radiator capacity

Ralph Blaine_2

This homeowner has one north-facing room on the first floor that is always about 3 degrees F below the rest of the building which is heated with one-pipe steam. I have put a big Gorton air vent on the rad in this room and replaced the on/off valve with a Gorton #1 (or #2, whichever is smaller). It gets real hot but doesn't keep up. The rad is 46 in long, 24 in high and 3 in thick.(see photo) The room is about 15' x 15' and about 11 ft high. Are the rad and room mismatched? I've thought about replacing the rad, adding a new rad or putting insulation between the joints in the basement (not heated except for whatever comes off the pipes). I should add that the room has two big windows about 7 ft high by 2 ft wide with old fashioned storm windows. Any advice on how to match rads and rooms would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Steamhead (in transit)

Move the vent

down to the tapping on the side of the rad. In it present position, the steam will fill the top of the rad and close the vent, leaving the rest of the rad full of air.

You'll have to pull the rad, drill out the tapping on the side and plug the one at the top. Then build an extension from 1/8" brass pipe so the vent can be changed without removing the rad again.

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