Can not regulate the heat

mcp1

I have an old NY colonel from 1905, with a single loop steam system. I set my thermostat at 60 degrees & my 2nd floor feels like 90 degrees. I put varivalves on all the old cast iron radiators. The vents are mostly closed on the 2nd floor. In my sons room the valve is also shut but the radiator is piping hot. What if anything,
can I do to regulate the heat on my 2nd floor. Do Thermostatic Radiator Vents work? I heard Danfross RA 2000 is a good one, any thoughts.

STEAM DOCTOR

Get rid of the vari vents and put on properly sized, quality radiator air vents. The vari vents are glorified junk

nicholas bonham-carter

You should also check your main vents. These should vent quickly, with the radiator vents venting more slowly, for more balance of temperature.
Thermostatic vents are good for one or two problem areas, but the system must be in balance for them to work properly.--NBC

mcp1

I put a new main vent on this summer above the boiler. Would I be able to balance the system my self (I don't know much about that) or should I get a plummer. Would you recommend a TRV & how do I know how to get the right size vents for the radiators? Thanks for help

nicholas bonham-carter

what sort of vent did you put on, and are there enough?
you probably need one Gorton 2 for each 20 feet of steam pipe.--NBC

Jamie Hall

You can balance a system by yourself. Once you get adequate main venting, it's a matter of selecting various sized vents to get the various radiators to heat as fast -- or as slowly -- as you need. TRVs do work, but they are not a substitute for proper venting.

And the odds are that you can do the work just as well or better than many plumbers, unless you should be so lucky as to hire one who knows steam heat.

mcp1

Nicholas, I'm not sure of the name of the main vent I replaced, but I only have one of them in my basement on the loop & there is a lot of pipe down their. The house is about 1600sq ft. Here are some pics of the main vent over the boiler

nicholas bonham-carter

I am sure you will need more venting capacity that that one Hoffman 75. Measure the total length of pipe from boiler to that vent, and we can tell you what to get.
Let's see some pictures of the piping above the boiler, as that can have an effect on the operation. also tell us your pressure.--NBC

mcp1

Thanks, NBC. I will get back to you with that

mcp1

It's approximately 74' of piping to the main vent. How would I go about installing vents into cast iron? Here are some pics of the pipe above the boiler.

Fred

Take that Hoffman 75 vent off of the pipe it is mounted on, put a Tee on that pipe, put a 4inch to 6 inch nipple on each end of the tee, install another Tee on the end of those new nipples and add another 4 inch to 6 inch nipple with a 90 degree elbow on each end. That will give you 4 openings in the Tee's that you can mount Vents on to. Based on the length of pipe you have, you should put 3 Gorton #2 vents and the Hoffman #75 that you already have.
you definately need the additional Main venting but I doubt that that will balance the heat between the first and second floor. Do you have an open staircase? They act like chimneys and draw that heat right up. I have a similar situation. No problem with outside temps down to about 0 but below that, with a wind chill and my upstairs is about 4 degrees warmer.
Try some Maid-O-Mist vents that have a set of different orifices that come with it and use the smallest orifice to slow the steam to the upstair radiators or try some hoffman #40's.
The Danfoss TVR's are great for one or two radiators but they will shut the radiator off completely and then you get into a situation where you "create" an over-sized boiler for the remaining radiators and you start to build pressure and the boiler starts to short cycle.

mcp1

I do have an open staircase which draws everything up.