Leaky supply vent

Skindel

I have a steam radiator that is problematic in many ways. It is in my bedroom and rests on the front porch ceiling right inside a bay window. The flooring has sunk and the pipes must be cold and uninsulated, but hard to access since the floor is 100+ year tongue and groove. I can't turn the heat on at night because the water hammer wakes me up. Now the input valve is leaking. Is that an easy fix? Any suggestions on where I can get a replacement if repacking doesn't work? I haven't been able to find any steam heating repair people in my area: Stonington, CT.

nicholas bonham-carter

See if you can verify your pressure to be less than 2 psi, and put a low pressure gauge on next to the existing gauge, to keep things honest for the future. Your pigtail may have become plugged, and therefore allowing the pressuretrol not to see the pressure.
Repacking the valve should always work, except when your pressure is too high.--NBC

Skindel

According to the gauge on the boiler, it's at 1.5 PSI. I repacked the intake valve, but the top screw is stripped. Is replacing the intake valve a smart idea? Is it hard to find replacements?

Fred

The problem with replacing the valve is that you most likely will also have to replace the spud that goes into the radiator because the valve and spud are a machined matched pair. So you fix the valve and get a leak at that union. Replacing that spud is not a fun job. You say the top screw is stripped, do you mean the screw that holds the handle to the stem? You should be able to retap that and use a slightly larger screw.
As for that radiator, if the floor is sagging in that area, it has probably allowed the radiator to settle and the supply pipe has lost its pitch. That leaves water in that pipe that is causing the hammer. Shy of trying to raise the floor, try to raise the radiator back up to approximately its original level and put a shim or block of wood under it. That will (should) restore the pitch of the supply pipe. When you have it back up there, add a 1/4 inch to the side of the radiator opposite the supply valve to give the radiator enough pitch to let condensate flow back to the supply pipe and drain back to the boiler.

wmtandson

Someone with the right tools can do it easily.
I,ve learned how to do it on Hot water radiators that need valves or have one valve thats bad.
it takes patients and care so as to not disrupt the rest of the piping

nicholas bonham-carter

it can be a chore, because the spud into the radiator will have to be changed as it is matched to the valve.
perhaps there is too much packing string under the packing nut, preventing the nut from engaging the threads.--NBC

Skindel

Thanks! Repacking seems to have fixed the leak. I'm going to try raising the radiator this week and see if that lessens the hammer. I'll probably have to put 3" blocks under each leg.