Steam Boiler Question

[Deleted User]

I have a c1920 steam boiler [cast iron sectional]that used to be coal- fired' but now burns nat gas. Input is 4.2 million btuh. would like to burn wood. Combustion chamber modifications? Flue issues? Controls? This is a charity project.

John S.

I was daydreaming a bit today about steam and wonder...

Could the volume of water required in a steam boiler vary based on cycle times?

For example:
In the dead of winter when the boiler is running say, hourly (or once every two hours) it would require X volume of water.

In the mild fall temps when the radiators have sat all day and the boiler's only running once or twice a day it would require a different (greater) volume of water?

I know a little bit about outdoor reset, but could there be a varying 'ideal' water volume based on the above?

If so, is there a way to control it? (other than draining some boiler water when it gets really cold to allow the auto-feed to fill only to what's necessary?

This is obviously an efficiency related question. Why boil 50 gallons if you only need to boil 40.

Thanks all for your help.

Al Letellier_9

steamer volume

You have to have enough content to heat the house at design temps. Since the boiler has to make steam anyway, why mess with water content. Lowering the content would jeopardize the minimum safe water level and create more problems than it is worth. Outdoor reset is irrelevant with steam...you still have to heat the water to 212* + to make steam. You could use a cycle timer to limit the run time of the boiler dependant on outdoor temperature. ths would be more efficient and only allows the boiler to run long enough to reach set point. This run time is automatically lengthened as the outdoor temp falls. both Tekmar and Heattimer make these controls.

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