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Oil-Gas replacement conversion

Dave0176
Dave0176 Member Posts: 1,177
edited June 2020 in Strictly Steam
Replaced a leaking oil fired steam boiler with a tankless heater probably installed sometime in the 1950s. The old lady didn’t want a separate hot water heater and she preferred to keep the tankless so after measuring the rads I came up with 237 sq ft and in went a Weil-McLain EG35 with a tankless domestic hot water heater.

On that old boiler the low water cutoff was clogged solid and the rear bottom drain only trickled water out, so it took time to drain it. When I pulled the fire box door off the combustion chamber had at least 4-5” of soot and carbon on the floor. The burner was a brand new Carlin and you see the head starting to warp from the heat. The oil company kept great records of all their yearly services though lol. In fact the last PM was October 2019. Unbelievable!!!





DL Mechanical LLC Heating, Cooling and Plumbing 732-266-5386
NJ Master HVACR Lic# 4630
Specializing in Steam Heating, Serving the residents of New Jersey
https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/dl-mechanical-llc

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I cannot force people to spend money, I can only suggest how to spend it wisely.......
STEVEusaPAethicalpaul

Comments

  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 23,162
    Nice looking job, @Dave0176 ! But one does sort of have to wonder about the previous service, eh?
    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
    ethicalpaul
  • jerryb46
    jerryb46 Member Posts: 59
    no old pictures?
  • Dave0176
    Dave0176 Member Posts: 1,177
    jerryb46 said:

    no old pictures?

    Just the one, it’s was too dirty once we started pulling it apart.
    DL Mechanical LLC Heating, Cooling and Plumbing 732-266-5386
    NJ Master HVACR Lic# 4630
    Specializing in Steam Heating, Serving the residents of New Jersey
    https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/dl-mechanical-llc

    https://m.facebook.com/DL-Mechanical-LLC-315309995326627/?ref=content_filter

    I cannot force people to spend money, I can only suggest how to spend it wisely.......
  • ethicalpaul
    ethicalpaul Member Posts: 5,695
    Real clean install @Dave0176 ! Lots of room to work on this one for once, right?

    What did you have to dig out of the floor?
    NJ Steam Homeowner. See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el
  • HVACNUT
    HVACNUT Member Posts: 5,804
    > @ethicalpaul said:
    > Real clean install @Dave0176 ! Lots of room to work on this one for once, right?
    >
    > What did you have to dig out of the floor?


    Oil lines.

    Beautiful job! Too bad it's not still oil fired though.

    Was that a Winkler? I can almost read it.
    ethicalpaul
  • Dave0176
    Dave0176 Member Posts: 1,177
    edited June 2020
    HVACNUT said:

    > @ethicalpaul said:

    > Real clean install @Dave0176 ! Lots of room to work on this one for once, right?

    >

    > What did you have to dig out of the floor?





    Oil lines.



    Beautiful job! Too bad it's not still oil fired though.



    Was that a Winkler? I can almost read it.

    Yes it was a Winkler a three section pretty damn heavy too. In all my years of doing this job I’ve never come across a Winkler.
    DL Mechanical LLC Heating, Cooling and Plumbing 732-266-5386
    NJ Master HVACR Lic# 4630
    Specializing in Steam Heating, Serving the residents of New Jersey
    https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/dl-mechanical-llc

    https://m.facebook.com/DL-Mechanical-LLC-315309995326627/?ref=content_filter

    I cannot force people to spend money, I can only suggest how to spend it wisely.......
  • Dave0176
    Dave0176 Member Posts: 1,177
    edited June 2020

    Real clean install @Dave0176 ! Lots of room to work on this one for once, right?

    What did you have to dig out of the floor?

    As @HVACNUT said we dug up the oil lines, tank company is there today pulling the tank.

    And Paul actually the room was very small where they had the boiler only 6X8 so truthfully it was tight especially with all my tools and my pop in the same room.
    DL Mechanical LLC Heating, Cooling and Plumbing 732-266-5386
    NJ Master HVACR Lic# 4630
    Specializing in Steam Heating, Serving the residents of New Jersey
    https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/dl-mechanical-llc

    https://m.facebook.com/DL-Mechanical-LLC-315309995326627/?ref=content_filter

    I cannot force people to spend money, I can only suggest how to spend it wisely.......
    ethicalpaul
  • Dave0176
    Dave0176 Member Posts: 1,177

    Nice looking job, @Dave0176 ! But one does sort of have to wonder about the previous service, eh?

    We see it all the time Jamie especially on the older boilers because it requires more work to remove the burner and fire box door.
    DL Mechanical LLC Heating, Cooling and Plumbing 732-266-5386
    NJ Master HVACR Lic# 4630
    Specializing in Steam Heating, Serving the residents of New Jersey
    https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/dl-mechanical-llc

    https://m.facebook.com/DL-Mechanical-LLC-315309995326627/?ref=content_filter

    I cannot force people to spend money, I can only suggest how to spend it wisely.......
    ethicalpaul
  • Dave0176
    Dave0176 Member Posts: 1,177
    And if anyone asks, no I still don’t own a propress I still sweat all my copper. Maybe someday.

    DL Mechanical LLC Heating, Cooling and Plumbing 732-266-5386
    NJ Master HVACR Lic# 4630
    Specializing in Steam Heating, Serving the residents of New Jersey
    https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/dl-mechanical-llc

    https://m.facebook.com/DL-Mechanical-LLC-315309995326627/?ref=content_filter

    I cannot force people to spend money, I can only suggest how to spend it wisely.......
    ethicalpaul
  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 15,453
    A lot of old boilers that get thrown away because lazy technicians won't take down the smoke pipe and clean it and combustion chambers full of soot. Not saying that was the case here
  • ethicalpaul
    ethicalpaul Member Posts: 5,695
    edited June 2020
    HVACNUT said:

    > @ethicalpaul said:

    > Real clean install @Dave0176 ! Lots of room to work on this one for once, right?

    >

    > What did you have to dig out of the floor?





    Oil lines.



    Beautiful job! Too bad it's not still oil fired though.



    Was that a Winkler? I can almost read it.

    Thanks! Why is it too bad that it's not still oil fired? That sweet oil smell, the high cost, or the loud blower noise? :sweat_smile:
    NJ Steam Homeowner. See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el
  • ethicalpaul
    ethicalpaul Member Posts: 5,695
    Dave0176 said:

    Real clean install @Dave0176 ! Lots of room to work on this one for once, right?

    What did you have to dig out of the floor?

    As @HVACNUT said we dug up the oil lines, tank company is there today pulling the tank.

    And Paul actually the room was very small where they had the boiler only 6X8 so truthfully it was tight especially with all my tools and my pop in the same room.

    Oh wow, the picture was deceiving! The install is just so beautiful and simple even with the twin supplies and drop header.
    NJ Steam Homeowner. See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el
  • luketheplumber
    luketheplumber Member Posts: 149
    Dave0176 said:

    And if anyone asks, no I still don’t own a propress I still sweat all my copper. Maybe someday.

    I haven't done anywhere near as much soldering as anyone on this page. But I do really enjoy sweating copper fittings, its always quite satisfying to melt the solder around the joints and then know that the joint isn't going anywhere.
    I just earned my GED and am looking for a apprenticeship with one of these steam gurus on this site!
  • SuperTech
    SuperTech Member Posts: 2,139
    > @luketheplumber said:
    > (Quote)
    > I haven't done anywhere near as much soldering as anyone on this page. But I do really enjoy sweating copper fittings, its always quite satisfying to melt the solder around the joints and then know that the joint isn't going anywhere.

    Its very satisfying until you have a problem. Leaky sweat joints are a real pain. Try to remember that keeping the fittings super clean and make sure everything is straight and level. Avoid trying to solder any pipe with water in it. If you have a valve that doesn't close fully and you can't keep water out of the pipe there's a product called a Jet Sweat that will seal the inside of the pipe and keep the water out.
    Or you can use an old trick....stuff a piece of bread down the pipe and it will soak up the water so you can solder. Flush it out through the tub or a spigot without a strainer when you are done.
    luketheplumber
  • EzzyT
    EzzyT Member Posts: 1,294
    @Dave0176 beautiful job as always.
    E-Travis Mechanical LLC
    Etravismechanical@gmail.com
    201-887-8856