1 Radiator - Half hot

BobbyC

Hi guys,

Looking for some advice.  I recently had a steam boiler replaced and things are running well.  I have one radiator that seems to only get hot in the first three columns and the remainder of the radiator is cold.  I took off the air vent and blew through it an things are working well but every other radiator is scorching besides this one. 

It is located on the 2nd floor and probably the farthest one from the boiler but the room across the hole which is equally far is working fine.

Suggestions?

Unknown

Radiator Venting

Try a larger capacity vent.  It also may be that this radiator shares a lateral pipe with another radiator and the other radiator is grabbing most of the steam capacity of the lateral. If you suspect that that is the case, slow the venting of the other radiator.



If you want to really get into radiator balancing I'd recommend  " Balancing Steam Systems Using a Vent-Capacity Chart ", by Gerry Gill & Steve Pajek.  It's available on this website in the shop as an e book for $10. You can download it. Here's the link:

http://www.heatinghelp.com/products/Books/5/146/Balancing-Steam-Systems-Using-a-Vent-Capacity-Chart-by-Gerry-Gill-and-Steve-Pajek.



Gerry is one of the super steam pros on this site. If steam was a religion, Gerry would rate up there as a Cardinal. You might want to take a look at his website as he has a lot of interesting steam information there  .- Rod

http://www.gwgillplumbingandheating.com/

brian_44

I have one of those too...

Hey BobbyC. Just out of curiousity, is that radiator larger than the others? Does it start to get warm with the others but just doesn't go all the way across?  With the one I have, it's vented like crazy (and I suspect that there is some water in it due to sloping in the middle...it's over 4 feet long) but on a not so cold day it has a difficult time getting hot all the way across.  When the boiler has to work hard enough to bump the inside temp up a couple of degrees or if it's super cold outside, it will eventually heat all the way across.

BobbyC

Radiator wont get hot

Hey Brian,

This one is standard with most of the ones in my bedrooms.  The master bedroom has the biggest one on my 2nd floor.  I'm gonna try and get a bigger vent as Rod suggested and go from there.  It's the only radiator in the whole house that doesn't get entirely hot.

Unknown

2 vents

If you have spare vents, just use a 1/8 pipe tee and a bushing and connect up two vents to the radiator and try that out.

- Rod

59Fred

too much heat

I have a tw story buiding with boiler steam heat and one apartment uptairs gets irregular heat. Either normal or very hot in the apartment. Everywhere else in building seems to be fine. One person told me the steam vent valves on the radiators(2 in this apartment) are bad and to replace them with adjustable ones. Does that sound right or what else could it be? Thank you for your response.

nicholas bonham-carter

Slow rad

If you can have a second person next to the boiler with his hand on the switch, try running the system with the vent removed, to see if steam will arrive more quickly. Have the boiler shut off as you remove, and replace the vent. Steam can burn and remove paint in a room in minutes.

Check your pressure, and make sure it is below 2 psi (functionality), or below 1 psi (economy and comfort).

Locate and check your main vents, which are usually on the return near the boiler. If these are inadequate, the air will need to be forced out by your fuel supplier at extra expense, and imbalance.--NBC