add a rad

davem1

i need help with adding a radiator on the second floor of a single family home with a one pipe steam system thanks any info or diagram would be great

STEVEusaPA

I'd hate to answer a question with more questions.....

but first things first--Why do you want to just 'add' a radiator. What are you trying to accomplish/fix?   Unless it's an addition, or you want to take an unheated space and add some heat, it's very hard to just come up with a suggestion.

Is the system not heating well?  The system most likely worked perfectly, and now it may not.  If that's the case, it just may be some maintenance issues--vents, boiler cleaning, clogged returns, mains sagging, rads not pitched properly, etc.  You more then likely need to get someone to evaluate the whole system, first to see whats wrong and how to correct it, and secondly, to see if your boiler/piping has enough capacity to add a radiator.

davem1

answer to steve

the room in question is an addition to the second floor where whom ever put 20 ft. of electric baseboard in the room . my customer is gutting the kitchen which is under the room in question and would like to eliminate the costly electric heat

STEVEusaPA

i would post this in the steam section,

But I'll offer my opinion.  Remember the one pipe steam system in the home was completely designed/engineered (hopefully) first by a heat loss, giving you the amount of radiation, the the rads & pipes were sized to carry a certain amount of both steam and condensate, the main & radiator vents were sized to handle the air and the boiler sized for the EDR with a pickup factor for the piping, etc.

Before you upset the whole balance of the system, it's best to have someone come in and evaluate the entire system, measure all radiation, and piping to make sure where, and more importantly if, you can add a radiator.  In all likelyhood you can, you just really only want to take one shot at all the cutting, threading, piping, and you want it not only to work, but keep the whole system working. 

Like I said, post in the steam section, and check the resources for a wet head in your area.

bill_105

Isn't it possible,

to not tinker with the steam pipes and rads. Then run a hot water loop to baseboard and pipe and pump it just like an indirect off a steamer?

Mike Kusiak_2

Not so simple

The area to be heated is on the second floor while the boiler is in the basement. It would be difficult to get boiler water up to the second floor for a hot water loop as it is not a pressurized system.



You would probably have to add a heat exchanger with a separate pressurized loop for the second floor radiation to make sure water would rise and remain at that height. Might be more trouble than properly piping in a steam radiator.

Mark Eatherton

More information on using hot water...

I have done this before. Due to the temperature of the water, it can't be done with plastic pipe. Must be copper, steel or stainless steel. My radiator was on the second floor of an older victorian with 10' ceilings, so it was at least 18' above the boiler, and is still working to this day to my knowledge.



Here's a link explaining the different methods.



http://www.heatinghelp.com/article/330/Condensate-Hot-Water-Heating/76/Condensate-Hot-Water-Heating-FAQ



Doing it with steam would be a noble thing to do, but quite difficult, assuming that there are available BTU's to drive the steam. Then there is the run out capacity, and on and on.



ME

Steamhead

Of course you can

but first, you need to know how much radiation is on that main, and compare it to the main's capacity. If it's a 2-inch parallel-flow main on a one-pipe system, it can handle 386 square feet EDR; 2-1/2" parallel-flow can handle 635 etc. I've seen mains of both sizes handle a little more EDR than that without difficulty.



Assuming the main and boiler can handle the load, tying onto the main can be as simple as having a welder attach a thread-o-let to the main. Size the runout and riser the same as those feeding other rads of about the same size in that system, to maintain system balance. And make sure you have proper pitch!