Residential Steam Boiler Piping tips

Dairon421 · October 2020

Are there any piping tips and tricks that you can share?

EBEBRATT-Ed · October 2020

Pipe it according to the boiler MFG requirements as a minimum. Use steel pipe with cast iron or malleable fittings

EdwinD · October 2020

These tips were passed on to me by the veteran steam experts here. Note, you'll get more responses posting to the "strictly steam" category.
1) buy U.S. made piping, fittings; better quality
2) on wet return runs with 90 degree turns, use tee fittings instead of 90 degree elbows which tend to get clogged. Plus tee fittings are good for cleaning out accumulated sediment, debris over time.
3) develop a plan for your layout ,( according to Manufacturer specs) as @EBEBRATT-Ed stated...and share it before install... the folks here are really helpful with sharing knowledge.
4) For sealing pipe threads, I like Blue Monster PTFE Thread Sealing Tape, others may prefer Blue Monster PTFE thread sealant - or both. Good stuff.
5) In order to get a good seal, the recommended depth to tighten fittings varies depending on pipe size - I had a chart for that, I'll forward it if I find it. Maybe someone else can answer that more readily. This is good to know when determining the length of your sections of pipe, as you must account for the thread going into your fittings.
6) After installing new piping, to remove oil from "the new piping/fittings, you'll need to skim your boiler. Quite a few discussions on skimming in the strictly steam category.
7) For 3"+ pipes and unions, you'll need some large wrenches with at least an 8-in jaw, eBay is a good place to look for those - or you can look at the buy, sell, barter section of this site.

clammy · October 2020

Dont reduce return tappings and use a full size tee on return inlet side w a reducing bushing and 3/4 ball valve ,the opposite side should have at a mim a full size nip and cap or a reducing 90 and ball valve .you should install a isolation valve on your hArtford loop and always install full size tees w reducing bushing and ball valve type drain on all wet returns so they can be flushed .if you have long wet returns you should find where’s the drop are and cut in isolation valves and drains so you can flush them out . Remove skim tapping and add a nipple and cap ,I usually make and leave a 90 and a drop for future skimming . Check your boiler I &o manual ,I generally size my header one size larger then there mim it ensure dryer steam production especially if the boilers been cleaned well ,don’t forget to add a demineralization filter keep those tds down . Peace and good luck clammy

Grallert · October 2020

Find the boilers installation manual and follow it as described.

Erin Holohan Haskell · October 2020

There are a lot of videos with tips on steam boiler piping on the Heating Help YouTube channel here.

ethicalpaul · October 2020

2) on horizontal runs with 90 degree turns, use tee fittings instead of 90 degree elbows which tend to get clogged. Plus tee fittings are good for cleaning out accumulated sediment, debris over time.

^^^ gentle clarification: this is just for wet returns. Steam pipes don't get clogged.

EdwinD · October 2020

@ethicalpaul Thanks!...corrected.

JohnNY · October 2020

EdwinD said:
5) In order to get a good seal, the recommended depth to tighten fittings varies depending on pipe size - I had a chart for that, I'll forward it if I find it. Maybe someone else can answer that more readily. This is good to know when determining the length of your sections of pipe, as you must account for the thread going into your fittings.

I've never seen a chart for this. There's not way to account for variations in the depth and number of threads created by a threading machine from either a factory thread or threads made in the field. Guys who do this every day make it tight and get a feel for it.

motoguy128 · October 2020

Use Tees instead of elbows and put plenty of drain valves on the returns so you can plush it out.

Use a Cross instead of a Tee where the wet return and equalizer connect to he boiler return.

If you pipe an indirect to a boiler, don’t forget swing checks and use a full size bypass pipe with a full port gate valve to throttle it.

Rectorseal 8-way is like magic elixir. Can make a surging boiler bouncing around at 2-6oz purr like a kitten at <1oz.

Add a low range w8oz or 20oz gauge so you can actually see what the boiler is doing. A 30psi gauge is useless Except to tell you if the pressuretrol and/or relief have failed, but often code required.

Leave a nipple and cap or full port ball and plug on the skim tapping for future access. Leave A nipple and cap on the opposite Unused return for future flushing.

Assembling a 3” header With a 36” wrench is a great upper body workout. 2” equalizer and return piping with a 24” wrench is a nice warmup.

Residential Steam Boiler Piping tips

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