First Steamer

Steamhead (in transit) · December 2005

the first really cold day they had? If so, it probably hadn't gotten that much steam till now. If not, check the boiler water- I'll bet it needs flushing or skimming or both. This is about when all the old system dirt winds up in the boiler, which can result in wet steam.

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John S. · December 2005

No drop header...

but overall, I think we did a decent job. Piped this one in on Tuesday. This customer had a leaker topped off with a non-functioning LWCO. Nice combination, huh?
Thanks to the Dead Mean and Dan, I've got my first taste of the professional heating business. I'm working with a friend, owner and licensed professional doing installs. He & his father (who's no longer active) have been in the HVAC business since 1949, so you can imagine his reception to a "newbie's" suggestions when it comes to piping. Hopefully, he'll come around in time. The old boiler was a Utica. My friend has a good thing going with Bryant, so that's what we installed. When I opened the van and looked at the crate it was in... a sticker said "Utica Boilers". Seems the Bryant boiler is a Utica in disguise.
I've got a proposal, an estimate and a troubleshooting call tomorrow. If things keep up at this pace... I might just be able to make a career out of this... oh, that's right people won't be calling me in the summer and I know nothing of AC Oh well, one day I'll figure out what I want to be when I grow up!! Please feel free to critique the job as you guys are the best in the biz and I want to learn more. Thanks to all on the Wall for your help and especially Gerry Gill for his words of encouragement.

ooops, forgot the pics!

Steamhead (in transit) · December 2005

Looks more like a Dunkirk \"Plymouth\"

but Dunkirk and Utica are both part of ECR.

I know the manual says some of the smaller Plymouths can get by with just one riser from the boiler to the header, but I still prefer using two. That said, it looks like a good piping job.

The old Utica sections seem to have rotted out at the top. Does the system have any underground returns that might be leaking? Are the mains properly vented?

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gerry gill · December 2005

looks fine John..

my only recommendation would be to take your pictures after you've wiped off the excess pipe dope, not before..otherwise looks fine..i noticed a pressuretrol, is there a vaporstat somewhere on the piping or was this system designed for pounds? my areas pretty much ''vapor-land, u.s.a.''...it was fun huh? don't worry, you will have plenty of summer work..

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gerry gill · December 2005

thats a cool graphic..

how'd you do that?

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John S. · December 2005

I haven't gotten my hands...

on the I&O from Bryant, but I agree with wanting to use two risers. Although he is a friend, I don't want to overstep my bounds as far as diplomatically introducing better piping arrangements to him.

Believe it or not it was just that one section that rotted.

There is a short wet return but nothing underground and the mains aren't yet properly vented. I'm going back on Saturday to install a couple #2s and insulate the new piping.

Sam's also got a habit of running way more pressure than needed which will be addressed as well. I followed up with the customer as a courtesy today and they said it sounds like a train in their bedroom

and that "it never did that before".

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gerry gill · December 2005

what does a train

in the bedroom sound like?

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John S. · December 2005

pipe dope

I was looking at that myself. A little more attention to detail is in order... it's a small one-pipe system. The systems around here seem to vary greatly.

Indeed it was fun.. from selling the job to installation to fine tuning. You know you love steam when you yearn for the smell of freshly roasted pipe dope.

Thanks again Gerry.

P.S. I made the graphic a few weeks ago with Adobe Photoshop & ImageReady. Suprisingly it went pretty quick, so I'm thinking about doing a larger scale graphic showing condensate stacking etc. maybe with some return equipment as well.

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John S. · December 2005

should have clarified

air is screaming out of their bedroom rad vent.

Boy, that one could have went anywhere!

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gerry gill · December 2005

got it,

so this is a happy train! good deal..i live 5 house from a train crossing, so i had to ask, cause i cringed when i read that..

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Mad Dog_2 · December 2005

My only critiques are pipe dope

and no boiler drains - that I can see at the lowest points of the piping, such as where the return enters the boiler or at the bottom of the Hartford loop. We also always install a gate valve or atleast a ball valve on the drop out of the hartford loop close nipple. Makes flushing and boiler isolation easy. I'd give you an 80% - good job especially for a first timer. Congratulations, you are now a charter member of The Dead Men's Steam Society!. Mad Dog

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gerry gill · December 2005

i like the painted pipes Mad Dog..

thats a touch of class....what kind of paint is it? is a primer needed?

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Bob W._3 · December 2005

http://forums.invision.net/Thread.cfm?CFApp=2&&Message_ID=206472&_#Message206472

gerry gill · December 2005

thank you Bob

looks interesting..might have to try that..

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Mad Dog_2 · December 2005

That's black Magic asphalt paint made by hercules

$30 bucks a can but lasts a long time. We paint our lead pans with it too. No primer needed. Learned that trick from The Great Jimmy The Gent Burke of Comfort zone who taught me most of what I know about heating in general. We team up on alot of our jobs. Thanks Gerry. Mad Dog

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John S. · December 2005

Thanks Mad Dog

There is a boiler drain at the bottom of the wet return (hidden by the HW gas pipe) and on on the other lowest boiler tapping (not pictured).

I appreciate you chiming in with your comments and thanks for posting the pic. Always enjoying looking at your fine work.

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John S. · December 2005

Flooded customer...

Went back to the job today to "crank it down", insulate piping and replace the existing Main Vents. I finished up, got paid and left.

Got a call 3 hours later (after the customer returned from some errands) that rusty/treated water was flowing out of the Dining Room radiator. Great.

So I check the WL and it was ok. Changed the radiator vent and fired it back up. Same thing. Went to the basement to check the pitch of the DR runout and sure enough it had been worked on recently and was level.

I understand why it wouldn't spit before with a hole in the boiler, but I don't understand why it didn't do it all week. The only thing I did was crank the pressure down from 4 cut-in 1 diff to 1 cut-in 1 diff. It was only then that this radiator started spitting water.

Does anyone have a reasonable explanation for this?

Anyway, the husband is very understanding (which is a plus) but the wife wasn't happy at all. I tried to explain the situation to her, but I'm not sure she believes me. Oh Well.

He helped me lift the radiator up onto some wood blocks until I can come back to change the piping. It was roasting in their house by then so I told him to call and let me know if that takes care of it. I hope it does.

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