Steam Heat Problems

Carl M.

For a)

I think that I have enough water in the system; so my guess is that my boiler is cycling on and off due to pressure. But, recently my sight glass has become so rusty that its hard to tell if I have enough water unless I open the value to release some fluid.

I'm not sure if you wanted the dimensions of the entire system, or the dimensions of the system up to the vents. So, I'm giving the dimensions up to the vents.

I've got 2 inch diameter steel pipes. The vents are both #41. The distance from the boiler to the first vent is 25.5 feet, and the distance from the boiler to the second vent is 32 feet.

I do have an uneven heating problem so for the time being I'll take the educated guess that something's going on with the vents on my mains. How do I tell if they are clogged. Do I just take them off when the system is cold and check?

Also, could clogged vents be the cause of my water hammer problems; or is that related to the pitch of my radiators? (Lets assume for the time being that the pitch of my mains is okay.)

Carl M.

I have a couple of questions about my one-pipe oil/steam system.

a) is the boiler supposed to stay on once its been switched on by the thermostat? my boiler cycles on for a while, then cycles off, then cycles back on again and it takes quite a while to heat up my home.

b) I recently insulated all of my mains with fiberglass insulation. Am I supposed to insulate the return to the boiler too?

c) Is it a "bad thing" to hear the air hissing when the steam starts to make it to the radiator?

d) I can hear "water hammer" in a few of my pipes midway through the heating cycle. (Actually, because of my first problem it seems like my heating cycle never ends). Is this related to the pitch of my radiators or the pitch of the mains feeding the radiator from my basement?

e) I can also hear a "gurgling" source in a few of my radiators when the heat is turned off. Is this indicative of a problem?

Help! I called a "professional" from my oil company; but he seemed to indicate that I just needed a new boiler. However he didn't check the radiators or any other part of the system; just the boiler.

Although my boiler is very old from what I've read thus far on this website it seems that I need to fix a few other things before replacing the boiler...

Thanks in Advance!

Steamhead (in transit)

Answers

a- Generally, the boiler should stay on when the thermostat calls for heat. It's either shutting off on pressure or low water. If the level in the sight glass is almost to the bottom when it cycles off, it's low water- otherwise it's pressure.

The system should not have to build pressure beyond a few ounces to move steam to the radiators. If it does, it's probably due to a problem with the vents on the steam mains- they're either missing, stuck closed or too small. This would be accompanied by uneven heating- rads further from the boiler take longer to get steam. Measure the length and diameter of your steam mains and tell us what vents are on them.

If the boiler is losing a lot of water, causing the level to drop to the cutoff point when running, you have a leak somewhere. Find it and fix it. All that fresh water can corrode the boiler.

b- not necessarily, but it won't hurt to do so.

c- the hissing is air coming out of the vent. This would also indicate a main vent problem as outlined above. The rad vents should only handle the air in the rads- not the mains.

d- this might indicate a plugged return line, which would cause water to back up into the steam mains.

e- this is probably air being pulled back into the rads as the steam condenses.

You need a good steam man. Try the Find a Professional page of this site.

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JohnNY

Less likely..

the boiler could be going off with a "SmartCycle" low water cut off. My first encounter with one of those drove me crazy.

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Bob W._3

Hoffman No. 41's are convector vents, and are way too small to vent your mains. You have almost .7 cu. ft. in the long main. That would call for a Hoffman No. 75. Two Gorton No. 1's would be even better. You could vent those mains in a minute.

Carl M.

I removed the 2 Hoffman 41's and replaced them with 2 Jacobus 1 3/4" x 1/2" Main Vent Valves.

The system is working like a charm! The boiler stopped cycling, the water hammer's gone, and I can finally get the temperature in the house above 70 degrees rather quickly!

Thanks a lot! The guy from my oil company told me that I needed to invest $6000 with a new boiler installation; but this advice only cost me $60 (2 values, tools, and a coupling or two).

- Carl M.

Bob W._3

Great to hear. No charge:) Seriously, these guys on this Board have helped me a lot, for which I am grateful.

Steamhead (in transit)

Too bad for the oil company

they won't get the six grand for the new boiler, and they won't be selling you as much oil now either.

Turn the pressuretrol down as far as it will go, you only need a few ounces to distribute steam now. Let us know how much oil you save with these vents!

For those of you who aren't familiar, the Jacobus/Maid-o-Mist #1 vents at a rate similar to the Gorton #1 or Hoffman #75.

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