Radiator sections uneven

steve_173

Should single pipe steam radiator sections heat evenly? I didn't check with the old boiler. With the new one, the sections are hottest close to the radiator valve and warm to cool on the air valve side.



Is this pressure related? The basement pipes are temporarily not insulated so perhaps there is a more than 1/3 pickup factor at present. The pressure gauge hovers close to zero, I'm not sure if this gauge came from Slant/Fin or the plumber installed it. I think the vaporstat goes up to 10lb (I'm not in front of it), making it also tough to set accurately. It's set in the 1-2 range as best as my eyes can see. Should I change these out to low pressure parts and if so, which parts work best?

Jamie Hall

My what a lot of questions!

Let's see here...



No, generally radiators won't heat evenly, except on very cold days near the design temperature or when coming out of a setback.  Otherwise the will heat first near (often not right at) the inlet, and then more or less rapidly across.



That's not pressure related.



Insulating the basement pipes will certainly help your heating -- mostly in how fast the radiators start to warm up and in your wallet area.



Pressure gauge will hover close to zero -- or certainly should -- until most of the radiator vents have closed.  Then the pressure will start to rise -- and you want the boiler to shut off at that point.  If you are mildly fanatic you can add a low pressure gauge and a vapourstat for more accurate control.  Neither one is mandatory!

kcopp

prob not....

a pressure issue. Prob more a function of no insulation and not enough venting... on the steam main and the radiator.

steve_173

Low pressure hardware

I wonder why Slant/Fin wouldn't just include low pressure hardware. Maybe this works for single and two pipe.



Is it worth the small cost to upgrade so that the system can be better adjusted? What is the target pressure 6-12oz?

steve_173

Old vents

Will the old vents work with the new boiler? Each main has a vent at the end of the line before dropping into the wet return and of course each radiator is vented. Some valves are leaking a bit so I'm loosing pressure and steam at the moment.