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Jeanielala

I have steam heat, with 4 radiators upstairs and 5 downstairs.

I had a new Burnham oil-fired boiler put in recently; it was the smallest size residential one, I think. The only room that is really warm is my cellar. I have one thermostat, in the living room. I tend to keep my heat on the low side. I turned it up to 64 yesterday and let it run at that temp all night and into this morning. It's 64 in the living room but 61 in the rooms upstairs. I feel like the boiler is cycling on and off constantly. The installers put valves on all my radiators, which I never had before. Sometimes I'll get heat in a particular radiator and then the next time I turn up the heat I won't get heat in that radiator. Lots of noise in pipes, too, that I never had before. I'm afraid the model is too small for the job. One estimate I had chose the next size up for the boiler, but did no measurements. And, again, why would my cellar be as warm as it is? Thanks.

BobC

More info

What model boiler did they install and is this single pipe steam? Are the valves they installed the input valve that feeds the radiator or the air valves that screw into the opposite side of the radiator?



Did they install a new air vent on your steam main, if not is the air vent on the steam main working? Is the water in the sight glass bouncing up and down a lot and does it look clean? What does the pressure gauge read when making steam, it should be 2 PSI or less.



Post some pictures of the boiler and the piping around it so we can see what your dealing with. Also a picture of a radiator so we can see both ends.



Bob

Jamie Hall

More information...

As Bob said, more information...



An obvious question: did the old system heat properly and quietly?  If so, then the problems can be isolated to the new boiler and its installation, eh?



Can you get the model number of the boiler?  There should be a nameplate somewhere on it.  Also any photographs showing the boiler -- front and side views -- and piping would be very helpful.  A BTU rating would be helpful, too, but may not be obvious -- we may be able to figure it out.



Also, is this one pipe steam (only one pipe going into the radiator, and an air valve at the other end, part way up) or two pipe?



When the new boiler was put in, were all the pipes in the basement insulated?  They should have been; if not, that's a lot of the trouble right there.



When it was installed, did the installer take the time to clean it?  There's always some oil and gunk inside a new boiler, and it needs to be "skimmed" -- drawing oily water off the top -- before it will be a really happy camper.



There may also be problems with the controls, but we'll look at that later.



I'll think of more...