How much pitch is proper for 1pipe system with baseboard radiators?

1PIPERADS

Hey all,

All but one of the radiators in my house were converted from the big iron radiators to baseboard radiators?

How much pitch is appropriate for these, and how can you tell..I put the level on and it has a slight pitch towards the valve, but it seems like there's always a little noise, like a little screw rattling around while its heating, could this be caused by a little water in the rad?

Jamie Hall

Do you have

The Lost Art of Steam Heating?  If not, do yourself a favour and order it -- it's available through the "shop" tab on this site.  In it, on page 98 and following, you will find a very good discussion of baseboard radiation vs. one pipe steam -- and I do mean vs.  The correct pitch is determined from the BTU output or EDR of the baseboard and the diameter of the pipe in it.  It's rather fussy; there is an optimum pitch and either too much or too little is going to give trouble.

1PIPERADS

RE:

You're not kidding...this thing is so temperamental, Just ordered the book!

Is there a general rule of thumb though in rgds to pitch?

DavidK_2

a little

"little noise, like a little screw rattling around while its heating"



might just be thermal expansion. Maybe some of the fins are loose, or the baseboard itself is a little loose. Something might be rubbing against something else as it heats up.