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What type of steam system do I have?

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cd1
cd1 Member Posts: 5
in Strictly Steam

This is my 2nd winter in a 113 yr old house in southeast PA and my first experience with steam heat. The heating system is functional but I'd like to learn more about it and plan for repairs and maintenance. I got the boiler flushed after we moved in as it had been sitting for a year with the sight glass completely opaque. The autofeeder was passing water flooding the boiler so I turned it off and do weekly checks on water level. I also replaced both main vents. The boilers is about 13 yrs old but the header is done wrong. The steam pipes are uninsulated. I plan to tackle both this winter.

Posting a picture of a typical radiator in my house. It has pipes on both ends and a steam vent as well. Is this a single pipe or a 2 pipe system? I'd posted this in the Radiant Heat section instead of the Steam section accidentally.

img-5087.jpeg

Here are some additional pictures from the basement that shows the

Boiler with (incorrectly configured and copper) header.

IMG_5166.jpeg

Main Vent (one of 2)

IMG_5163.jpeg

Another radiator with inlet and outlet pipes as well as an air vent. Followed by picture of the pipes connected to it in the basement.

IMG_5167.jpeg IMG_5168.jpeg IMG_5169.jpeg

Comments

  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 19,179

    Two pipe system. Could be a system with orifices in the supply valves. Can't see all the returns. Do all the radiator returns individually drop into the wet return that runs around the basement below the boiler water line?

    It looks like a two pipe air vent with a wet return. If it runs quiet with no water hammer I would fix the header in the spring.

    If you look up the boiler model # on Weil McLain's web site you can download the manual with the header piping diagram

    cd1
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 18,156

    @cd1 , in the last pic, are the pipes coming down the wall connected to the radiator return elbows?

    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
  • cd1
    cd1 Member Posts: 5
    https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1874581#Comment_1874581
    IMG_5164.jpeg

    Tough to take a picture of all the returns but this is a picture that shows a section of the wet return with radiator drops.

    If this is a 2 pipe system, why would the radiators have a vent but no steam trap? There are about 20 radiators, all with vents(of varying make/model).

    @Steamhead Does this picture help answer your question as well??

  • Waterbury Steam
    Waterbury Steam Member Posts: 59

    Are those inline steam traps on the radiator drops?

  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 15,071

    It is 2 pipe air vent. The air gets out through the radiator vents and the condensate drops individually from each radiator through the return to the wet return.

    That return needs to be below the water line because the water in the return keeps the steam from blowing through the radiator and in to the return.

    I don't think those devices, not sure if they are steam traps or check valves, belong on the wet return. If that went return is above or close to the water line with the new boiler it may have been a misguided attempt to fix that.

    In addition to the order of the connections and the copper at the boiler, the 2 mains should come individually down in to the header, they shouldn't be teed together at the ceiling.

    cd1
  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,678

    They don’t belong on the wet returns. Just something to clog.

    Retired and loving it.
    mattmia2
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 18,156

    @cd1 yes, and as long as that main radiator return is below the boiler's waterline, the check valves are not needed.

    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting

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