-Therm. Didn't get a pic of the old one, batteries went dead. Joe and Maurice had already left by the time I got the camera going.

This is a slight variation on the usual drop header. We didn't have much room to the right of the boiler, had to keep the area clear in front of the breaker panel. The solution was to elbow left from the right-side riser before going to the header. The extra swing joints in the drop header really made this easy.

The capped tee between the two steam main takeoffs is for a third main which will be added later. The existing mains are only 1-1/2-inch, so the proposed radiation on the second floor will require a new main.

I'm ready for a hot shower and one of The Lovely Naoko's home-cooked meals.

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Steamhead

Main Vents

A pair of Gorton #1 vents. When we first got here, we found someone had drilled and tapped for Hoffman 1A radiator vents. We enlarged the existing holes and put these in. The tapping location isn't my first choice, but they vent properly and don't spit water- can't argue with success. The other main is shorter, and has only one Gorton #1.

For those of you who have wondered how to install two vents on a main where there is only one tapping, this is the setup.

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todd s

Nice install

Why does the Columbia takeoff come out the side? I'm used to seeing them on top.

Steamhead

The sections in the Columbia gas steamers

and similar Utica, also Dunkirk, are assembled side-to-side rather than front-to-back as on most other boilers. There doesn't seem to be much room to get the risers out the top.

The tapping location lends itself well to installing skim ports, as seen on the left side of this one. You can also stick a hose in there to flush out each section of the boiler.

Thanks, Todd.



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Dan Foley

Nice.....

Nice looking job, Frank. Hope to see you on the 16th. -DF

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Steamhead

Thanks, Dan

coming from you that means a lot. This was actually the first time Joe and Maurice had worked on a steamer replacement. I think they did well.

Don't know about the 16th though- lots of steam work coming!

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Mad Dog

Nice work Frankie

your too busy fixing other people's screwed steamers - like me- to put a lot of new ones in. Where isd Columbia Made? Aren't they big in to commercial sized boilers? Mad Dog

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Steamhead

Columbia is

based in Pottstown, PA and I believe their steel boilers are made there. Their small cast-iron units are actually made in Utica's factory- Utica being part of ECR.

You're so right about screwed-up steam systems- earlier this week we did a vent job on a 1300 square foot EDR Trane Vapor system, and they now have heat in the rear of the house for the first time in years. That one got five Gorton #2s! Thanks for the compliment on this one.

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jbplumber

Beatiful Frank!

Unknown

Nice job Steamhead

Is it a requirement by the manual to use both boiler risers ? Or did you upgrade that yourself ? Once again , fantastic pipework Frank .

Steamhead

Thanks Ron, and yes it is

They're only 2-inch tappings, and the steam velocity would be just too high if you used only one- especially on the larger sizes (up to 300 MBH input). I've seen these and similar boilers crack from a tilting water line if the installer uses only one tapping- and the crack is always on the opposite side from the steam outlet the installer used. And as we all know, that kind of failure is NOT the manufacturer's fault.

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Steamhead

Thanks! (nm)



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Ken_8

I'm puzzled by the

copious use of "paste" type pipe dope. We have found all paste type pipe dope contribute to priming and surging because the stuff has an oily base and it drools back into the boiler water over time, ruining the dry steam notion.

Have you not had that problem as well?



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Steamhead

Not really

If you don't get it inside the pipes it's not much of a problem. I prefer paste to tape especially if you get a bunch of fittings that are tapped a bit shallow- the paste doesn't take up extra room in the fitting.

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tp tunstall

photo

"a photo is worth a thousand words" looks nice frank. tp

ScottMP

Frank

I know this has been discussed before, but why is your prefrence the Gorton instaed of the more common Hoffman ?

Nice looking pipe work. The wrenchs get heavy over the years .

Scott

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Steamhead

Thanks, Tom! (nm)



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Steamhead

Size and Cost

The Gorton #1 is of the same quality and capacity as the Hoffman #75, but costs less. The Gorton #2 has about four times the capacity of the Hoffman #75 and costs about the same. Thanks for the compliment.

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Alan(CaliforniaRadiant)Forbes

Wow

Sitting here at my desk at the end of a long day; dark outside, phones have finally turned quiet, having some time to look at your pictures and read what you say; mighty fine work, Frank.

You, Mad Dog, Dan Foley, Ron, Jr. and all the others are awesome.

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Christian Egli

Boiler fit for the centerfold

Wonderfull picture. Your piping has a very nice look to it.

You've had other hot pictures, have you ever thought of putting together a calendar for the twelve months of the year?

Ooh, steaming hot!

Thanks for sharing.

tim smith

steamer

Nice looking job steamhead, always great to see the posts on here of quality jobs.