Neal Lewis Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 Download Attachment: Koplik 064.jpg 949.96 KB This brand new steam boiler installation is totally screwed up. Unbelievable. There is no backflow preventer. The auto feed is not installed on a horizontal pipe and there is no manual bypass. The Hartford Loop is installed wrong. The supply piping is throttled way down in size. The gas boiler is supplied with a 1/2 inch run of CSST about 20 feet long. The burners were pulsing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 Just curious Neal, Do you say anything about the un-insulated pipes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neal Lewis Posted May 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 Yeah, I do. I say it's good for heating the basement... Lots of CSST secured by zip ties,too. Proudly installed by Patriot Mechanical from Flanders. I should call them up and say WTF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Morrison Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 Copper risers on a steam system are a dead giveaway that the installer wasn't familiar with these systems. However, backflow preventers aren't required on steam systems. They aren't necessary. The pressure in a steam system is just about always always going to be lower than the pressure in the water supply, and unlike a forced hot water system, you have a shutoff separating the two, so there's really no chance of backflow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neal Lewis Posted May 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 Well, the backflow preventer is always installed around here on steam and hot water boilers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 "Yeah, I do. I say it's good for heating the basement" About 5 years ago I attended a seminar in NY. The speaker stated the steam pipes located near the boiler should be insulated because, and I quote 'Steam will condense (cool down and turn to water) 5 times faster in un-insulated pipes.' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neal Lewis Posted May 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 Well, I've heard 5 or 6 times the amount of heat loss, not condensing 5 times faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Morrison Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 Nobody has piped a house for steam since just after The Big War, so it's not surprising that so many new installs get banjaxed these days. It's a lot more art than science, too. You can't really tell how they'll perform until it gets good and wintry outside. Good call, Neal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence McCann Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 You sure it's a steam boiler and not a hydronic conversion? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neal Lewis Posted May 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 Terry, absolutely sure. A one pipe steam system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence McCann Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 Must be in the air. One of the absolute worst installations I've ever seen. Not that an upside down pressure gauge effects (now I'm guessing on the right use of effect/affect - thanks [:-weepn] ) anything but it just shows a total lack of knowledge/care. No low water cutoff, no pressure reducing feed water valve, 14' run of pipe with no support, no insulation, not a plumb pipe in the entire installation - a real hack job. Needless to say I was not kind. Click to Enlarge 43 KB Click to Enlarge 33.42 KB Oh yea, forgot to mention - they had the "plumber" come back to fix a leak on the boiler. Seems the t/p relief valve was leaking. He said it was a faulty valve and replaced it. The pressure of the boiler was pushing 30# at room temperature. Go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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