near boiler piping wet steam?

clammy

Thanks buddy it's just that thing you know you can make it work properly but what seperates you from getting it right is all a matter of money and time and it seems these days everybody thinks i should take it on the chin .I have been at odds with myself as to maybe it time to get out of what i've done all my life and enjoy doing and move on to may be bagging job at the a&p .It seems quite hard these days to sell quality i seem to get beat up on every turn .I'm under bid by thousands on jobs and some jobs i understand why but i can't do garbage work i can't compeat with the plumbers or the hvac guys around here most of there jobs are terrible ,noisey and the cheapest low end units.I have a vacation coming up to be with my wife who i'm apart from now and upon my return i'll have to make a big decission as to what to do with making aliving .Thank you again for your insight and help .peace and good luck clammy

clammy

near boiler piping wet steam

Need a little advice and i know one of the words of wisdom is run for the hills .I recently looked at a job who's near boiler piping was in my opion and the manafactors suggested piping was not up to par (single outlet reduced to 2 1/2 and only on a 6 to 8 inch nipple ) The HO has some riser noises and rad noises the boiler does not surge or bang .The HO feels that it all has something to do with condensate not returning from the noisey rad ,i feel it may be caused by the boiler producing wet steam and is causing condensate to form in the riser .Also the boiler was intinally installed incorrectly and another installer a commerical steam fitting who does all commerical re piped her he is sticking to his guns and will not repipe and says that the near boiler piping is correct and the ell on the short nipple has a direct straight pipe equilevent of 32 inches bringing his header hieght to 36 .Now even though the HO has been told by some to correct the piping he's thinking it's a return promblem and thinks i should start cracki9ng the dry returns and snaking which i know is bull.I also feel that all this wrong near boiler piping would in all likelyhood be dumpming alot of condensate,wet steam and junk up to the rads and without them being pitched properly would accumlate and help form wet puddles and vacume which would draw up more wet steam now please remenber that after the rad is hot across these noises are normal .The HO may think the system should be quiter then steam is there is no real water hammer and even with the near boiler piping not close to manafqactures she doesn't really surge .I really don't want to do a bunch of bull which i believe will do nothing as opposed to re working the header and go from there but the HO really doesn't want to drop 2grand mimimun to piping it correctly i just don't want to do the bs when the correct thing to do is make dryer steam and work it from there am i off base or is the HO thanks peace and good luck clammy

ed wallace

near boiler piping

you are correct its all in the near boiler piping boiler has to be piped according to manufacterers directions walk away from this mess

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clammy

thanks ed

I hate to walk away i some times feel i'm letting the HO down just like the last guy only difference i did not charge him a penny for the over 1 hour look see thanks .I'll tell him the bad news but i know he wants a 100 % guarenty that every thing will be silent and with steam thats hard espically when they don't even want to hear the vents hiss .I believe this guys just a little unrealist about what he excepts ,plus i think the boiler may not even be sized correctly .Again thanks for the insight peace and good luck clammy

Long Beach Ed

Clammy,

From all your posts that I have read, you are definately a good man. A good steam man too.

Let me add my two cents that come from being burned time and time again on jobs like this. Write up an estimate of what you feel, in your professional opinion must be done and what it will cost. Then stick to it.

Basically, "if you want your problems fixed, this is what must be done".

Then if this numbnut insist, "No, I want those reurns snaked" you write an estimate for snaking lines with a disclamer that your work includes nothing but snaking retruns and that you have advised the HO that you do not feel the work requested will remedy his problem or... etc etc.

Then it's his choice. Tell him you'll do anything he wants, even water his garden, but unless you do what you are telling him needs to be done, it's not going to help his situation...

If your area or your business isn't into the written stuff, walk away from this guy, 'cause without written stuff to rub his nose in he'll only tell the entire town how much money you took from him and what a bad plumber you are.

Good luck, pal.

LB Ed

bob young

don't give up the ship

you pay a high price to be an independent plumbing & / or heating contractor. our life is usually all leaps and bounds but when it is good it is the best. you seem to have had a burst of garbage leads recently but a lucritive project might be just around the corner. enjoy some time with your wife and make the most of it.a little support from her might be just what you need. i admire you for not getting sucked into any loser jobs by these unscrupulous cheapskates. i would rather starve. best of luck bro.

Unknown

I read the original thread that this guy did. He had everyone telling him the same thing. If he still doesn't want to listen after the heating community advised him, then thats his tough crap. If he is so convinced that he knows, even though he's not a plumber then let him find out the hard way. People like that frustrate me. It's like snaking out someones sewer, finding paper towels, and the client insists that paper towels are okay to flush down the toilet.

EBEBRATT-Ed

Stick with it Clammy your on the right track!

Ed

gerry gill

your the pro...

i'd just tell the HO what needs to be done then let him call a dozen other guys.. you are correct..his problem is built into the system and as long as he wants to listen to some misguided soul with his equivelant lenghth garbage, which we all here know is absurd, he can live with his problems..take the approach its your way or the highway..besides your to good at what you do (i can tell from your posts over time) to give up the tools or let a homeowner frustrate you..you can't leave the trade..we need you..

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clammy

thanks gerry

Thanks buddy some times even the clam feels dicourged with the bussiness.I get pulled alot in many direction and alot of times it wears me thin ,but the words of encouragement from you guys kinda washes away all the bull that comes with what we do and the people we deal with .Even though i'm just a one man show always trying to do the right thing in my mechinical eye it seems everybody wants cheap but when it's all done and they have got less then they thought they where getting ,do they realize but by that time it to late and there suck with garbage .Thanks again for your words of kindness and encouragement you guys always make me feel like i got more then a one man show peace and good luck clammy

RonL

Walk Away

Frankly, I would just walk away from this one. Between the previous installer and the HO, you will just not win. Just walk away.