Plainfield NJ steam consultant needed for school building

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NJSteamhouse
NJSteamhouse Posts: 35
edited October 9 in Strictly Steam

I help oversee the building maintenance at a non-profit school in Plainfield NJ. One of the buildings has a large 4,500 SF auditorium over a cafeteria that is heated by a steam boiler. Ultimately the upstairs and downstairs don't heat evenly, with the basement typically running 10 degrees warmer than the upstairs. This building is 100 years old and I'm sure changes have been made to the system over the years which changed it from the original design. While I am knowledgeable on smaller residential steam systems and how to tune them, this one is beyond my ability.

I am looking for a consultant who can take a look at the building and advise how we should go about improving or fixing the system. I'm aware of the Find a Contractor page but I wasn't sure if that was the best route to go just yet and also based on this being a larger complicated system than a residential one.

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Comments

  • PC7060
    PC7060 Posts: 1,980
    https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/204969/plainfield-nj-steam-consultant-needed-for-school-building

    either @JohnNY , @Mad Dog_2 would be excellent (and several others on this site as well)

    IronmanSteamheadleonz
  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Posts: 27,975

    such as @EzzyT or @clammy

    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
    IronmanSteamheadPC7060
  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Posts: 21,328

    @NJSteamhouse

    You will know when you have the right person that wants to fix the steam if you hear the words "convert to hot water" shut the door.

  • leonz
    leonz Posts: 1,994

    Speaking as a homeowner,

    Are any of the header pipes in the basement sagging?

    Any of the excellent names mentioned above for your steam heating consultation will help you with improving your steam heating system.

    You probably should wander around with an 8 foot bubble level before they come to check the radiators to see if they need to be shimmed at the far end to provide proper drainage of the condensate back to the boiler too.

    Do the same thing with the header pipes to check for a slope back to the boiler to allow the condensate to drain properly.

    You can purchase steel shims from Mcmaster Carr for this work.

    I agree with EBERATT-Ed about shutting the door on someone mentioning you should "convert to hot water".

  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Posts: 28,699

    @ScottSecor is in NJ also.

    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
    PC7060

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