Valve Question

ChillyOffice

We have lived in a 100-year-old Victorian house for 16 years. We have hot-water radiators with a circulator and oil burner in the basement. The two radiators on our third floor have always been cold, and when I was doing the annual air bleeding, I wondered, once again, why isn't any air or water coming out of the two radiators up there? Then I found this site, and I suspect that we have a gravity-conversion and no one ever fixed the pressure balance! We have no gurgling, no banging, no noise of any kind in the pipes or rads. So I thought, OK, just open up the third-floor valves to get some water up there and maybe tighten the ones on the first floor. Then I noticed that the third-floor valves have a kind of flange that prevents them from being opened more than a half turn. (see photo) They are obviously original to the system. Can I just snap off the flange and twist away? Or do I have to install a typical valve and work from there? I am seriously tired of my cold office! Thanks for posting all of this information.

Steamhead

That's not the problem

the fill valve is probably bad, or out of adjustment, and the system is low on water. Time to call a pro- try the Find a Contractor page of this site.

icesailor

Valve Question:

If you don't get water coming out of the radiators when you try to bleed them, you should start there first.

Then, check the system pressure. You must have enough pressure to push the water to above the top floor radiators. Measure from the top of the boiler to the top of the highest radiator. Multiply that by .434. That will give you how much minimum pressure you need in the system. You also need to know if the gauge is set to zero when there is no pressure in the system.

Then, deal with the valves.

But I would never start anything until I got water out of the bleeders. How else would you know if there is water in the radiator?

billtwocase

ditto

If you cut the stop off of that valve, you can spin it either way until the cows come home. It is a butterfly valve, and turn it in the direction that says open, should have an arrow. Either low pressure, another valve down stream is off, or not piped properly. I would look here to locate a pro near you.

ChillyOffice

calculating PSI

Thank you for your suggestions! I measured the distance from the boiler to the third floor radiator and it is 24.58 feet, dictating PSI of 10.67, and the gauge on my boiler is set at between 10 and 12. It is marked in 5-pound increments so it is difficult to be precise. I should have said that one of the third floor radiators does wheeze out some air and then stops, while the other does nothing when I bleed it. Neither bleeder produces water. The valves for both rads are in the on position. The second-floor supply lines (coming from and going to the third floor) are cool to the touch. When I checked the boiler pressure, I found that the temperature is 130F -- isn't that a bit low? It heats the first and second floors fine, turning on every hour or so when the temp is below freezing, but I am wondering if the temp should be higher. Also, I checked whether the system has enough water -- there is an electronic fill control and it is working. So -- time to call a professional? and what should I be asking for (other than heat in my third floor!). Thanks!

icesailor

Filling?

You have an electronic fill? Is this a steam boiler? Electronic fills aren't normally used on hot water systems. You don't have enough pressure in your system. Push it up to 20# and it will work.

You must have enough pressure to get water to come out of the top floor vents.