steam heat riser piping

Ken Snedeker

The other day I received my copy of "We've Got Steam Heat"
while reading through it I came upon the chapter about near boiler piping. When we purchased our home in August of 2005 I knew that we would have to replace the 75% efficient 1960ish Texaco fuel chief boiler.
I interviewed several companies before I purchased the boiler. The first thing Trademark Heating did was to send a company representative from Weil Mclain to do a heating audit of our home. As we walked around he checked the old boiler and inspected and counted the tubes of the radiators. I felt confident that I had chosen the right company for the job. I wish I knew about your book then.
While reading the chapter on near boiler piping I got a bad feeling in my stomach. Why? for one thing they used copper piping and second the riser was only 21" above the water line. I checked the manufacturer's installation instructions and there in black and white it states a minimum of 24". I have called the owner of Trademark Heating and have requested a meeting with him. Now for my question is it unrealistic that I ask him to correct the riser height and at the same time replace the copper pipe with cast iron? Please guide me through these uncharted waters. Thank you very much!

Sincerely,
Ken Snedeker
131 Gentian Avenue
Providence, RI 02909
401 421-1681

CHARLES_4

STEAM PIPING

You paid to have a system properly installed. The contractor chose to lowball the job using copper. Your best outcome will be to have the job piped right/no charge and piped in steel paying only the difference in material pricing between copper and steel. Now all you have to do is figure out the differential in material pricing w/o getting stuck for having the job done right. Good luck...

soot_seeker_2

Hay...

Unless you signed an agreement to the contrary, you are entitled to have that boiler installed to the manufacturer's specifications, nothing less.

While the Weil Mclain installation manual does not specifically call for steel pipe, they do demand swing joints which cannot be made in copper and show threaded pipe in their illustrations. Copper is unacceptable for steam installations and I suspect the manufacturer will give you this in writing. You owe this shoemaker nothing.

I would tell the installer to redo the job properly. Get a manufacturer's representative to inspect the installation and give you a written report. His report along with Dan's book, in small claims court will either relieve you from payment or get you a full refund.

At least that's how it would work in New York.

Long Beach Ed