SteamMax Return Piping

You might want to talk money. tell him that with no valve... you will deduct $500.00 off the total. it is very easy. Draw an X thru the valve and then write = $500.00 discount. Circle the valve and write = full price. That will usually eliminate the language barrier. I might also want a king valve to build pressure above the normal operating pressure for blowing out the mud legs 10 years from now. BUT you want to exercise those valves every year.

Before he leaves the job, make sure the boiler is skimmed and will he return in a week to skim again?
Hold some $$$ back to insure the boiler works as expected. And finally you can remove the valve handles so someone does not close them by accident.

Mr. Ed

Listen to Mr Ed.  Play Hardball. This is YOUR boiler & $.   Not only should he put in the valve, make sure its a GATE valve not a Ball valve .  Ball valves have the Teflon ring inside that seals the chrome Ball.  It does not hold up well not steam condensate for long and may not fully seal closed after a few years.  Ask me how 🤔 I know....Also Gate valves are ALWAYS full port not so with Ball valves.  Mad 🐕 Dog

You want that valve, exactly as shown in the diagram. Standard with us. This arrangement allows you to flush your entire system. This is done by closing the king valve, opening the drain underneath the king valve, and running the system. With the king valve closed the returning condensate cannot return to the boiler, and will instead flow out the drain. To keep the boiler running you will need to open the boiler feed valve slightly, at roughly the rate that condensate is being removed. Takes an hour or 3, but the entire system gets flushed. That's not possible without this arrangement.

Have him remove the handle from the valve so it won't get accidentally closed and explain you'll keep it off.

OK then LOL!

Oh to answer your question, you can do a lot of cleanout without draining the entire boiler...but it's a lot easier if you put a full port ball valve there instead of the plug!

And you won't hardly need any cleanout at all if you keep your PH at 10-11 with a product such as 8-Way. It dramatically, DRAMATICALLY reduces corrosion

If you put a plugged tee in that mud leg (which is proper piping practice) use a brass plug so you can remove it after the first year or so. An iron plug will rust in place quickly.

I consider this much more important than the valve on the return.

Like this??? On new installs of wet returns I also have Gate valves on each drip in to the wet return and a tee w Boiler drain on each end so I can get a house and blow the Be-Jesus! Out of those muddy wet returns with ANY water pressure I choose.   I also like to use two 45s or long turn 90s so I can get a snake 🐍 thru as well.  Maintenance is a breeze.  Mad Dog 🐕 

It's fine, no horizontal space is required. Dirty little secret: as soon as it's fully installed the "swing" joints don't swing. Anyone who has disassembled a header (or tried) knows that nothing is "swinging"



It's fine. If the boiler water is remotely reasonable and the piping is correct, there will be little or more likely no water flowing down it anyway. See my video below and others where I purposely poisoned my boiler water:

https://youtu.be/4IymyZB4wlI


https://youtu.be/jvt8qxBaRJU

Equalizer needs to be 2", if that is what the manual calls for.

Is the header sloped to drain down into the equalizer drop pipe?

Maybe it is just the angle of the camera/picture.

I would say the job is done properly, not perfectly. It's fine. If the boiler's sized correctly and the vents are good you should be fine.

Congrats.  I can't see all angles but for the header I give the installer a C +  mad Dog

Mad Dog_2 said:

Congrats.  I can't see all angles but for the header I give the installer a C +  mad Dog

Based on what we see here, this is an A-

Yes, I am Super Critical and highly meticulous, with all work, with mine being judged the most harshly. I decided on DAY ONE in September of 1986, that I would strive to the best Plumbing and Heating man that ever lived..to Earn my place among the Deadmen at some point. Many, times, starting out I was slow and ripped things out to do them again. I NEVER left shafty or sub-par work even at 2am trying to get heat going on a boiler job that started at 7am. Sometimes I fell short, but went back fresh the next day to correct. You know what drove and motivated me???? I wanted ANY plumber or tradesman to see my work and go WOW! I don't even do work that good, but maybe I should try harder. I did it for the next young man or woman 50 years from now, who would "gaze at my work and marvel at my Skills" (Holohan Poster) and say: MAN! THAT's the quality o f work that I wanna do! Just as I did when I opened a wall to expose a battery of 10 commercial toilet roughings and the Cast Iron Lead & Oakum is PERFECT, and the Galvanized vents are PERFECTLY pitched...and the Kennedy-Tucker Fittings were all lined up and sqaured away. When I see the High Qaulity work here at the Wall of some of My Peers, for example my Old Boss, Richie English, it stirs something deep inside me and stokes my fires to be THAT good on my next job. Life is too short to be average or medicore. Both my Parents, and both sets of Grandparents had Sterling Reputations in their fields are were considered the best. That was and is my goal.

The Grade:

1) What's with the Swing check in the wet return there? They haven't been needed since the coal days.
2) Why didn't you 45 offset the eqaulizer? That can cause banging in a surging water line situation.
3) What's with all the bushings? Bushings should be used RARELY and not in plain sight if you can help it.
Amateurish.
4) That Horizontal Header is definitely pitched the wrong way (Counter-Flow) No reason to do this when
you're repiping everything.
5) It's not the end of the world, but that make up water is best piped in to the wet return for blending
and power flushing purposes.
6) You did such a nice job mounting the Low pressure gauge up safe and high, why not the 30 pounder?
ALL guages should be on their own Pigtail for protection from the Maelstrom and longevity.
7) In almost 40 years of installing steam boilers, I've never took the handle off a Hartford Loop valve.
What's the fear? Homeowner will know soon enough that the valves closed. This isn't a Fire Sprinkler
system or Medical Gas situation where a closed valve will cause death. Be careful whom you take advice
from...their actual industry experience is..........?????
8) The 1/2" Copper feeder line is not anywhere near level and looks like its resting on top of the header..
electrolysis anyone? Where is the ball valve on the feeder bypass? Saved $$ there?
9) You wasted a 3" Black Union on the header that you didn't need $$$$ Boss won't like that!
10) Any reason you used a Malleable coupling on the eqaulizer drop? Stock & Die? You don't even need an
expensive Ridgid 700 or 300. Do it by hand...two threads...
12) Rectorseal #5. That 's fine for pipe dope but should be barely visible so that an inspector wonders if
you even used any.

Critical and harsh judge? Yes, the goal is always perfection or as close as you can get to it.
Overall, not bad, I have seen so much worse. You/He just need to clean up the act a bit. As long as it works, and you're happy, that's all that matters. Mad Dog

The way your boiler is piped it Can't run out of feed water if that valve is closed.  Also, a working LWCO would have prevented that.  If you tell the HO they need annual maintenance and they don't do it...AINT YOURE FAULT been down this road.  Mad Dog

Dirty Boiler water. Mad

I'd just do it for awhile (like an hour) then let it run for a week or two, then repeat as needed. There are diminishing returns from prolonging a single session—the gunk has to be floating free on the surface.

After a few times it will be nice.

Yes, anything you do to reduce the amount of oil going into the boiler will help. I have heard a couple people here say they wash all new pipes with dishwashing liquid before installation but I've never done it (but I have a very easy skim setup)