1. regulator in basement seems broken 2. Drain of weil-mclain clogged

saint

I have a single-pipe steam radiator system. Recently it stopped heating 3 of the radiators in the house.



The problem I now think is this regulator which looks sorta like the ones that are on the radiators:



<a href="http://i.imgur.com/jo6kg.jpg">http://i.imgur.com/jo6kg.jpg</a>



That's in the basement, there seems to be one on each main pipe for three total.



It's giving out air like crazy and I'm fairly sure thats why I've got no heat on 3 radiators. It doesn't look like I could replace it cleanly due to corrosion so I'll have to get a pro sometime soon.



In the meantime: Can I cover it up with something like tinfoil to stop it from spewing out all the air (and I presume causing that pipe to have zero pressure)?



Or will that kill me and my family?



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I have a second, unrelated problem: When I moved in the previous people ruined the water drain on the steam boiler (EG55 weil-mclain).



Turning the water drain lets out nothing. I poked a piece of plastic into it but got nothing but some buildup. I actually used a waterpik on it (small pressure washer made for teeth, it fit in the elbow so I figured it was worth a try) and that cleared a bit but clearly not enough.



I've drained some water using the petcock at the bottom of the sight guage + a tube in order to clean the water at least a little bit. That actually seems to work decently and I figured I'd have the boiler serviced once spring rolls around.



Any ideas for attempting to fix that in the meantime though?



Thanks a ton.

Mark Eatherton

Thats an air vent....

not a regulator,and it is supposed to HISSSS when the system is heating up.



You should have some smaller versions of that (assuming 1 pipe steam here) on each radiator. If they arent hissing, then that is probably the problem.



As for the drain cock, if you are not comfortable doing so, hire a pro to replace it, and any defective vents you may have.



Quite honestly, there are a whole host of other things that could be wrong (excess pressure, improperly sloped radiators, closed valves, etc) but ya gotta start somewhere.



The insulation on the pipes appears to be asbestos. Treat it with extreme care. It should be painted with a rubber or latex paint to keep it from emitting fibers.



Got a CO detector?



ME

saint

thanks

Thanks. I've just ordered a CO detector. And the pipes in the basement are indeed asbestos unfortunately.



The radiators/valves/regulators are all the same as they were last week, only last week they were emitting heat. Nothing significant has changed upstairs except its possible that the room with the thermostat is heating up too fast to let the other rooms heat.



But if that were the case it seems odd that the 3 problem radiators would have next to no heat/air passing through them.



Is it possible that the dirtier water is making it harder for steam to reach the second floor? I've flushed a few buckets of dirty water (and manually added back some) out of the bottom of the sight gauge since the drain is broken, but maybe I'm not flushing enough of it.

nicholas bonham-carter

drain

can we see a picture of that drain? if that drain is on the lwco, next to the sight-glass, it should be professionally checked/corrected immediately, however if this drain is on the bottom of the boiler, then it is not so critical, but should be opened soon.

the main air vents should not spit steam or water out, and need replacement. their faulty operation will enrich the gas company, and keep you chilly.--nbc

saint

drain

The drain is a few inches below the sight glass, its the boiler here:



http://s3.pexsupply.com/images/products/zoom/119-554-315-1.jpg



That little thing (petcock?) at the bottom of the sight glass is what I've been using to drain (close sight glass, unscrew petcock screw, attach something to catch water, let it run to drain)