That is a boiler alternating return trap. Basically a steam powered pump. That is an old vapor system that should run very low pressure. The alternating trap pumps water back into the boiler. It's all in the LOST ART.
There’s an introduction to old school heating, reminds me of the old schools and apartments! Just a heads up when cleaning those burners you need to throw on a dust mask. It’s the by products of combustion are the ones that get you, I spent 32 yrs in the heating trade and what I know now is a cheap dust mask can go along way to saving your health! Man you don’t get the easy and clean ones, nothing like experience to teach a guy!
Well said been doing this for 25 years. Nobody cares when you’re taking out asbestos filled boiler or dealing with a plug boiler that’s doing nothing but filling up the room with. Soot.
Hey there, the Sarco device is some type of boiler return trap. That's a two-pipe vapor/vacuum steam system. They're usually designed to run at no more than 8-10 oz steam pressure. One pipe steam systems have an A dimension on the return , which is fixed at 28" because there's always leftover steam pressure in the returns to help push the return water back into the boiler. Two pipe systems do not have steam pressure in the returns, and so they have a B dimension that has to be 30" per PSI of boiler pressure (the weight of the stacking water alone has to overcome the boiler pressure to force the water back in). A boiler return trap is an ingenious device that uses a float actuated steam valve and two check valves to "pump" the return water back in the boiler. As the boiler pressure rises, water backs up in the returns, fills the float chamber, and the float opens a steam valve which allows steam pressure into the device, which momentarily turns the B dimension into an A dimension, and pushes the return water through the check valve into the boiler. When the float level drops, the check valve keeps the water in the boiler, and the chamber waits for more return water to fill it up. This is a quick summary, check out the book The Lost Art of Steam Heating to learn all about two-pipe vapor systems and boiler return traps
I love your videos, man keep up the great work, I’ve been a licensed plumber and heating contractor for 35 years you would not catch me dead with a cast-iron pipe wrench, aluminum all the way. I’ve even hit them with 5 pound sledge hammers they work just fine
Just an FYI on that Honeywell V88 or V48 gas valve. The original brass compression vent fitting was an "Adjustable Bleed Valve Assembly" that you can use to control the opening speed of the valve.
Great video. I used to live on the second floor of a 3decker with steam heat for the first 2 floors. Both boilers burned coal at first. The first floor boiler went from coal to oil to gas. The second floor boiler went from coal to oil. American Radiator radiators for the first floor. US Radiator radiators for the second floor. First floor boiler manufacturer Royal Steam Heater Co. Second floor boiler manufacturer The Putnam Co. Both boilers worked as of 2009.
I’ve done my fair share of disassembling messes like that and maybe you’re already aware of this but in case not, what works reasonably well for me is to heat the coupling to near cherry red, then quench rapidly in water. Got a 2 inch steam pipe apart with this method that was severely rusted.
I have an old cast iron steam/hot water boiler in the garage. I looked for over 10 years and went and picked it up only to get it home to find out that someone had replaced all of the grates on the inside with rebar made stuff. The cast iron boiler is in great shape and could still be used as is for wood. My plan is to maybe install it in my new house. I am going to pull the home made stuff on the inside and use what is in there for bolts and mounts and have someone draw it up and build a proper grate. It does have the holes for the hot water tube. Just not the hot water tube. Find 6 matching steam radiators. I am going to install copper tube to go to all 6 of the rads 2 in each of the sections and then use wood to heat it. Expansion tank and all assoited valves and stuff along with a floor sink will be next to the boiler along with a wood rack that I hope will match. I have been looking for a some cast iron stuff to make a wood rack that would go along with the build. Some of the older stuff and this boiler has a back door which I do think can or was intended to be used with an oil burner and or automatic feed. I am going to glycol the system for -40f.
You need to get yourself one of those small ridgid pipe vises. Does up to 2-1/2”. Also get yourself a 1/4 ton come a long, a couple shackles. Put the shackles through the handles of the pipe wrenches and use the come along to break it loose
Loving your videos more and more everyday bro keep it up! I’m a commercial service tech, it’s nice to be able to learn some things from your videos. Been watching for a few months now. Merry Christmas!
Nice work - good video! I've seen way too many valve handles bent or cut off so short they are worthless. I've taken a number of them off, straightened them if needed, flipped them 180 degrees (if there are no obstacles on the other side) - all good. Also flipped a number of them that couldn't be turned off because of an obstacle.
When I was a kid (I am now in my 70s), my uncle had a coal fired steam boiler in Upstate Mohawk, NY. In below zero temperatures it heated the very large home so well; you would think that you were in Florida.
A little trick on how to break a frozen Union take two hammers, one of them being 3 pound, the other being equal or next biggest size do you have, push the 3 pound hammer on one side of the nut and hit it with the other hammer on the other side of the nut (180 degrees) use the big hammer to “back it up” They will usually break free after a good whack or two, keep up the good work young man
In two pipe steam, you don’t heed the air vents. Each radiator has a steam trap, those traps need tested because if 1 fails open it messes with the whole system. Easy way to see is heat the system up and you will see at least a 10 degree drop from the radiator to the pipe leaving the trap. Enjoy.
It would be a great idea to keep the heating system as it is instead of installing a new one. Not only is it efficient it’s able to run on a small backup power in case of a power outage
Those "sections" look like Gold's Pin Indirect radiators. Yes the same Gold that invented the Mattress radiator in 1854. They are not repurposed boiler sections, and were quite popular in large houses.
I wouldn't blame you at all for using all aluminum pipe wrenches.. they are a lot of weight to carry around... the less weight I carry the better. Looked like a T4 stat on the wall too..
Ok... im jealous as hell. I would have been rock hard playing with that stuff. I did alot of old convection stuff 30 years ago in Atlanta. Huge ductwork on what used to be coal burning that was converted to oil then converted to gas. And they still work fine. No blower at all. Stand on a vent and it would blow your hair around.
Im wondering how many btus that is? I only work with oil and we have some large residential accounts. But i think the most ive seen is 2 boiler at 1.5 gph.
Hello friend. Greetings from Bulgaria. I'll give you a tip when you can't unscrew an old cast iron pipe, take a hammer and hit it hard. Tried and tested.
Good video. Amazing how things were built years back. More amazing is that you actually have the knowledge and skills to work on that system. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas.
You as well brother thank you, I can only work on a heating system like this because between my two bosses, they have a combined 80 years of experience
This is giving me flashbacks to 1. figuring out what the f our LWCO was doing and 2. the one time our blower contactor got stuck in and I was losing my mind trying to figure out what the hell was going on
It's interesting to see these kinds of heating systems, because we just don't have 'em down here in FL. Hell, my house doesn't even have heat in it full stop jut because (normally) we don't need it.
Hey man. Wanted to tell you that you have rapidly become one of my favorite content creators here. Wish you were a few hours further north. Would love to have you on our team( except for your van, that interior makes me cringe lol)...
thank you your generous comments Chris! i hate my van lol, just been running around a lot right now (our busy season) seems like just as im finishing a job i get a "not and emergency but i need you to go there right away and look at it" call so i just throw everything in and run, something i have to get better at and work on haha
Have seen something similar long ago. However I've seen the biggest steam radiator I've ever seen had got to be the one that was underneath the Oregon Loft at a church! That thing must have been at least more than 8 ft wide and about 4 ft deep or more big rectangular thing Also in the organ Chambers the radiators were actually essentially Loops of steam pipe can't remember defending Arrangements but they may have been the return fittings or u bend fittings. Not sure can't remember didn't get a good view of them often times either. You could tell that the place the boiler was fired recently by coal. Where things were relatively untouched you'd see that film over everything of the cold sweat over all the years. Also has anyone ever seen that affect that sometimes you see an old buildings where you can see the outlines of the plaster wooden laugh and I still don't know why this is and what causes this what oftentimes does occur when a place was heated by coal or other solid fuels. Still remember on the grandparents Farm years ago one morning woke up and realized there was smoke coming out of the heating vints! I did not know about this but they said that this would happen if the chimney flue had not been preheated enough to get a good draft and that's the only time this would happen what's a little concerned until I realized that this was to happen in that circumstance. They used to use corn cobs to get things going as kindling.
When you're de-rusting the burner tubes your nose and sinuses will thank you if you put on a mask, even if it's a cheap N95 mask. You might have noticed a weird irony taste in your mouth and your sinuses were feeling heavy and your nose was plugged later that day. The rust particles can get really rough on you. If you breathe in that rust dust too often it causes nose bleeds! I speak from experience.
You’re not allowed to use steam 90’s on that gas train.On a gas line you should be using malable steel fittings.A mechanic working on a gas line by himself should know to never use cast iron on a gas line,they are for steam and hot water heating.Sorry pal your boss should have an A journeyman teaching you that.
That is a boiler alternating return trap. Basically a steam powered pump. That is an old vapor system that should run very low pressure. The alternating trap pumps water back into the boiler. It's all in the LOST ART.
There’s an introduction to old school heating, reminds me of the old schools and apartments! Just a heads up when cleaning those burners you need to throw on a dust mask. It’s the by products of combustion are the ones that get you, I spent 32 yrs in the heating trade and what I know now is a cheap dust mask can go along way to saving your health! Man you don’t get the easy and clean ones, nothing like experience to teach a guy!
Well said been doing this for 25 years. Nobody cares when you’re taking out asbestos filled boiler or dealing with a plug boiler that’s doing nothing but filling up the room with. Soot.
And eye protection. Wire brush in the drill flinging 'stuff'.
You explain the job so well that almost anybody could understand. Fun to watch, solid pacing, and overall great video!
Thank you so much for the awesome feedback! It’s very helpful to hear
Hey there, the Sarco device is some type of boiler return trap. That's a two-pipe vapor/vacuum steam system. They're usually designed to run at no more than 8-10 oz steam pressure. One pipe steam systems have an A dimension on the return , which is fixed at 28" because there's always leftover steam pressure in the returns to help push the return water back into the boiler. Two pipe systems do not have steam pressure in the returns, and so they have a B dimension that has to be 30" per PSI of boiler pressure (the weight of the stacking water alone has to overcome the boiler pressure to force the water back in). A boiler return trap is an ingenious device that uses a float actuated steam valve and two check valves to "pump" the return water back in the boiler. As the boiler pressure rises, water backs up in the returns, fills the float chamber, and the float opens a steam valve which allows steam pressure into the device, which momentarily turns the B dimension into an A dimension, and pushes the return water through the check valve into the boiler. When the float level drops, the check valve keeps the water in the boiler, and the chamber waits for more return water to fill it up. This is a quick summary, check out the book The Lost Art of Steam Heating to learn all about two-pipe vapor systems and boiler return traps
I love your videos, man keep up the great work, I’ve been a licensed plumber and heating contractor for 35 years you would not catch me dead with a cast-iron pipe wrench, aluminum all the way. I’ve even hit them with 5 pound sledge hammers they work just fine
Just an FYI on that Honeywell V88 or V48 gas valve. The original brass compression vent fitting was an "Adjustable Bleed Valve Assembly" that you can use to control the opening speed of the valve.
Yeah it's so nice to see stuff originally installed and not messed with and proper maintenance done not hacks more than temporary fixes.
absolutely, unfortunately i dont know how much longer this system will be running. eventually it will be ripped out and just a distant memory
Great video. I used to live on the second floor of a 3decker with steam heat for the first 2 floors. Both boilers burned coal at first. The first floor boiler went from coal to oil to gas. The second floor boiler went from coal to oil. American Radiator radiators for the first floor. US Radiator radiators for the second floor. First floor boiler manufacturer Royal Steam Heater Co. Second floor boiler manufacturer The Putnam Co. Both boilers worked as of 2009.
You have to love that convention heat
Worked like a champ!
14:50 that’s a boiler return trap. I think Dan Holohan has a video about them on his Heating Help youtube channel.
Thank you so much for the info brother!
Your a great inspiration for the young men. Would love to know what training you received or what school you went to
I’ve done my fair share of disassembling messes like that and maybe you’re already aware of this but in case not, what works reasonably well for me is to heat the coupling to near cherry red, then quench rapidly in water. Got a 2 inch steam pipe apart with this method that was severely rusted.
I have an old cast iron steam/hot water boiler in the garage. I looked for over 10 years and went and picked it up only to get it home to find out that someone had replaced all of the grates on the inside with rebar made stuff. The cast iron boiler is in great shape and could still be used as is for wood. My plan is to maybe install it in my new house. I am going to pull the home made stuff on the inside and use what is in there for bolts and mounts and have someone draw it up and build a proper grate. It does have the holes for the hot water tube. Just not the hot water tube. Find 6 matching steam radiators. I am going to install copper tube to go to all 6 of the rads 2 in each of the sections and then use wood to heat it. Expansion tank and all assoited valves and stuff along with a floor sink will be next to the boiler along with a wood rack that I hope will match. I have been looking for a some cast iron stuff to make a wood rack that would go along with the build. Some of the older stuff and this boiler has a back door which I do think can or was intended to be used with an oil burner and or automatic feed. I am going to glycol the system for -40f.
Does that boiler use 2 gas valves in series for some reason?
Your best video yet!
You need to get yourself one of those small ridgid pipe vises. Does up to 2-1/2”. Also get yourself a 1/4 ton come a long, a couple shackles. Put the shackles through the handles of the pipe wrenches and use the come along to break it loose
Love your program keep up the great WORK.
Cool video man 👏👏👍🙏🏻🙏🏻
24 minutes lettts fkn gggooooo! I could watch these alot! You are entertaining
Thank you for all of the constant support brotha!
No problem
So satisfying watching this! Keep up the great work!
Loving your videos more and more everyday bro keep it up! I’m a commercial service tech, it’s nice to be able to learn some things from your videos. Been watching for a few months now. Merry Christmas!
Nice work - good video! I've seen way too many valve handles bent or cut off so short they are worthless. I've taken a number of them off, straightened them if needed, flipped them 180 degrees (if there are no obstacles on the other side) - all good. Also flipped a number of them that couldn't be turned off because of an obstacle.
4:13 now that's what I would call a damn cool wallpaper
When I was a kid (I am now in my 70s), my uncle had a coal fired steam boiler in Upstate Mohawk, NY. In below zero temperatures it heated the very large home so well; you would think that you were in Florida.
A little trick on how to break a frozen Union take two hammers, one of them being 3 pound, the other being equal or next biggest size do you have, push the 3 pound hammer on one side of the nut and hit it with the other hammer on the other side of the nut (180 degrees) use the big hammer to “back it up” They will usually break free after a good whack or two, keep up the good work young man
wow, LOVE this video. Thanks for doing this.. I am always looking forward fo your vidoes! How many BTU was that boiler?
Love the channel
Thank you 🤟🏻
In two pipe steam, you don’t heed the air vents. Each radiator has a steam trap, those traps need tested because if 1 fails open it messes with the whole system. Easy way to see is heat the system up and you will see at least a 10 degree drop from the radiator to the pipe leaving the trap. Enjoy.
It would be a great idea to keep the heating system as it is instead of installing a new one. Not only is it efficient it’s able to run on a small backup power in case of a power outage
Those "sections" look like Gold's Pin Indirect radiators. Yes the same Gold that invented the Mattress radiator in 1854. They are not repurposed boiler sections, and were quite popular in large houses.
love the content u make where are u located at state wise bro
I wouldn't blame you at all for using all aluminum pipe wrenches.. they are a lot of weight to carry around... the less weight I carry the better. Looked like a T4 stat on the wall too..
Man, great job. Bro I swear that’s the same song when shit hits the fan while I’m working, had me worried as hell with that water lol
Ok... im jealous as hell. I would have been rock hard playing with that stuff. I did alot of old convection stuff 30 years ago in Atlanta. Huge ductwork on what used to be coal burning that was converted to oil then converted to gas. And they still work fine. No blower at all. Stand on a vent and it would blow your hair around.
THE GUNS!
WE DIG IT!!!
Man im impressed with your shop how in the world do you keep up with inventory?
Wow that was an old unit lol hello from eddie leak master plumbing in ct great volg
Cracked me up, I had a gut feeling that HUGE wrench would be absolutely necessary, just had a feeling...
I don’t know how they afford to run the boiler, non condescending boiler wow. Love the videos
10:52 you know you can take the handle off and turn it the other way right?
Im wondering how many btus that is? I only work with oil and we have some large residential accounts. But i think the most ive seen is 2 boiler at 1.5 gph.
Do you check for gas regulator manufacture/expiration dates? I mean, they not not going to work properly forever.
Hello friend. Greetings from Bulgaria. I'll give you a tip when you can't unscrew an old cast iron pipe, take a hammer and hit it hard. Tried and tested.
Can you explain why you hold back with the big wrench and not the smaller one?
you always use a bigger wrench to hold the back the fitting or pipe.
Good video. Amazing how things were built years back. More amazing is that you actually have the knowledge and skills to work on that system. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas.
You as well brother thank you, I can only work on a heating system like this because between my two bosses, they have a combined 80 years of experience
That residential gas valve, looks strikingly similar to the Honeywell gas valves used on commercial fryers made by frymaster.
so was anything done about the water situation im guessing that is what took out the boiler in the first place
I like the mansion you chose for the video thumbnail. I assume you know where it came from?
This is giving me flashbacks to 1. figuring out what the f our LWCO was doing and 2. the one time our blower contactor got stuck in and I was losing my mind trying to figure out what the hell was going on
Why do u need 2 gas valves?
It's interesting to see these kinds of heating systems, because we just don't have 'em down here in FL. Hell, my house doesn't even have heat in it full stop jut because (normally) we don't need it.
Hey man. Wanted to tell you that you have rapidly become one of my favorite content creators here. Wish you were a few hours further north. Would love to have you on our team( except for your van, that interior makes me cringe lol)...
thank you your generous comments Chris! i hate my van lol, just been running around a lot right now (our busy season) seems like just as im finishing a job i get a "not and emergency but i need you to go there right away and look at it" call so i just throw everything in and run, something i have to get better at and work on haha
✌👍
6:55 better to be looking at it, than looking for it...
Some other guy on youtube ran into a house with this type of heating setup. That one was a hot water system instead of steam though.
Oooh boom boilers. Screw up and theres goes a city block.
If you want them to keep that system give them an offer than can't turn down on a service agreement of some kind
repeated what i was thinking in my head 'they seriously look like boiler sections" lol
Have seen something similar long ago.
However I've seen the biggest steam radiator I've ever seen had got to be the one that was underneath the Oregon Loft at a church!
That thing must have been at least more than 8 ft wide and about 4 ft deep or more big rectangular thing
Also in the organ Chambers the radiators were actually essentially Loops of steam pipe can't remember defending Arrangements but they may have been the return fittings or u bend fittings.
Not sure can't remember didn't get a good view of them often times either.
You could tell that the place the boiler was fired recently by coal.
Where things were relatively untouched you'd see that film over everything of the cold sweat over all the years.
Also has anyone ever seen that affect that sometimes you see an old buildings where you can see the outlines of the plaster wooden laugh and I still don't know why this is and what causes this what oftentimes does occur when a place was heated by coal or other solid fuels.
Still remember on the grandparents Farm years ago one morning woke up and realized there was smoke coming out of the heating vints!
I did not know about this but they said that this would happen if the chimney flue had not been preheated enough to get a good draft and that's the only time this would happen what's a little concerned until I realized that this was to happen in that circumstance.
They used to use corn cobs to get things going as kindling.
No need to worry about running the boiler to warm up the basement. I think you are hot enough.
Shouldn't use cast iron fittings on gas. I would be concerned with how the water got in the gas line.
The difference between the 2 90s is the steal one wont cracked when you hit it with a hammer the steam 90 will crack open if you hit it with a hammer.
When you're de-rusting the burner tubes your nose and sinuses will thank you if you put on a mask, even if it's a cheap N95 mask. You might have noticed a weird irony taste in your mouth and your sinuses were feeling heavy and your nose was plugged later that day. The rust particles can get really rough on you. If you breathe in that rust dust too often it causes nose bleeds! I speak from experience.
Looks like they haven't done a blow-down for many years!
Hate to pay that gas bill 💸
I would say if that building is going to be renovated that the steam boiler should be replaced.
Definitely will be
Not cool seeing a McDonald Miller low water cut off "Disconnected " on a steam boiler.
Man it’s such a shame that old stuff will end up being ripped out. That boiler looks like it’s been under water a lot.
Great job, maybe wash your hands before you go through the client's house checking fixtures 👍
It’s a two pipe steam trap
You’re not allowed to use steam 90’s on that gas train.On a gas line you should be using malable steel fittings.A mechanic working on a gas line by himself should know to never use cast iron on a gas line,they are for steam and hot water heating.Sorry pal your boss should have an A journeyman teaching you that.
I don't know dude, your pretty good! Mickey Pipes better be careful!
Never seen one
Hi, there.
I'm new to your channel.
I don't speak English very well.
Can you turn on subtitles?
It will help me to follow you.
Absolutely, I did not have time to add them this morning but I will add them
Thank you very much @@theapprenticesurvivalguide
"metric shit-ton" vs. "shit-long-ton" or "shit-short-ton" ? Leave it to the US to have multiple tonnage measures.
👍🤘🤙
how about a interview with your boss
Once I can afford the proper equipment to do it right I will!
I would have pulled the drip leg and emptied all the water out.
My bet boiler return trap.
seems like you know a lot of shit for a young guy, good job😁
Always looking to learn more!
It is not steam anywhere there, only hot water.
If is not your house, hope you get paid.
dont need them big wrenchs muscel it off
thay didnt get rich by having bad choices ...thay keeping that heater i guarantee...its way cheaper per month garinteed
Get yourself a pipe stand!!
My god, please wear eye protection when using rotating wire brushes. THOSE WIRES ARE NOT FUN TO GET IN YOUR EYES!!!!!!!!!!!!