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Steam Heating System Piping

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HeatingHelp
HeatingHelp Administrator Posts: 637
edited February 2021 in THE MAIN WALL
Steam Heating System Piping

In this excerpt from his Dead Men’s Steam School seminar, Dan Holohan looks at all of the different types of piping that you will find on steam heating systems.

Watch the video here.

Comments

  • DriverDan
    DriverDan Member Posts: 2
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    Mr Holohan,

    I own a former community hospital, remodeled into a home with two garden level apartments.
    Former owner paid high dollar engineering firm to size and replace boiler in the 80's - shot himself in the foot by plugging air vents and removing all insulation from pipes in the basement. He also hid as many pipes as he could behind drywall.

    We had a recent pipe leak - guy we hired to repair put in a length of galvanized pipe. Your books are amazing, I THINK I remember that may cause problems.... will it? (Don't want to re-drywall if it needs redone!)

    Sincerely,
    Dan Meyer
    Arnold, NE
  • nicholas bonham-carter
    nicholas bonham-carter Member Posts: 8,576
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    I am sure that many sections of old steel pipe have been replaced with galvanized, because of expediency. If this is a wet return, it could have been replaced with copper, with some provision for flushing out.
    I wouldn’t cover anything up until you know that the pipe pitch is correct, with no water hammer.
    Any main air vents should always be accessible to some degree for eventual replacement.—NBC
    DriverDan
  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,526
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    @DriverDan, I haven't written about that, but it did come up on The Wall some years ago:

    https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/147742/galvanized-piping-bad-for-steam-boiler
    Retired and loving it.
    DriverDan
  • DriverDan
    DriverDan Member Posts: 2
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    Thank you for the replies! I've tapped a source for the right pipe, and as events would have it (recent -30 temps and pipes outside of heating zone), need the guy out for some work anyway. A bit of money spent now to prevent future problems from a quick fix! Thanks again! Doing my best to keep steam heat going out in rural Nebraska - very rare but in old public buildings!
    PC7060
  • JUGHNE
    JUGHNE Member Posts: 11,061
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    You are less than 100 miles south of me.
    Most here on the wall can not comprehend that out here, a small school may travel almost that far for a BB or FB game.

    Do you have NG in Arnold?
    Good for you on saving the steamer.....I try to do the same up here.

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