Steam heat best efficiency

18 years ago

If oil nozzles are sized to meet a level of comfort

at some nominally low outside temperature. I was

wondering if you are willing to compromise a little

comfort to achieve $$$$savings in oil you downsize the

nozzle.

In the case of steam heat (old system, single pipe) If

my furnace cycles on and off in short intervals to make

steam the radiators take long time to get steam and

heat.

If I were to substantially downsize the nozzle the oil

burner will run constantly thereby making constant

steam, and therefore a more comfortable house. Even

though it is always running, the oil usage would be less

than the mega burn at shorter intervals.

Of coarse, if the temp drops to negative numbers the

comfort may be sacrificed, and an alternate heat source

would be required.

Just thinking that for steam heat I could squeeze

some savings in oil usage while keeping the house

more comfortable.

Thoughts?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

kframe19
18 years ago
"In the case of steam heat (old system, single pipe) If
my furnace cycles on and off in short intervals to make
steam the radiators take long time to get steam and
heat."

If your system is cycling on and off before your radiators start to get steam up, you need to look for another issue.

A problem with the pressuretrol settings, a clogged Hartford loop, or possibly main vents that have failed closed.

Steam heat systems are fairly simple in their concept.

The burner kicks on and is supposed to stay on to create steam pressure.

The steam travels out through the main and up to the radiators.

The main vent allows air out of the steam main so that steam reaches the risers to the radiators even faster. If the main vents fail, it can take a long time to get steam up to the radiators.

Once the steam hits the radiators, the vents on them close.

As more radiator vents close, pressure starts to rise in the system, until pressure rises to the point that the pressuretrol says "Hey, all full, shutting down now to let the radiators satisfy the thermostat."

If your system is cycling on and off rapidly with no steam getting to the radiators, you don't have a nozzle problem, you have a problem somewhere else.

Solve that, first.
corvetteguy
Original Author
18 years ago
What is happening is I have a set back to turn the
boiler off for a few hours during the night. When
the boiler id told to work the burner fires and
takes 30 or 40 minutes to start to produce steam.
The steam rises and then starts getting the radiator hot.

After which time the boiler shuts down and then goes on
again 10 minutes later. On for 10 off for 10. The
radiators are not really as hot as before though the
room temp reaches the thermostat setting.
Some radiators in the system fail to get warm under
the 10 on 10 off cycle. The main floor radiators
seem to produce enough heat to cycle the thermostat.

I would think a constant burn with smaller nozzel
would keep the radiators hotter.
Related Professionals
Tuscaloosa General Contractors · Tampa General Contractors · Alexandria General Contractors · Cedar Rapids General Contractors · Wilmington Home Remodeling · Lansing Home Remodeling · Winona Home Remodeling · Worthington Home Remodeling · Oxnard Home Remodeling · Grand Junction Home Remodeling · Stamford Bathroom Remodelers · Champaign Bathroom Remodelers · Rochester Bathroom Remodelers · Jamestown Bathroom Remodelers · Saint Marys Bathroom Remodelers
kframe19
18 years ago
Ah, gotcha.

I'm still thinking that there might be an issue somewhere else, though.

Have you checked the main vents to ensure that they're not clogged? That can keep some radiators that are supplied from near the end of the main from ever reaching full heat.

If that doesn't work, look at adjusting the air vents on the radiators themselves.

On the far ones make sure they're open the whole way, while the ones closest to the radiator can probably be throttled back a bit.

Balancing a steam heat system can be a bit of a pain, but I'm always very leery of trying to solve heating problems by changing the nozzle.