Home With Steam Heat
I have recently had an offer accepted on a older house. We will be moving in within the next 3 months. The house has steam heat and I have no clue on how to run / maintain these systems. All I know is that people say they can be really great. I guess that what I'm looking for is info on regular maintance and that kind of stuff that has to be done...
Answer:
It's radiant heating, there is no maintenance. You could attach an inline filter to the water line before entering the boiler. This will remove minerals and build up in the line that would otherwise make it inefficient. You might contact a local Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) contractor to see if they offer a flush, If so, pick his brain while he's there. I don't know that a filter is going to remove minerals, but it will take out some rust or other gunk. In general, water softeners are used for mineral removal. Reverse Osmosis will also, but is more expensive. In industrial steam boilers, water is treated in a few ways. It is softened, then pre-heated before pumping into the boiler. Chemicals are added to prevent scaling, keep solids in suspension, and inhibit corrosion. Most low pressure residential units don't need that sort of treatment.