Thermostats for Steam Radiators

Lisa_7

I have very little knowledge of steam heat, and we have just bought a house that is 3 stories high and are having problems with the 1st floor being too warm and some of the rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floors being way too cold. Our boiler is in the basement and we let the bad water out every 2 weeks. We had our heating guys open all the valves in each radiator, but they recommend a thermostat (with 1 to 10 numbers listed) on each radiator so that we can let less steam out on the 1st floor and more out on the 2nd which will balance the heat and allow the overall thermostat for the whole house to be lowered and save us money. Has anyone ever heard of this and is it worth the money to have this done. Thanks!!

JohnNY

Lisa...

Those devices are called thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) or radiator thermostats.
They work pretty good, but may be a bit of overkill.

People ask me for them all the time, but I prefer to simply balance a steam heating system using properly-sized air vents on the radiators and distribution piping which is more consistent with the design and intended function of the system.

Less is more when dealing with steam.

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Unknown

This is what 1 pipe TRVs look like

http://www.maconcontrols.com/opsk1204.html

Noel

Lisa_7

Thanks for the info! Are the air vents the silver things on the side? Ours are not adjustable which is why we need the thermostats.

Lisa_7

Also, we have a two pipe system. Would these still work on those?

JohnNY

Ohhh.

Two-pipe steam.

Yeah. TRVs wouldn't be a terrible choice.

Still, I think they're a band-aid.



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Unknown

OOhhh (like he said)

These are for 2 pipers. Click on "operators" for the thermostat choices that go with these valves.

http://www.maconcontrols.com/ntv901.html

Also, these inserts might be the way to go...

http://www.maconcontrols.com/ez901.html

Noel

BRIANJ

TRV's for two-pipe

Home owner here with two pipe system and just my opinion. If it is a true two pipe system you shouldn't need any vents on the radiators.

Do you know what kind of system you have (Moline, Hofffman, Broomell) and do you have venting near the boiler? What kind of valves do you have? There are specially made valves for older systems. Before spending a lot of money on TRV's you may want to do more research and then try to reach a good steam man in your area under the Find A Pro section.

Good Luck! Just my 2 cents.

Tom Hopkins

Balancing 2 pipe steam

Lisa,

I am also a homeowner, not a pro, but based on what you have said, I would think you could partially close the radiator valves on the first floor, which whould enable you to start balancing the upper floors. If you keep the radiator valves on the first floor wide open, you will not be able to get more steam upstairs.

Do all your radiators on the upper floors get hot all the way across? You may also want to check out the general maintenance items like the condition of your traps and the adequacy of your main venting to be sure your system is operating as efficiently as possible.

Good luck,

Gary