Steam to Hot water conversion

This could be a Learning Experience for you

especially since it's a friend's house.

First off, what part of the country are you in? I'll bet there's more steam than you think in your area, and if you got to where you were comfortable with steam you could increase your customer base. Each and every steam person on the Wall and elsewhere had to learn how to work with steam- I know you can too.

Second, the notion that steam is more expensive to run than hot water can often be traced to problems in the system, rather than the boiler. Straighten out the system and the occupants will be more comfortable, and the fuel bills will go way down. Of course, a new steam boiler will help here too.

Steam has several advantages over hot-water: it doesn't have nearly the danger of freezing that hot-water does in a power failure, it runs under far less pressure than hot-water, and has fewer moving parts. Also, you don't need to drain the entire system to work on it.

Finally, if that system does not have vents on the radiators, I'll bet it's an old Vapor system. Vapor was top-of-the-line in the Old Days and is still one of the better systems out there now. Have you noticed any manufacturer's info on the shutoffs and traps, as well as any ominous-looking devices piped near the boiler that could help us identify this system?

I guess you can see now that I really like steam. I've had the pleasure of saving a lot of steam systems from the scrap heap (can you hear the Dead Men cheering), and the list keeps growing. Dan's article outlines some of the pitfalls you may encounter if you try to convert that system to hot-water. To me, those are convincing arguments. If I were doing that job, I'd keep the steam.

If you haven't done so already, get Dan's books "The Lost Art of Steam Heating" and "The Lost Art of Steam Heating Companion". I'd also suggest the "Dead Men's Steam School" video and workbook. All are available on the Books and More page of this site.

And don't forget, you'll find lots of help right here on the Wall!

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