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Re: ID this radiator?
That's called a pipe radiator. It's missing the top, which is a cast-iron grille. Did you happen to get the name that appears on the base? I can't make it out…………………..
Re: ID this radiator?
Looks like some flavor of a Bundy radiator although the catalog link seems to be missing:
Re: Can't drain my boiler anymore - Crown Boiler
Somehow I'm not that surprised… fixing a leaking valve stem can be really easy, or mildly difficult depending on how badly the valve is worn. The first thing to try is to get a good crescent wrench or regular wrench which fits the packing nut on the valve. That's the hex nut closest to the handle — the very "top" of the valve — and try tightening it. This is not a band-aid — this is what a plumber would do. If that doesn't work — don't be a gorilla — then you'll have to renew the packing. That's easy, too, but not as easy. Unscrew that packing nut completely (you will want the boiler off!) and remove the old packing which will be soft and torn up and between the shaft and the valve body itself. Get some new packing from the hardware store and carefully wrap it into that space between the shaft and the valve body and sort of push it home. Bring it almost level with the top of the valve body. Screw the packing nut back on and tighten it down… should do it. Be brave!
Re: Can't drain my boiler anymore - Crown Boiler
Note that many times the old packing contains asbestos so you want to keep it damp and contain it if it is white and fluffy or has white bits in graphite.
Re: Can't drain my boiler anymore - Crown Boiler
You can also just loosen the packing nut and shove a wrap or 2 of string packing in there and see if that tightens the old packing up enough to stop the leak.
Re: Cold 2nd & 3rd Floor Radiators
In the laundry room it looks like a 3/4" pipe ?? coming off the top of tee where the vent should be. Maybe there is a vent up behind the ceiling. I would check that pipe out and see where it goes if you can. I may be tough to get a vent at the end of the main but it can also be drilled and tapped. I think that is the most important thing to do.
^^^^ THIS!!
Re: Cold 2nd & 3rd Floor Radiators
You need vents on the ends of the main and the vents on the radiators checked. The boiler piping is questionable both in size and material but I think venting is your main issue.
In the laundry room it looks like a 3/4" pipe ?? coming off the top of tee where the vent should be. Maybe there is a vent up behind the ceiling. I would check that pipe out and see where it goes if you can. I may be tough to get a vent at the end of the main but it can also be drilled and tapped. I think that is the most important thing to do.
Also check the water level while it is steaming it should be steady or moving slowly up and down an inch or so. Violent fluctuations are not good.
Also what pressure are you running at? Should be 2 psi or less.
The Copper return line dropping out of the tee in the laundry room behind the washer/dryer….how does that get back to the boiler? Must be a wet return.
Re: Asking for advice for combi boiler replacement and hydronic system upgrades
if you don’t have closely spaced tees in the piping somewhere, you don’t have primary secondary piping. By definition primary secondary requires hydraulic separation.
A hydro separator is another option that gives you 4 functions in one container.
Closely spaced tees
Air separation
Dirt separation
Magnetic separation.
They save you parts and labor
I imagine the installation manual shows both options, and probably not direct or series piping?
hot_rod
Re: Asking for advice for combi boiler replacement and hydronic system upgrades
But you don't need closely spaced Ts in the primary — boiler — loop at the boiler, just where the secondary loops attach. The first of your two sketches is correct.
Re: Asking for advice for combi boiler replacement and hydronic system upgrades
And you don't really need a loop. Here are two example. This puts the loads parallel, so no temperature drop from tee set to tee set.
Two temperatyures of a separator in the sketch
hot_rod
