Replacing Steam Boiler With Hot Water Boiler

p.reynolds

Hot Water Heat is an excellent source but...... I seem to be having trouble getting the water heat past 100 degrees F.
What could be the problem.....

Cydney Peshut

Need Solution to Replacing Steam Boiler that Burned Out

Our Peerless steam boiler was modified about 8 years ago to heat the expanded part of the house by hot water while still heating the main part of the house with steam. After not being able to get heat this winter it was discovered that the boiler had overheated and needs to be replaced. We've had five different companies look at it, and we've received four different recommendations. Four of the five feel that that the system wasn't done properly, because there is no heat exchanger. They say this kind of system will work but not work well, and problems arise. The suggested solutions are: 1) replace the Peerless boiler with another and leave the system exactly as it is; 2)replace the Peerless boiler with another one but put in a heat exchanger too; 3) replace the Peerless steam boiler with another steam boiler, but also put in a hot water boiler; and 4)remove the Peerless steam boiler and our two hot water heaters and replace the steam boiler witht a hot water boiler and replace the two hot water heaters with a new one. We like the idea of converting from steam to hot water because we've been told we need to flush out the steam boiler once a week or two weeks and we'd rather not have that maintenance issue. Although one group feels we can successfully convert from steam to hot water, we have been warned from others that the piping may not be adequate and the house won't be heated properly with the piping that's in place. We need to make a decision asap.

Al Letellier_9

steam/water combo

It depends.......can't see your setup or know its configuration or the hot water load. That would be the key. If the hot water load is big enough, a separate boiler may be the answer. Even a small load might be met with a small high efficiency unit. You didn't mention gas or oil or how you make hot water, so that could factor in as well. The entire structure should be considered, steam load, hydronic load and domestic water demands should be factored in in making this decision. Tough to do from here, but you need to find a heating pro with a good reputation for efficiency in heating design and work this decision through step by step. You can overcome some of your maintenance issues with electronic safeties and feeders, so a pro can help you with that. If this is a period house and was build for steam heating, stay with it. Working and adjusted properly, its worth keeping.

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Al Letellier_9

temp problem

Too little information to answer your question. Describe the system and what's happening so we can help you.

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chuck_6

steam/hot water

Cydney:

We have a large steam boiler that heats most of our house a small boiler that heats our sunroom and hot water maker. We need to replace our smaller boiler and had some of the same questions you have about running everything off a big boiler or having two. I think you are better off with a steam boiler for the main part of your house and hot water boiler for the addition and hot water maker. Your radiators are probably sized for steam and if you go with hot water, the rooms won't get as hot (you need bigger radiators for hot water). Do a heat loss for the entire house - you probably need a decent size steam boiler for the house and can get by with a small boiler for the addition and hot water (I think it was your option 2).

dana_3

steam/water combo

if the heat load is correct. you can easily keep the steam boiler, and pipe the water loop off the same boiler. pipe the water loop through the water side (lower half )of the steam boiler. add purge stations on both supply and return piping. once the loop is purged of air, the water circ will move the water through the loop

Steamhead (in transit)

Don't convert the steam to hot-water

unless you like living dangerously. Since hot-water runs at a minimum of 10 times the pressure of steam, any weak points in the piping or radiators will leak, possibly causing major damage to the house. My company does not recommend or perform this type of conversion, and will not touch a system that has been converted.

If a steam system has performance or efficiency issues, it is much more cost-effective and less risky to fix it than to try to convert it. And many newer boilers now come with probe-type low-water cutoffs that don't need weekly blow-downs (but like all heating equipment, should be inspected yearly).

For more information on the many pitfalls of converting steam to hot-water, go here:

http://www.heatinghelp.com/newsletter.cfm?Id=22

I like the idea of two separate boilers: one steam, one hot-water. That way if one boiler breaks down, part of the house will still have heat.

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Diar

I'm setting up my new Weil Mclain 480 boiler to have an tankless section for hot water expansion in the future. Does this sound like a good idea?

Basically, my 2 questions are:
1. Will the tankless section hurt my system's ability to produce steam, if water isn't moving through the section? 2. Will it hurt the system's ability to produce steam if there is water moving through the section later?

Thanks,
Diar