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 ...
Steam Heating Help Topics
This section is your comprehensive guide on steam heating systems with articles about proper steam piping, boilers, pressure, venting, radiators, water quality, and more. We'll also walk you through troubleshooting steam system problems like noisy pipes.
Steam Heating Categories
Basics
Boilers
Case Study
Combustion
Commercial Heating
Efficiency
Heat Exchangers
Heating System Conversion
Indirect Heating Systems
Indoor Air Quality
Insulation
One-Pipe Steam
Radiators
Safety Valves
Seminars
Steam Coils
Steam for Breweries and Food-Processing Applications
Steam Piping
Steam Traps
Steam Velocity
System Pressure
Thermostatic Radiator Valves
Thermostats
Troubleshooting
Vacuum
Venting
Water Hammer
Water Level & Steam Quality
Water Quality
Zoning
Recent Articles in Steam Heating
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...
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...
Taking Another Look at Steam Boiler Sizing Methods
Due to the efforts of many sharp minds in the steam heating industry and simple economics, standing cast iron steam space heating systems are no longer wastefully being t...
Steam Boilers in Food-Processing Applications
Billy was having a bad day. Mario the Baker had called him first thing that morning to say he was going to drive to Billy’s office and punch him in the face. It seems tha...
Steam Boiler-Room Tips
Old boiler rooms often are home to steam-heating boilers. Our older cities are loaded with these, and lots of people (knuckleheads included) have had decades to mess with...