Augusta Stone Church

one pipe and zoning usually don't get along with each other.

calling that a "header" is very generous

i bet the condensate pump does not need to exist

2 boilers would probably work better and cost about the same as making the 2 zones work although how much less than 200 ft^2 is important here since the smallest steam boilers are around 250 ft^2

i wonder if that condensate tank was their way of solving the water exiting the boiler because of that header. and possibly condensate stacking up behind the zone valve. if the motor died it almost certainly wasn't working right.

Imagine 120 years BEFORE the civil war.

Are you replacing the boiler or trying to make that one work? I am guessing the returns in the crawl space rotted out and they used hoses?

The biggest headache is to decide what to do about zoning or not zoning. Until that question is solved you can't really decide anything else.

I would suspect like all churches they don't want to keep the church that warm when unoccupied.

Most steam systems with a boiler feed tank put the MU water into the feed tank and not the boiler. i guess that is what they were trying for but that little tank is hardly a feed tank.

Not a pro — so no comment except… mercy.

With the boiler being that much oversized you probably smart to change it out.

If the run is not too long maybe a HW zone off the steamer would work for the offices. But if not much load electric you can't beat the simplicity and lack of needed maintenance.

Please do not yell;

I am speaking here as a homeowner with a coal fired boiler heating system and paraphrasing what Brother Jamie has said "Mercy Me, YUCK!!!!!!!!!!"

As you are in an area where Anthracite rice coal can be obtained easily, your heating system can be upgraded with a dual fuel EFM DF520 coal stoker set up for steam heating with some work and reconnect/replace the missing radiators to replace that abomination in my opinion as a lay person.

The EFM DF520 coal stoker boiler has a 3 inch tapping in the steam chest and two 2 inch returns for hydronic heating.

Again I am speaking as a homeowner having grown up with one pipe steam heat; a 3 inch double header coming off the riser in the steam chest makes a great deal more sense with that mess as the 3 inch drop header transitioning to a 4 inch header pipe then rising to meet the existing piping would make much more sense and allow the entire church to be heated eliminating all that excess piping and making a cleaner installation.

You apparently have at least 24 inches in open space above the existing boiler for a double drop header with a drain back to the boiler Hartford loop so it would be an ideal installation to create very dry steam.

The EFM DF520 can be equipped with a dual fuel heating system where I believe natural gas can be the dual fuel used rather than oil.

I am making the popcorn with olive oil and will pass it around here as I wait and see what happens next.

It may be well worth the phone call to EFM in Emmaus, Pa and ask about adding a second riser to the DF520 boiler to increase the steam output more quickly to a double drop header to replace that mess.

Please do not yell.

Dear Mr. Boan, the Anthracite coal stoker boilers and furnaces burn cleanly with no smoke and create very high heat per pound of Rice Anthracite Coal. I wish we had access to more friable Sub Bituminous coal from Wyoming or Montana as these coals provide clean heat with very little ash.