Second on the list of important efficiency improvements is your system’s main venting. We never install a boiler without addressing this critical issue, but it is normally an afterthought by others. Stated simply, the steam can’t get to your radiators and begin to heat your home until the air is first vented out of the steam mains. So without proper venting, your boiler is running and consuming energy, but not yet heating your home because the air is blocking the steam. That’s very wasteful. At NES we calculate the volume of your steam mains, as well as time the progress of your steam. This lets us select the proper amount of venting in order to be certain your mains are vented as quickly as physics will allow. We only use Barnes & Jones Big Mouth Ot Gorton No. 2 vents, which are the best and biggest in the industry. We mount them as high up as practical to keep them out of harms way, and we include a strainer (when possible) to further protect your investment.

Massive Main Venting

One of the most important aspects of a steam system’s efficiency is the quality of its steam. By quality, we mean moisture content. Wet steam is very inefficient. The process of ringing that moisture out of the steam takes place with modern boilers in the near-boiler header piping. Four aspects are critical: First, we must have sufficient height in the risers to allow some of the moisture to drop out. We strive for 30″ on every install. Second, dual risers out of the boiler are always used. This slows the velocity of the exiting steam, making it less likely that it will pull moisture along with it. Thirdly, we install oversized header piping which additionally slows down the velocity of the steam. Standard threading equipment at most companies stops at 2″ diameter pipe. This is inadequate for all but the smallest boilers, -but is the reason why it is so often utilized. At NES, we have the proper equipment to make the header whatever size your system requires. Lastly, we always utilize dropped headers, which serve to wring the last of the moisture out of the steam before it travels into the system. NES = Highest Quality Steam

Over-Sized Dropped Headers

And finally, -there’s Ilka. She is endlessly watchful and ever vigilant. Nothing ever escapes her attention. No short cuts, no shoddy work, no missing parts or memory lapses ever elude her keen senses. And she’s a New England SteamWorks exclusive. Yet another reason why we stand head and shoulders above the competition.

Ilka!