Do Residential Boilers Actually Boil?
Today’s residential boilers get water very hot but not boiling.
These days, the term residential boiler is a usually a misnomer, as there is seldom any actual “boiling” going on. While you may still find homes using steam heat in the historic sections of certain old, northern cities like Boston and New York, the majority of residential boilers do not actually heat water enough to achieve a boil.
This is actually a good thing—without the higher temperatures and pressures involving in boiling water and routing steam around building, along with modern technological advances, boiler explosions (which were common in the earliest days of steam heat) are now virtually unheard of.
However, even residential boilers that don’t actually boil can be cranky, and you can’t get just anyone to fix them. You need someone who understands residential boilers, like The Stanley Louis Company.
How Boilers Work
Modern residential boilers burn fuel to generate heat, and then use water to transfer this heat throughout the building. The water may be heated in one of two ways, depending on if the system is a watertube boiler or a firetube boiler.
In a watertube boiler, tubes of water run through the furnace casing, becoming heated directly by the combustion inside the furnace. In a firetube boiler, the water gets heated when tubes full of hot flue gases from the furnace run through the water tank. In both types of boilers, the heated water then leaves the boiler unit to be circulated through the home.
When boilers first began being used for residential heat, the circulation system was almost always a steam radiator. These days, it is far more common for the boiler to be hooked up to a radiant flooring system. However, it is also possible for a boiler to be connected to a forced air distribution system. In this case the hot water passes through a hydronic coil in an air handler and then the blower distributes the newly heated air through the home.
Need Residential Boiler Service?
No matter what sort of boiler system you may have, you can rely on The Stanley Louis Company to keep it working properly. We provide both routine maintenance services and expert boiler repairs.
If you need residential boiler service, you can reach us at 800-217-6527 to schedule an appointment. We have a skilled technician on call 24/7 to respond promptly in the event of an emergency.
