Sizing a New Steam Boiler
I am removing an old Burnham steam boiler with an indirect tank and installing a new one. The old one has no info on it whatsoever. The indirect tank is a Boiler Mate WHS602, 60 gallon. I measured all the radiators and got 299 sq ft of steam required. I am going with Burnham MST396 Megasteam. I believe it should be big enough but I just want to make sure. Thoughts from anyone would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Comments
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that’s way too big. You want the 288
NJ Steam Homeowner.
Free NJ and remote steam advice: https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/new-jersey-steam-help/
See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el0 -
Please don’t install a boiler that massively oversized.
Why did you bother measuring the radiators if you’re just going to ignore the number? That makes no sense.
I agree with Paul the 288 will be more than enough.
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My thoughts were were with the 1.3 service factor, that brought my sq ft of steam to just under 400. Plus the indirect tank, I wanted to make sure I had enough for everything. Am I thinking completely wrong?
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The 33% is built into that spec already and 33% is too much anyway.
The 288 is what you want.
Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.
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Au Contraire, gentlemen- since the new MegaSteam will likely have a CycleGard low-water cutoff, you don't want to undersize it. The CycleGard shuts the burner down every 20 minutes or so to do a burner-off water level check- this is to make sure foam in the water isn't giving it a false level. This effectively reduces the time the boiler is at full steam, and therefore, reduces its capacity. ISTR the reduction can be up to 10%.
Go with the 396.
All Steamed Up, Inc.
Towson, MD, USA
Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
Oil & Gas Burner Service
Consulting0 -
What's the difference between the 288 and 396? They both have the same shipping weight so I assume it's the same boiler?
Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.
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Get rid of the cyclegard
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That would probably void the warranty.
All Steamed Up, Inc.
Towson, MD, USA
Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
Oil & Gas Burner Service
Consulting0 -
Probably correct. Personally, I have had close to zero success with warranties. Always an excuse. And can never talk to the actual people making the decisions. There are probably people out the who would suggest removing the cyclegard and reinstalling it if a warranty issue came up. Just saying.
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The 288 and the 396 are the same boiler. Just you install baffles on the 2nd pass on the 396 to get the extra sq ft of steam. Thank you gentlemen. This has been very helpful. I appreciate the help
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I unlike apparently everyone in this thread own and operate a cyclegard and it has no measurable effect on the boiler’s capacity to make steam.
And regardless with the extra 33% already in place, there is no way that boiler is undersized
NJ Steam Homeowner.
Free NJ and remote steam advice: https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/new-jersey-steam-help/
See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el0 -
And you don't need to add anything when you have an indirect
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