Insulate wet returns?

David Hohengasser

The wet returns are type K copper. Will the carbonic acid have any reaction with copper, or were you referring to black pipe? If I leave it un-insulated, does the cooler condensate bring more carbonic acid back to the boiler? What does carbonic acid do to the boiler?

David Hohengasser

Insulate wet returns?

The wet return (1-1/4")on my one pipe steam system is the length of the house, about 40 ft. How important is it to insulate the wet returns, if at all? All other steam pipes are properly insulated.

Ken_8

Tough question

Easy answer.

"That depends..."

The question becomes this: If you use your basement enough to justify heating it via the BTU's that jump off the bare pipe - and those BTU's are minimally adequate to heat the basement as desired; leave the pipes uninsulated.

However, there are two "costs" with doing that; the first is the BTU's will have to be "replaced." The person who will pay for the lost BTU's would be the person who buys the fuel that makes the BTU's.

The second down side is corrosion. Cooling condensate releases trace amounts of cabonic acid. Since the acid forms in the condensate pipe(s)in proportion to the temperature of the fluid it is disolved in, cooler, uninsulated pipes will have more condensate than hot returns and the bottom of the pipe will have accelerated corrosion (ethching). Granted, the corrosion is minimal in most instances, but we have seen "etching" severe enough to demand repiping the entire condensate piping, which BTW is not some small expense!

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

Ken_8

Think about it.

Steel pipe is ~1/8" thick and moderately "sacrificial."

Copper is ~ 1/16" thick and very "sacrificial."

Cast iron boilers are 1/4" thick and minimally "sacrificial."

Mix that premise with the reality of: We replace boilers every 20-30 years; sooner of they were installed improperly. We might replace steam suppy piping every 100-200 years. We might replace condensate return piping every 50-100 years.

Everything corrodes in steam systems.

The conclusions to be drawn from these assumptions is pretty clear: The copper returns are relatively short-lived; with or without insulation - but will last longer (and your energy costs reduced as well) - if insulated.

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