Steam riser problem?

Steamhead (in transit)

but check the manufacturer's piping diagram to be sure. The original installer probably used the instructions for knee pads.

D Shedd

Steam riser

A customer called me with boiler problems in his apartment building, including, farthest radiators not heating, and boiler over filling due to auto filler coming on because water is being sucked out. It is a Smith 19A 5 section. It is piped with one 3"x18" riser that goes into a header that is piped with a 3" tee that rises into the 4" that the Dead Men left and has an equalizer piped 1 1/2". This customer is savvy enough to know that a riser of 24" is recommended to compensate for lack of steam chest. He has asked me to change the one riser to 24" and add a second riser to the header. I know this is better but can I expect this to cure his problems. Thanks for your help.

Guy_6

piping

I went to the IOM for the 19A, and it states that a single 3" riser and an 1 1/2" equalizer are permissable for that boiler. It does not say anything about the height of the riser. I have forwarded your post to our tech team. Lets get their thoughts on this issue.

Guy Woollard
Smith Boiler Company

Unknown

In my past life

I used two risers on that boiler.

I never had a problem with 19A's on oil (Carlin) or LP (power Flame J Burners), on steam or water. I liked them.

Noel

c.t.kay

surging water

check the firing rate and angle,down fire about 10%,check all pressure controls +- 1.5 #,check waterline level,check water quality.

RonWHC

The dimension to

the bottom of the header from the water line is minimum 24". The water line on the 19A is 41" & some change. The 18" nipple sounds like it will give a header substantially above 24". The header (single riser)& equalizer size are correct.

Check the height of the line on the feeder & the height of the H/L. Smith's instruction manual leaves a LOT to be desired. Some installers pipe the feeder too high. That results in the steam chest flooding on each off period.

If memory serves me right, the tapping in the front section for the safety LWCO is 36" & we normally set the line on the 51-2 @ 38.5". Great steamer. Have seen 19s & 28s that should never work perform well.

Yell @ Smith about their specs. When you have to use the customer submittal slick & the I&O Manual to get the entire picture, something is wrong. Could be their steamers are just too forgiving.

Guy_6

correct

I will admit that the manual has its shortcomings,and I will address it at our next sales meeting. Although I have only been with Smith a short while, I have thus far been impressed with the reactivity of the company to the concerns of the customers. Sometimes all that it takes to implement a change is to make the need known.
I know that sounds like a sales pitch, and it was not intended as such. A great boiler should have a great manual. Period.

RonWHC

This is not the

1st time I have groused about the I&O. Even discussed it w/ one of your "inganeers", the local rep, & our supplier. No change. If you want to see a 1st class manual, check out your competitor. Starts w/ a W. Thanks for the feed back.

patrick linhardt

sounds like a \"dirty\" boiler

Hi,

Water being sucked out and poor heat at the end of the mains sounds like oil on the waterline of the boiler to me.

1)Has the boiler been skimmed or cleaned recently?
2)Do you see water dripping down from the top of the gauge glass?

Oil in the boiler water will find its way to the surface where it will cause problems for the steam bubbles trying to release into the steam chest. It causes a bouncing waterline (looks like water sucked out of the boiler) which can cause the feeder to operate. It causes wet steam which condenses before it does its job of getting to the far corners of the distribution system.

Something to look for since the piping sounds OK. I would try cleaning the boiler before adding the second riser. I preach the benefits of oversized near boiler supply piping to reduce outlet steam velocity, but your symptoms could just be a "dirty" boiler.

Keep us posted on the progress. It helps all of us to know what works.

Best regards, Pat

Guy_6

OK

I don't know how long ago that may have been, but I will address it again. The company has changed over the past few years, becoming consideraly more dynamic regarding improvements. I will address it and see where it goes.
In all honesty, these improvements benefit us as well, as it reduces the (what should be) unneccessary calls.