Replace or not replace Ideal No. 12 circa 1935

Mark_35

Finally got old catalogue for my chrome edged, green monster - she is rated at 960 sq ft. My 2700 sq ft house has 335 sq ft of original recessed copper fin tube convectors. Two pipe system works perfectly - no leaks. How much fuel will I save if I put in a new and much smaller steam boiler? I used about 1300 Therms last year (48,000 Btu / sq ft). House is pretty well insulated (blown in cellulose) but the windows are original with pretty good storms. (I am firing gas at about 155 MBH not the 445 MBH listed in the catalogue)

Question 2 - To size a new boiler can I use a lower pickup than 1.33 because of the convectors (no rads)?

Question 3 - My heating contractor says main risk is big leak springing mid-winter. Is this likely since shes has been perfect till not and uses almost no water.

ed wallace

replacing ideal boiler

i am curious how often do you trade in your car for a new model, yes you will save on heating cost, the old boiler has out lived its usefullness

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Steamhead (in transit)

I'd stay with the 1.33 pickup

and down-fire a bit if it short-cycles.

Re-check the convector ratings to be sure- 335 square feet sounds a bit low for a house that size. Have you located the convector manufacturer's name? Sometimes it's the same company that marketed the Vapor system itself- Dunham, Trane, Webster etc.

Mark_35

Amount of Radiation

Just a guess on the radiation amount. I used an American Radiator New Murray chart arrive at the 335 sq ft of EDR. It is mostly two pipe (3-3/4" wide) and a bit of three pipe (5" wide). It is abouyt 8 fpi and the fins look like copper. The radiation is build right in to the wall. It has a sheet metal facing on the back and sides but the front is just a double slotted grill attached to the plaster wall 24" up from the floor with a knurled knob that controls a flap to cover the slots. The total length is about 46 feet. At 240 Btu/sq ft this works out to about 2270 Btu/ft of radiation. Does that seem right?

Maybe if a put in a photo someone could identify the radiation better. Can't find any tags, but I can't see inside.

Mark

Unknown

Ed's right

You're guaranted to save alot of fuel if you replace the ol' Arco . How much is just a guess , but we often see a 20 to 30 percent fuel reduction when we replace a decades old steamer with a properly sized one . The older the boiler , the more the fuel saved . Being a 30s boiler I wouldn't be suprised if you cut the usage in half . Is this a pancake style boiler ? Are the sections stacked up on each other ?

Steamhead (in transit)

Look on the knob

sometimes you'll find something there. Trane sometimes put their name there, and if you see YRC they were made by Young Radiator Co.

If you can't find anything on the outside, pull the cover off and look inside.

Mark_35

Can't pull cover

> sometimes you'll find something there. Trane

> sometimes put their name there, and if you see

> YRC they were made by Young Radiator Co.

>

> If

> you can't find anything on the outside, pull the

> cover off and look inside.

Mark_35

Can't pull cover

Steamhead:

They are built right into the wall and plaster over to match the rest of the wall. No valve on them either, just a pipe up from below on the supply and Trane traps on the return. Look like copper fins about 6 fpi. I'll take a picture tomorrow and attach it.

Steamhead (in transit)

Ahhhh, the deluxe version

They're probably Trane Heat Cabinets. Check this out and see if it matches what you have:

http://www.heatinghelp.com/pdfs/218.pdf

You'll need the Adobe Reader (formerly Acrobat) to open the file.