Near-Boiler Piping in Steam Heating Systems

In this excerpt from his Dead Men’s Steam School seminar, Dan Holohan shares his knowledge about near-boiler piping in steam heating systems. Proper piping around the boiler is critical for steam heating systems to operate properly. Boilers are much smaller nowadays, so you have to consider the piping around the boiler to be part of the boiler. These newer boilers don’t have the internal cathedral-like space for steam release that the old boilers had. Near-boiler piping is crucial because it’s being used to slow the steam down and dry it out.

In this video, Dan Holohan walks you through all of the elements of good near-boiler piping. He’ll tell you the minimum height for piping vertical risers from the boiler to the header and show you why it’s important. He also talks about the equalizer, the Hartford Loop, return and king valves, mud legs, pressuretrols, relief valves, pigtails, water feeders, low-water cutoffs, drop headers, how to increase the life of a boiler, and more.

Want to learn more? Read Dan Holohan’s book The Lost Art of Steam Heating Revisited.