Residential Steam Boiler Replacement - EDR Questions

Number 3 and number five are instant disqualifications. Boiler must be skimmed, and the only correct way to size the boiler is by measuring radiators.

Personally, I am not a big fan of king valves. Just one more thing to go wrong. Rather than coming up with all sorts of creative means to pressure bomb the sludge out of the boiler, it is preferable and possible to avoid the sludge in the first place.

And just to back up a bit. Are you certain that the boiler is actually leaking? Easy way to check is to fill the boiler above the top of the boiler, and see if any water comes leaking down onto the burners

Need to measure all the radiators for sizing. DO NOT SKIP THAT PART. The contractor is 100% guessing if they don't measure. It's easy to do if you'd like to complete the task on your own, we are happy to help.

Valves, I wouldn't worry about king valves, I'd make sure they included valves at any low point so you can flush things out if needed, I think that is more important.

Skimming is a relatively easy task if you'd like to take it on yourself, what is important is that they install the skim pipe so the skimming can actually happen. That is very important no matter who does the work.

If you have concerns about the chimney, contact a chimney company and have it inspected and see if they recommend having it lined. If I was guessing, they will suggest it needs lined.

Make sure the quote says they will do the piping to manufacturers specification, including proper pipe size. The pipe size is important. The one they quoted needs 3" header, we see on here frequently that they don't like going over 2" piping, don't let that happen. Of course we don't even know if the quoted boiler is the right size.

I am not familiar with NY geography to know 100% which contractors would serve your area, but I'm pretty sure there are several good ones that to Brooklyn. Others may chime in on that.

The good news is that there are a few well respected pro's on this site that service your area. I'm sure they will chime in soon.

100% agree with @STEAM DOCTOR

Also, go to the books store here on this sight and get "we've got steam heat". I think that's the name of the book. You will want to become knowledgeable on you steam system it will save you headaches and money.

also @EzzyT and @clammy

I would start with the symptoms and that someone told you it needed to replaced when you call one of the NYC contractors, have them diagnose it first rather than asking for a replacement. It could be a return leaking somewhere where you can't see it or condensate that is delayed in returning to the boiler or water getting thrown in to the mains from the boiler and tripping the lwco.

There can be other places besides the boiler for leaks and there can be system issues that cause the water to leave the boiler and trip the lwco.

If you fill the boiler to the mark on the sight glass while it is off, if you check it over a couple days(or hours if it is leaking a lot) during the off cycle, does the water level fall?

yes, new boiler time.

you can take the jacket and probably the flue collector off or look up with a camera or mirror to confirm it is leaking somewhere in the heat exchanger, there is a small possibility that a connection of some sort is leaking but if a section or joint between sections is leaking it is unlikely to be worth the labor to repair that if it is even repairable vs replacing the boiler

I’m a plumber in NYC in queens, see far too often guys around here just go off the size that was originally there. 100% have someone who measures and check all the rads as well as the near boiler piping and the main in the basement before deciding on a size and brand. I install, but personally don’t size them, if you’re looking for a trustworthy company in BK or the general area feel free to message me

I can't find that exact one in the charts either, but based on ones that are close I'd go 3 per section, so 30 for that one. If the entire house was filled with them I'd advocate for digging deeper, but one radiator isn't going to throw things off that much. Add that 30 to the 26 per recessed convector and I get 453 total.

In the Williamson line that would put you exactly at the GSA-175, you got quoted the GSA-238 which is 2 sizes bigger, do not let them install this, it's far too big. They sized off the old one, which is totally wrong.

As they say in Brooklyn, oei vei ( I think that the spelling may vary slightly, depending on which part of Brooklyn you are in). Definitely do not oversize. And even more importantly, don't hire someone who does not know how to size the boiler. Feel free to give me a buzz.

I looked here and found one that was very close:

https://www.heatinghelp.com/assets/documents/American-Radiators.pdf

Use the 4-tube Corto chart. Their version is 32 inches tall and 35 square feet. ISTR that the National Aero rads that were 30 inches tall had the same EDR as the 32-inch Cortos.

The 4 tube rad is 3.5 sq. ft./section x 10 sections = 35 sq ft.

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015035429805&view=2up&seq=1713&size=175&q1=r174-40

It was a standardized size. It's too bad the writing around the top plug is hard to make out. I would have liked to have been able to identify it. There were a couple of manufacturers that made 30" tall rads. National Radiator made the Aero, and Columbia made the McKeesport. I thought it looked very similar to a Thatcher Gothic, but the legs aren't consistent with that and height is too short…mystery. Maybe if you took a picture of the other side, the writing would be clearer? Won't change the EDR though.

I agree with you about the column rads. If they are all 3 column, 38" tall, then it's 5 sq. ft/section. If you can take a pic of the clearest writing around the bottom you can find, that would help identify if you're curious. See below.

As for the convectors, if you want the most exact ratings, I would need to know the manufacturer. Otherwise it's just an approximation, which might be good enough. Take a look underneath, top and sides of each convector with your phone camera for any writing. The cabinet may also have writing/identifying marks. Possibly behind the grille too. If you come up empty, I'll have to guesstimate.