"Fixed" my noisy radiator...is it now dangerous?

rkny

I live in a pre-war steam heat apartment on the 3rd floor of 6. My super is not so super, so I call him as little as possible.



Our radiator makes a massive hissing sound when the heat comes on, and steam shoots out of the air vent. I've been covering it with a sock, but the steam rips the sock to shreds in a matter of days.



Tonight, desperate for some quiet, I turned the air valve from pointing straight upwards, to pointing 30 degrees downwards and towards the wall. The hissing stopped completely.



Is this dangerous? Is steam going to build up and explode my radiator or ruin the building's boiler? Or is my heat going to be cut off?



Thanks!

nicholas bonham-carter

Shredded socks

That steam system must be very over-pressured to destroy socks!! There is no doubt, some problem with the boiler, which the "not so super" is trying to compensate for. Just as money can't buy you love, so then raising the pressure is no cure for deferred maintenance

You did the right thing in turning the vent over, as a temporary expedient. This is not a permanent fix, and so you should contact the management, and tell them the pressure is much too high. This is a tremendous waste of fuel, and will shorten the life of the boiler.

Just make sure that in turning it upside down, that yo7 are not unscrewing the vent from the tapping. You could start your conversation with the management, by asking them what plans they have made to keep you warm when the boiler dies this winter, on a Friday afternoon at the coldest time of the year. Perhaps they will have an account at the ritz where you can stay for the week it takes to replace the boiler!--nbc

Hap_Hazzard

You have to ask yourself...

Was your leaky radiator vent the only thing they were counting on to keep their boiler from blowing up? Not very likely.



Besides, you've done nothing but make the vent do what it should have been doing every time the heat came on: CLOSE!



Most radiator vents have two mechanisms for closing their ports: a thermostatic element and a float. They are designed to allow air to escape while the steam is rising in the pipes so the steam can reach the radiator and make it hot. As the steam fills the radiator, it flows into the vent. This causes the thermostatic element to expand and snap the valve shut. This is not happening for you because the thermostatic element is faulty.



The second mechanism is intended to prevent a flooded radiator from leaking water all over your luxury apartment. :-) When the vent begins to fill with water, the float rises, forcing the valve shut. In the absence of water, you can do the same thing by turning the vent upside-down. Now the weight of the float itself keeps the valve shut.



I hope this alleviates some of your concern, but I want to emphasize that his is only a temporary measure. You can't keep rotating a vent like this indefinitely. Besides you aren't responsible for regulating the heat in your apartment; your landlord is. You signed a lease; you pay your rent; you are entitled to a certain level of comfort.



You have determined that the radiator vent is defective, now it's up to your landlord to get it replaced. If your heat has been more than adequate you might suggest that he replace it with a vent with a smaller port so your radiator will heat more slowly and the excess steam will go where it's needed and the thermostat can turn off the boiler that much sooner. He could probably save a lot of money and keep everybody more comfortable by systematically replacing bad vents and balancing the system, but that's up to him.