Steam radiator issue

CarlaM

Hi! I live on the second floor of a two-story house. I have a natural gas, single-pipe steam radiator heating system. I'm having an issue with the radiators in my living room.



During normal operation when the thermostat is calling for heat and the boiler runs, neither of the the radiator's heat up. You can hear the air venting through one of them and nothing at all from the other one. I have two radiator's on the other side of the house that function relatively well. The only way I can get heat from the radiator's in the living room is if I turn the thermostat way up.



My landlord was here the other day and part of his solution was to turn the pressure on the boiler up from 3 psi (already too high) to 3.5 psi (hasn't made a bit of difference, except that I'll have an even higher gas bill and no heat!). Does anyone have any insight as to what the issue might be?

Jamie Hall

For starters...

turning up the pressure isn't going to help a bit, and quite possibly might make things worse.  Turn it down.  In fact, turn it down so the boiler cuts out at no more than 2 psi, and cuts back in as low as you can get it to without the pressuretrol falling apart.



Now having done that...



There are several possibilities. 



The easiest to check is so obvious I'm ashamed to mention it: are the valves on those radiators fully open?  Is there, by any horrid chance, a hidden valve somewhere in the basement on the line going to those radiators? 



The second place I'd look is the venting on the radiators.  Keep in mind that if the air can't get out, the steam can't get in.  So -- are the vents on those problem radiators functional?  That is, can you feel (or hear) any air at all coming out of them when the boiler runs?  You can try taking one of the vents off completely and seeing if that makes a difference -- but have someone standing by at the boiler to turn it off Right Now if you get steam coming out; live steam can burn really badly, and any quantity of it will damage sheetrock and wall paper and that sort of thing so you want to be able to turn the boiler off quickly.  If you find the vents aren't working, try replacing them with some larger ones -- say a Gorton D or something of that sort.



It is very likely that you don't have adequate venting on the mains.  Go down to the basement and see how long it takes for steam to reach the riser on for the problem radiators, vs. how long it takes for the good ones.  Adding venting to the mains will help balance things.



Another possibility, although I would expect you to hear water hammer, is that there is a sag or block in the steam line going to those radiators.  Trace it out carefully, and make sure that it is pitched properly to drain.



That's it for now... I may think of something more after another cup of coffee...

Noel

Insulation

Has the insulation on the piping been removed? If so, the pipe sizes are too small. Reinsulate the piping to get the amount of steam delivered upstairs that the system was designed for. The pipes would be about 2 sizes larger, if the system were designed to be uninsulated...

CarlaM

Steam

Unfortunately, I don't have access to the basement. I'm just gathering

information to use as a weapon for when I confront my landlord again.







That said...







Yes, the supply valves on the radiators are fully open. Although when my

landlord was here, he closed the valve partially on the radiator in the bedroom

thinking that would help redirect the heat (I reopened it after he left) and I’m

not able to check for a hidden valve.





The valve on the radiator that doesn’t do anything when the boiler runs is brand new. It’s an adjustable valve and is currently

set at 4. The valve on the radiator that you can hear the air vent through is

older (here before I moved in over three years ago) and is set at 4 also.





As for venting the mains, also out of my control.

There is water hammer, but that typically occurs only when I do the rapid

increase in temp.





So, did you have that second cup of coffee yet?

CarlaM

No insulation

My landlord told me there is no insulation on the pipes and there is no heat coming from the radiators except when the temp on the thermostat is increased rapidly.

nicholas bonham-carter

Talking to the landlord

This system shouldbe capable of heating all the radiators in the house at the same time. If the thermostat setting has to be raised in order to heat certain radiators, then there is fuel being wasted-ditto increasing the pressure.

He may think that making any repairs/adjustments to the steam system will result in more fuel being burned, but that is not so. The state of the system now is causing waste, and performing some deferred maintenance will decrease the consumption, and increase the comfort. this work could be done by him: insulating the pipes., checking the main vents, and lowering the pressure.

Does the landlord live there as well? He should be interested in more comfort for him self .--NBC

CarlaM

Landlord

Thanks for the info... and no, the landlord does not live here and I pay the the heating bill so no motivation for him to get it working properly.