Gravity hot water boiler

Lol. C'mon dude.

oh my

Old Pancake Boiler aka The Patton Tank. Indestructible.  If you're going to resurrect it, prepare to spend a minimum of one full day making sure its firing and drafting safely.  Chimney is clear AND drafting.  As the guys said, Combustion analyzer and check the CO. Highly Recommended :  a Second Person to man the Kill switch if things go South.  

Ohio? Near Canton..The NFL Hall of Fame?
I may be making a pilgrimage there VERY soon.  Mad Dog 🐕 

A new system would just tie into the existing piping and be pumped. It does usually take some creative thinking and valving to get what was a gravity system properly balanced when it is being pumped -- but it's done quite commonly, and quite successfully. I'd try very hard to find someone to do that...

Hello and good morning bb6977,

Speaking as a homeowner:

Your boiler was originally fired with coal and converted to gas. I have seen a number of these coal fired boilers on the coal pail forum.

The double elbow that is tied into the 4 inch drop pipe to the boiler sump takes the cooler water from both sides of the home to be reheated.

Please order Mr. Holahans well written book on hot water heating "CLASSIC HYDRONICS" from the Heating Help Bookstore as soon as possible to help you better understand your heating system and I candidly think it will convince you to keep it as a gravity hot water heating system.

You can order this well written wire bound book through the bookstore with a credit or debit card. I used Mr. Holohan's excellent book to properly design and plumb my coal stoker boiler.

A gravity hot water system has the benefit of huge amounts of thermal mass in the water, the riser piping to the radiator's and to the drop piping in your homes heating system to provide slow even heat that sheds the heat in the radiators slowly into the living space.

I candidly think you need a steam licensed plumber to take care of this boiler if you need to heat the house this winter as they understand heating systems with large riser and return piping.
I would contact the local plumbing inspector to find a plumber that works on gravity hot water or steam heating systems that can help you with this or contact Mad Dog 2 here on the forum for help.

Many steam boilers are dual use and also work for hot water systems. If you want to replace the current boiler you should seek a boiler that is rated for hot water or steam heating use and has 4 inch tapping's and the 4 inch double elbows left in place to reach the tapping's in the new boiler if it is needed

A replacement boiler with 4 inch tapping's will need pipe and fittings and at least one low water cut off switch mounted in the boilers steam chest to protect it and prevent it from boiling dry-been there done that.

You have a gravity system that operates without pumping which is simple to own and operates at low pressure. There are many systems like this that are as old or older than the one you own that still provide slow even heat.

Is the water feeder line for the system in the attic or in the basement??

Is there a radiator in the attic to keep the open to air expansion tank warm or has it been wrapped in insulation of some sort?

A circulator alone for a 4 inch riser is going to be very expensive and will require additional wiring as well as a centrally located thermostat and its wiring.

Your system is using the simplicity of temperature and gravity by heating water to near 190 degrees Fahrenheit to get the hot water to start rising and the cooler water to drop back to the basement to be heated again.

If the system has no leaks and you are worried about it, I would contact a steam licensed plumber in your area and ask for an estimate to remove the boiler and asbestos and install a new hot water boiler with 4 inch tapping's as a new pumped system will require that the open to air expansion tank is removed as well as having the plumbing in the attic removed and sealed off and a very large bladder tank or steel compression tank, air scoop or Internal Air Separator installed in the basement to replace the open to air expansion tank in the attic to maintain the point of no pressure change.

Mr. Holohan's book CLASSIC HYDRONICS explains in detail to the reader how your system works and works well and you should have it in your hands as you examine your system and flip the pages of his wire bound book to read about your system as you look at your boiler.

I do not want to get in your way, my only wish for you to succeed.

My thoughts on this as a homeowner.

The hot water heat with a new boiler, done correctly will be far more even than forced air will ever be and cost less than retrofitting.

Some of that asbestos is in poor condition and should be dealt with immediately.

Hello. I am interested in knowing more about your boiler. It looks like a “Novelty Iron Company (NICO) boiler made in Canton, Ohio. Can you read any of the writing on the clean out doors or the load door? Also, what is the diameter at the base? My house was built in 1908 and has a NICO system but the boiler has been gone since the 1950’s. Are the grates and ash pit door still around? Thanks for the info in advance.

Further info on your current boiler NICO boiler, I believe it’s a No. 55 Series D with 5 sections. Looks like 4” inlet/outlet size and probably a 10” flue? It’s rated at 900 sq. ft. of radiation which roughly equates to 135,000 BTU’s.

170F-180F. Seems to work fine without a circulator.

There is only one reason to convert gravity circulation to a circulator and that is if the piping is clogged with rust. Why disturb a system that works? Putting a circulator on doesn't improve efficiency.

If it worked on Gravity and it still work why disrupt it? Just put a HW boiler in a leave it be…….if you can find one with decent size tapping and decent water content. I did a couple that way and they worked fine.

Adding a circulator disrupts the flow and it may not work the same without tweaking it.