United States Radiator

David DeBord

When you stand for The Truth, many times you will find yourself standing "alone"

Bigugh,
I would give a gladly give a bid, but.............this landlord is the local "J.R.Ewing" of our county & he never wants to install anything new until the old equiptment is totally broken down.If this system can be "brought up to par", which I believe that it can,he'll want to go that route.
The only way that he would replace this present system is if the costs exceeded the cost of a new system.
I've already told him that I highly recommended replacing this unit. I also told him that installing a forced air system (with ductwork) would not be to much more than installing a new boiler.
But back to my "present problem",...............can anyone give me any advice on what I have posted?

Dave

David DeBord

Upgrading/repairing existing boiler

Greetings,

I'm new to this site & actually with what I read of the existing posts, I am impressed!
I'm with DeBord Mechanical.We are a Heating/AC/Electrical/Refrigeration/Restaurant/ & Plumbing repair Contractor.
In the past,before going on my own, I have assisted in the installation of boilers, but have never installed one on my own, which leads to the following:

I was called out on a service call for a gas fired boiler that was supposedly "not heating as normal". When I arrived there, the property owner told me that his tenant said that the boiler was now working, but he wanted me to look at it anyway, as his tenant is 94 years old.
This boiler is a "United States Radiator" - Series 121-B-4, apparently, in the beginning, it was coal fired. The boiler now has a "Nu-way" gas conversion burner-Md. G-220A, Serial# 0G5400 & this burner is rated at 200,000 input max/80,000 input minimum.
There is no relief valve mounted to this boiler, although there is an ancient relief installed after the pressure reducing valve on the supply water line.
There is an expansion tank installed in a clothes closet located on the first floor. This tank has a 1/2" copper line ran into the bottom of it & any other "required fittings" were never installed.
There is a gravity "flow control"(Bell & Gosset) mounted to the top of the boiler (suppy side)from this fitting--- the expansion tank & the supply to the radiators is ran.
The aquastat is "strapped" to the supply pipe below the flow control.
The circulating pump is a 1/12hp mounted on the return side of the boiler.The radiators are baseboard & copper tubed/finned, consisting of one 3',two 6',& one 8'"L"shaped baseboard heater.
When I arrived,the boiler had apparenly just kicked off & the first 8 foot of the 3/4" supply line was approximately 180 dgrees. the temperature fell drastically as I went along the supply line until it was at ambient temperature fro the rest of the supply line & radiators.
The aquastat was set at 200 degrees & an ancient control, mounted to the side of the boiler was also set at 200 degrees.this control fed power to the aquastat & the circulator pump.
The pressure gauge read 8 psi.!!!
I turned off the power & bled two radiators past the hottest one.The first radiator had a good stream of water, but the second one "dribbled down" till it was only weeping. I went back down stairs, checked the pressure gauge & found it reading 4psi.
I checked the fill valve, cleaned the "crudded up" strainer & flushed it with fresh water.At that time, I noticed that the relief valve was severely "scaled up" with lime deposits, which I also cleaned.
I "re-filled" the boiler to 12 psi. (Which after doing a lot of research, I now have learned that the boiler should have been allowed to to totally cool down). I then bled all 0f the radiators & re-fired the boiler.At that time, I then started getting approximately 180 degree water through the whole system. I also lowered the temperature settings of both the aquastat & "Hi-limit"? to 180 degrees.
The "Nu-way" burner was operating with a very yellow flame. I cleaned the squirrel cage of heavy lint buildup, opened the air shutters 1/4" & the burner is now operating with a blue flame with just a little, yellow tips.
This boiler does not have a Draft Hood, but does have a Barometric damper that someone tied some weights to.

My questions are these:
1.) I believe that this unit was improperly converted from steam to hot water & that a "Watts boiler trim kit" should be installed, as well as a new relief valve, & automatic fill/ pressure reducing valve.Where can I obtain data on the sizing of an expansion tank & the proper sizing of a circulator pump?
2.) Should the Barometric damper be removed & a Draft divertor installed.....my "gut feeling" is yes.
3.) Is there any technical data still available on this boiler?

I would greatly appreciate any help & input on this boiler.

Thanks before hand,
Dave

bigugh_4

JMHO

Just my humble opinion. If at all possible just start over. Do a heat loss. and place a bid for the replacement. In the long run it'll happen very soon no mmatter what you do to the old equipment!