noisy, leaky radiator help

Matt Undy

The air valve is bad. It is supposed to vent out the air from the radiator until the steam from the boiler reaches it. When it is heated by the steam it closes and seals off the vent. If it gets corroded or dirty it won't seal and will leak steam (and perhaps water). You must open the valve all the way or close it all the way or water can get trapped in the radiator. Take a look in the library, this is all explained in there somewhere.

Look here:
http://www.heatinghelp.com/steam_problems.cfm

strawberrysoop

noisy, leaky radiator help

Hi,
I rent an apartment with steam heating and have very little experience with this type of heating. My radiator hisses and sighs incredibly loudly when it's on, so I generally try to turn it off at night so I can get some sleep. It used to be that I would wait until the radiator wasn't running, then tighten it up, and it would be cold and silent all night long. Then I'd release it in the morning to warm the room back up again. I think doing this every night has worn something loose, because now, no matter how hard I tighten it, I can't get the radiator to stop making noise, but now the hissing comes from the pipes in the bottom and then water leaks out from under the handle to the floor. Any advise on how I can fix this myself? I'm so exhausted from being woken up every night.

Al Letellier_9

leaking and noisy

Sounds like you need a new vent for the radiator and the valve needs to be repacked. Not a job for someone unfamiliar with tools, but if you want, you can buy a new vent in any good hardware or box store. You need to shut off the valve and loosen the packing nut on the stem, then you can put in some new packing material. If all else fails, you can use some teflon tape, roll it tightly into a string like form and wrap around the stem a few turns and retighten the nut. Not too much but just enough to stop the leaking and leave the valve free enough to operate. If the landlord won't have it fixed, find someone who has some experience. It would be worth your paying a pro to get some uninterrupted sleep.

Al Letellier_9

leaking and noisy

Sounds like you need a new vent for the radiator and the valve needs to be repacked. Not a job for someone unfamiliar with tools, but if you want, you can buy a new vent in any good hardware or box store. You need to shut off the valve and loosen the packing nut on the stem, then you can put in some new packing material. If all else fails, you can use some teflon tape, roll it tightly into a string like form and wrap around the stem a few turns and retighten the nut. Not too much but just enough to stop the leaking and leave the valve free enough to operate. If the landlord won't have it fixed, find someone who has some experience. It would be worth your paying a pro to get some uninterrupted sleep.

strawberrysoop

I'll see if I can get the landlord or somebody to help me try this. Thanks for your help!

strawberrysoop

Just had another question... is the air going through valve supposed to make a whole lot of noise? How much noise is acceptable for a steam heat radiator? I live on the 4th floor, I don't know if that makes a difference...