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The Right Pressure for Steam Heating Systems

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HeatingHelp
HeatingHelp Administrator Posts: 723
edited October 2024 in THE MAIN WALL
imageThe Right Pressure for Steam Heating Systems

In this excerpt from his Dead Men’s Steam School seminar, Dan Holohan shares his knowledge about pressuretrols and the optimum pressure for steam heating systems. He talks about the difference between sensible and latent heat and why a steam heating system will work at 2 psi if you only get the air out of its way.

Read the full story here

Comments

  • CarlM
    CarlM Member Posts: 13

    The right handed screwdriver is cheaper

    IMG_1007.jpeg
    EdTheHeaterManAndythePlumber
  • EdTheHeaterMan
    EdTheHeaterMan Member Posts: 12,271

    I just mentioned this to someone on another site:

    while reminiscing about his days as an apprentice, he remembers being asked to get a pipe stretcher from the work truck. Then I remarked that you could never ask that apprentice to get you one of these after pulling that trick on him.

    Screenshot 2024-10-17 at 12.38.19 PM.png

    Edward Young Retired

    After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?

  • Marc_18
    Marc_18 Member Posts: 22

    My boiler is slightly oversized. All vents are sized correctly. For overnight setbacks greater than 4-5 degrees, the p’tol will hit the current setting of 1.5 oz and begin to cycle the boiler.

    Question is whether to 1) leave things alone, 2) raise the p’tol setting a bit to, say, 2 oz, 3) manually raise the thermostat in stages in the morning to reach the desired house temp without pressures going above ~1.5 oz or 4) set the overnight house temperature to be higher (undesired)?

  • bburd
    bburd Member Posts: 1,305
    edited October 2024

    That's normal operation for the circumstances, I'd leave it alone.

    —
    Bburd
  • Waher
    Waher Member Posts: 372

    Do not raise the pressure. The pressuretrol cycling the boiler at 1.5oz is doing its job keeping the system in the proper operating pressure range.

  • Megawboiler
    Megawboiler Member Posts: 19

    Right on! My single pipe system rarely goes above 1psi. This system dates back to coal days, now gas. I recently had the rust separator/low water shutoff rebuilt and the system has been a beta test Tekmar Control site for over 20 years. No indoor thermostat, just indoor/outdoor temp sensor differential data allows the controller to calculate start times to recover from overnight shutdown periods. Go steam!!! Most local HVAC guys just give me "yah right" side eye when I describe the system to them. Western Canada.

  • jumper
    jumper Member Posts: 2,541
    edited March 20

    Ideal system regulates temperature of radiators. Megawboiler strategy makes sense.

  • Mad Dog_2
    Mad Dog_2 Member Posts: 8,563

    A voice of great comfort to me.....the comprehension penetrates a little deeper each time...Mad Dog

    Consulting by Mad Dog & Matt Jr.
  • dabrakeman
    dabrakeman Member Posts: 1,017

    Did you mean oz or psi? If indeed oz then you must have a vaporstat since that is quite low.I'm assuming you meant 1.5psi and if so no don't raise it. If you are getting some unwanted noise from your radiator vents during recovery then you could break up the recovery a bit depending upon the versatility of your thermostat.

    ethicalpaulAlan (California Radiant) Forbes
  • Pumpguy
    Pumpguy Member Posts: 801

    One item I would add to Dan's list of STUFF just before the end of this video is VACUUM PUMPS.

    I can't tell you how many systems I see that were designed as vacuum return systems where the vacuum pump has been done away with.

    Oh yes, right at the beginning of this video, we see a picture of the Empire State Building, and there it is mentioned that this is a vacuum return system.

    Dennis Pataki. Former Service Manager and Heating Pump Product Manager for Nash Engineering Company. Phone: 1-888 853 9963
    Website: www.nashjenningspumps.com

    The first step in solving any problem is TO IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM.
  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 20,228

    The demise of the vacuum system in my opinion is because most don't maintain the traps. Sure fire way to kill a vac pump

  • jumper
    jumper Member Posts: 2,541

    Paranoid & cynical me suspects that steam heating systems were designed by equipment salesmen. Traps; condensate pumps; feed pumps; vacuum pumps; vents; vacuum breakers. Then along came control guys with more goodies. Eventually operators try to simplify?

  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 27,395
    https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1892899#Comment_1892899

    Actually most steam systems were, originally, incredibly simple. A one pipe steam system can be do9ne with nothing more complex than the main vents and vents on the radiators and a low water cutoff and a pressure control. End of story. A two pipe system will usually add traps on the radiators but delete the radiator vents. Sometimes there will be a patented device on a two pipe system to limit the pressure differential between the stame mains and the dry returns.

    The rest of that stoff might have been used on some verry large systems — but as often as not was added (particularly traps, feed tank,s and all of that) to solve a problem which the tech. didn't understand.

    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
  • jumper
    jumper Member Posts: 2,541

    @Jamie Hall My experiences were mostly with small multi-unit residential. Is that medium size? Some had deep enough boiler rooms to do without condensate or feed pump. Eventually somebody sold pump to some owners. I've also seen vacuum pump as an add on. I agree with you that steam heating can be simple. I remember system that used city water powered venturi to evacuate air but somehow didn't need feed pump.

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