Converting old steam to hot water system

Dean_7

Keep the steam system and restore it. I did last year and after a full year of tracking costs and natural gas usage we lowered our fuel cost an average of 60%. Even with the increase in natural gas prices.

D Rought

Converting old steam boiler to a hot water boiler

I am thinking about converting an old Weil McLain steam boiler to a hot water boiler system. We want to put baseboard heat upstairs in place of the old radiators and put them on a seperate zone, while keeping the downstairs radiators in place. As of now my gas bills Avg. 360 during the winter, and 230 during the spring. I have already switched the two units hot water supply to two seperate electric hot water heaters which has taken away the cost of operating the boiler in the summer months. Could there be a more cost effective way of doing this.

Steamhead

No need to convert it

just install thermostatic radiator valves on the second floor radiators. No wiring changes, no piping changes, no complications. And steam piping and radiators won't freeze up like hot-water can.

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

Al Letellier

steam conversion

good advice as usual from steamhead. You didn't mention what you have for a boiler or how old it is, so it's a tough call as to whether or not to convert it. And a well operating and properly regulated steam system is about as good as it gets for heating comfort and efficiency without going hog wild and replacing everything with radiant or whatever. Think long and twice and get a pro to evaluate your system before you do anything else.

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

clammy

hot water to steam

I have done them in the past only to have the HO who wanted to do it complain about increased gas bill most steam boiler are steam boiler not hot water most have larger water passages and don't run as effecient as a good hot water boiler .Steam systems are effecient when piped , vented and insulated corectly .I have a perpesped custemer who wanted to change from steam oil fired to hot water gas i asked what his total oil bill was for a whole heating season was and it amounted to about 800 bucks i don't think with even a munchkin i could get his heating bill any lower and recomened to stay with his fairly new steam boiler peace clammy

Gene_3

Don't do it

1st off electric h/w is the most inefficient, get an indirect and pipe to the steam boiler. There is no way you are going to convert to elec h/w and save money.

2nd, you better have someone do a heat loss calculation on your home before you pull any radiators out, one cast iron radiator is equal to about 75 ft of baseboard if not more, ..... think before you leap, you will not be comfortable. You could find that your home needs better windows or more insulation, spend the money there instead.

3rd--by not running your boiler in the summer it will now condensate and rot.

4th the recovery rate on elec w/h's is the worst, if you have a 40 gallon tank, that's what you have, 40 gallons of hot water, period, with an indirect you could easily have 100gph steady.

5th make sure all of your steam pipes are insulated, water pipes too.

6th stop, you have wasted the money on the elc w/h's by not researching first, don't waste any more money till you have all the facts.

Mad Dog_2

Not cost effective

Keep the steam! Mad Dog

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

D Rought

Why would I want to run a boiler all summer long for heating water for showers and a washer? Why not simply drain the boiler at season's end as to minimize corrosion or boiler treatment chemistry? Also, the gas bills for the system for the previous owner were $3960.00 for the whole year with bills during the summer months being as high as $250.00. The steam boiler itself is 30 years old and when it is running the bills in the winter are $360.00 per month. Are you sure that I could not save money on my monthly bills by switching to a hot water system and repiping the upstairs apartment on a seperate zone. Also, the heat upstairs is very sporadic with some radiators working while others don't. I have contacted a pro and he informed me that with old boilers being as inefficient as they are I will immediately see a savings there. Please help me decide!

michael_15

summer hot water bill

This is too high to be ascribed to efficiency.

We'll pretend gas is $1.50/therm (what it is where I live):

$250 = around 170 therm = around 17MM BTU.

17MM BTU = around 25,000 gallons of water raised 80 degrees (which is awfully hot in the summertime).

Let's say you have an ancient boiler that is only 40%(!) efficient, sending 60% of the energy up the chimney. 25,000 gallons becomes 10,000 gallons.

That's over 300 gallons per day -- of very hot water. Either you guys take really long showers, drain and fill your pool regularly from the hot water tap, or are very slow at washing dishes. Or, the boiler has some serious issues and you have an extremely warm basement.

If all your radiators aren't heating correctly, that's a sign that your steam system isn't properly set up. You'd probably get the most immediate and significant savings by hiring a pro who knows steam systems to take a look at that for you. Ask them about the hot water heating, too.

-Michael

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Some Suggestions

Buy Dan's books, "We've Got Steam Heat" and "The Lost Art of Steam Heating" available here at "Books and More".

Read and study. Look for problems--here's betting you're going to find many. Decide if/what you're willing to do yourself to correct. Then find a good steam contractor who knows what they're doing. Don't challenge them, but with the knowledge you've gained, you'll be able to weed out the lesser.

Steam systems can certainly be quite efficient and very comfortable. While water systems can be more efficient, steam has some real advantages. Many steam success stories have been shared here and for the most part they started with a homeowner studying those books.

Regardless, it sounds like you'll need a significant investment of time and/or money to get your system performing well.

When the pros here suggest that you NOT convert to hot water, it comes from experience. As long as the system isn't a complete loss (doubtful because it's working) you're likely to pay much more for a proper conversion to water than getting your steam system in top-notch condition.

Dean_7

steam

From one homeowner to another. Listen to Mike T. Buy the books "We Got Steam Heat and "The Lost Art of Steam Heating". That's where I started. The information in these books will allow you to understand your system, how it works, how it is SUPPOSED to work, and what may be wrong with it. We initially considered converting to hot water when we replaced a 70 year old boiler and were not saving any money with the new boiler. These books enabled me to understand my steam system and why it was not working as originally designed which is why we were not saving any money. We restored our steam system using this information last year. The first month after having the work done our natural gas bill was 75% less then the previous month ($55 vs $220). And after tracking costs over a full year we are averaging 60% less in fuel costs. Steam systems can be extremely efficient IF they are working properly.