Steam piping gone wrong
A steam stumper! In Baltimore, about four blocks from my house, there lives an elderly couple. They're still in the same three-bedroom cottage where they raised their fam...
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Archive for 2014
Why Do Steam Coils Freeze?
This e-mail showed up in my inbox one day. "Our problem is that five out of hundreds of univentilator coils freeze up on a regular basis. They are part of two pipe steam ...
What is a Drop Header?
A question asked on The Wall: "What's the point of building a drop header for a steam boiler, and what does it look like?" Steamhead replies: The drop header keeps water ...
How to Flush the Return Lines on an Old Steam System
Some suggestions from contractors who post on The Wall: We use newspaper, red rosin paper and kitty litter. We are as careful as possible, but spills do happen. Because w...
Flooded Steam System Caused by Poor Piping
Always ask, "What can cause this?" I once looked at a house in New Jersey where the first-floor ceiling had caved in due to a disagreement with the steam system. This was...
Copper Tubing and Steam Systems
A question asked on The Wall: "Is it okay to use copper on steam systems?" Brad White replies: It is not so much temperature as cyclical heating and cooling. Hot water ru...
The Last Man in America to Install Steam From Scratch
About a half-hour south of Albany on the New York State Thruway, just as the Catskill Mountains get their backs way up, there's an exit sign that states, simply, "Catskil...
Balancing One-Pipe Steam Systems
One of biggest challenges in working with vintage heating systems is to put them into balance so that everyone is comfortable. This is especially true when it comes to on...
Why Water Might Leave a Steam Boiler
I was once on a problem steam job where the water seemed to vanish from the boiler as soon as the pressure hit its high limit and the burner shut off. There was an automa...
Why Undersized Steam Boilers Waste Fuel
A guy called me to ask if I had any output ratings for some oddball steam radiators he needed to measure before he could replace the boiler. I looked them up and told him...