making progress with our one-pipe system

musicrc

I've become obsessed with our heating system since our new heating contractor, who I believe posts here occasionally, pointed me toward this site. I bought Greening Steam and read through it quickly. I also found a copy of Questions and Answers on the Practice and Theory of Steam and Hot Water Heating by R.M. Starbuck in a drawer in the kitchen. This is the fourth edition and was printed in 1912! I guess the previous owner of this house was interested in this system too.

Bob has been over a couple times to fix up the boiler, replace the main vents, and generally de-knuckle the thing. Meanwhile, I discovered that two of our radiators were turned off. I have no idea how I managed to not notice that during the 11 years we've lived here. I turned them on, and they both work fine. Now, however, my wife is complaining that the upstairs is cool. I think the reasons are obvious. One of the radiators I just turned on is in the living room, which is where the thermostat is. So that room is getting warmer more quickly, which means the upstairs stays cooler. I think the solution has to do with insulating the pipes. When we bought this house, we had the asbestos insulation removed, but never thought to put insulation back on the pipes. I started doing that a couple weeks ago after reading about that on this site. Now the basement is much cooler. That's a good thing. But I'm not done insulating yet, and the pipe that leads up to our bedroom is the furthest away from the boiler and I haven't insulated that far yet. I'm hoping that finishing the insulation will help get steam up to the bedroom instead of condensing in the pipe in the basement.

I do have a question about radiator vents. I've read here, and in Greening Steam, that you should select vents based on the size of the radiator and not their location. But Gorton's web site seems to suggest otherwise. Which is really correct?

Fred

Both approaches work but in practical application, you probably end up with a combination of the two approaches. For example, in your case, because the upstairs is cooler now that you opened the down stairs rads, especially the one in the room with the thermostat, you probably need to put a smaller vent on that radiator. That will slow the steam going into that rad and allow more time for the upstairs rads to get steam before the tstat is satisfied. Of course, insulation will certainly help but those pipes weren't insulated when you wife was comfortable upstairs.

BobC

Generally you want to vent the mains fast and the radiators slowly (I meant #4 or #5 - sorry about that). What size vents are you using now? You might try picking up a few Maid O Mist that come with 5 orifices that you can swap out easily, it's a lot easier than swapping other vents.

This is from another site -


I find that adjusting valve sizes is a trial-and-error sort of thing, and I certainly don't want to be taking vents off and on radiators until I get it right. [One risks destroying the thread on the radiator by doing so, and would soon need to have the radiators re-tapped.

I like using the Steam Air Valves by Maid-O'-Mist, which look just like the Gorton Valves but have tops that screw in and out easily. The top contains the vent hole, which determines the vent size. This way, you can install the vents once, and then keep switching the tops around until you balance the system.

Bob

David Nadle

You might want to put a Gorton #4 or other very slow vent on the radiator in the room with the thermostat. Not unusual to have to do that.

nicholas bonham-carter

You also may want to install a honeywell Visionpro in the present thermostat location, with its optional indoor sensor, located in a colder room upstairs. Play around with the temperature settings, until you find the right balance. The sensor will cause the system to react more quickly to dropping temperatures.
Definitely do not follow the Gorton website instructions-vent the mains FAST, and the rads slower. In fairness to Gorton, I think their fault lies in the imprecise diagrams, rather than complete lack of knowlege as to how their otherwise excellent product should be used.--NBC