Pitching Steam Radiators

MichaelG

I'm feeling pretty triumphant today now that I've gotten all eight of the cast iron radiators from my house back into their respective rooms, after they spent a lovely summer and fall sunning themselves in my backyard while we gutted the place. I seem to have read a lot of good wisdom about pitching radiators to avoid water hammer. My question is, do I pitch every radiator? If yes, then how much, and with what?

Do I follow the 1" per 10 feet rule, like with a counterflow main? That only amounts to about 1/8" for my rads.

As for the material, I've got some spare heart pine from floor patching that I could rip down into shims, but I worry about it cracking. Alternatively, I could cut some thin pucks from 1" white Delrin round or a similar hard plastic that would probably be fine with the heat and the pressure, and match the white gloss enamel I painted the rads with. Thanks for the help!

BobC

You need just a little pitch for the water to find it's way out, sometimes a quarter is enough. Make sure the pitch on all the piping under the floor is good before doing anything with radiator pitch.

Bob

nicholas bonham-carter

Use a level, and don't forget inflation, as you may need 2 quarters under each leg!--NBC