Steam radiator with weird noise-Guillotine falling inside

AJ1

Got a new steam boiler installed last month. With it the contractor also installed one extra radiator in the living room. I have this radiator sitting in the basement since I bought this old house.



This old radiator was stuck on the valve end and the contractor had to use brute force to put the New valve in.He hammered and did everything that he should not have.



He also installed this radiator using copper 1" pipe. The steam value is TYPE C of Dole make on this radiator.



The new boiler is running fine. House is hitting fine. Except this radiator.



When steam enters this rad it makes some weird noise  > as if a guillotine is falling inside.Hard noise of a metal hammer/knife falling down.I pinpointed the noise to the entry point of the radiator where it connects to the main valve.



Secondly the steam VENT is leaking water drops.Its like 5-7 drops per/hour.Its coming out of the air vent orifice.



I need your help, it doesnt sound like the normal water hammer. Is it possible that the radiator opening has some metal orifice that is closing and opening. if so what is it? This radiator is circa 1920 I believe princess model by JB Smith.



Should I worry about it. Besides annoying I am concerned that this metal piece may dislodge and get stuck in the main line.



Why is the vent leaking water?



Radiator is CORRECTLY pitched. Boiler is running below 2 PSI.



Its one pipe steam system and the boiler is BRAND NEW Crown Bermuda.



Please help.

Thank you.

bill_105

Whatever you do...

watch out for where you put your head. Believe you me the Guillotine takes no prisoners!

Did you know that thing was invented by a doctor? What a doctor! He apparently didn't think too much of the Hippocratic oath!

As for your steam trouble, beats me. Plenty of good steam guys and gals here.

kcopp

Where in ...

relation to the boiler is this new rad? Near? 1st one off main? Was there a lot of crud in it? was it flushed out?  Did your installer use a bunch of oil to get things apart? The vent leak sound like there is  a lot of dirt/ oil in the system... was the boiler flushed out and skimmed? How big is this radiator?

AJ1

how do u flush the boiler

Is there a need for it? The installer installed it and told me to just run it and for the first seven days drain a  little water and refill. He didn't do any skimming?



Is there a need for skimming? How do u skim a new boiler?



This radiator is 15 feet from the boiler. Its the only one on this side of the header.ALL other raditors are taking off from the other side. This radiator is installed in the newer part of the house that was extended later.



What is this weird metallic noise? Or is it just water hammer. Can it be so LOUD? This noise continues intermittently even after the radiator is almost hot.



I am serious, please help.

Rod

Skimming

Hi- Attached are a couple of pdfs on skimming. How much is your boiler line moving up and down? Are the water droplets inside the sight glass?

- Rod

Abracadabra

water hammer

this is water hammer.  Somehow/someway water is pooling and cooling annd when the steam hits the cold water you get the sound you hear.  The water dripping out of the vent is also a clue that this is happening. 







1 - Check pitch of radiator (I know you said it's pitched, which way is it pitched?)

2 - check pitch of the pipe feeding the radiator.

3 - The valve may be bad, semi-closing off the water which wants to return.

ChrisJ

Pictures

I think some pictures of the new boiler and its piping may help some.



Also try and take a picture of the noisy radiator as well as its piping.

Jamie Hall

It might be water hammer...

check the piping very carefully.  What you are looking for is anywhere where condensate could accumulate as the steam comes up in the riser and over to the radiator, and then any sort of obstruction where that water being pushed along by the steam can hit something.  The may be anything but obvious!  One possible culprit, though, is the valve: if the water doesn't have a perfectly straight shot from the runout through the valve and into the radiator, it's going to clang.  That's assuming there is a horizontal (well, nearly -- pitched, of course) before the valve.  If the riser comes straight up from below to the valve, and turns 90 at the valve, that's not it.



Oddly, the other possibility is an expansion noise.  Keep in mind that copper expands a lot as it gets hot, and it is possible -- although less likely -- that this could give you just one or only a few clangs.  Hard to fix.  Hard to find, too.

Mark Eatherton

BINGO, Abra hit it....

Per chance, you're not trying to use the valve to throttle the radiator are you? It SHOULD be either open or closed, but never in between.



ME

Steamhead

Also

what size is the radiator? The pipe from the steam main to the radiator may be too small. 

AJ1

pipe size

the pipe is 1 inch in size. Radiator is old princess type with 6 section of two column each , height is 36 inches.

Steamhead

39 square feet

which I've seen work fine on a 1-inch pipe.



Only thing I can suggest is to uncouple the rad from the valve and see that there are no obstructions in both.