A heartfelt thanks...

xgear

Hello Dan. I want to offer a heartfelt thanks for the information you’ve shared on this site. From information gained on your site alone I was able to completely resolve several issues I was having with my steam heating system.

I recently had my Crown gas fed steam heater replaced in my two story row home built in 1930 by a gentleman I thought I was getting a great deal from but after installation I was unable to reach the gentleman for three weeks to help me with the following issues… Severe water hammer (neighbors on both sides complained), three out of six radiators never got hot, low water shut off continually cut the system off.

Feeling frustrated and not really wanting to deal with anyone else I turned to the internet and immediately came across this site. After perusing this site I immediately went into action. I properly set my pressuretrol which was set too high, I insulated my non insulated horizontal mains with fiberglass insulation the full length (30ft), replaced all of my radiator vents with good quality Hoffman vents, pitched my radiators towards the valve with shims, discovered he hadn’t initially flushed the new heater and he severely overfilled the system causing it to flood and probably causing old gunk from the pipes and radiators to settle in the mains and heater. This seemed to cause all the water to surge and circulate through the pipes emptying out of the boiler causing the continuous low water cutoff. I flushed the system by adding and draining water until clean water flowed out then set proper water level. My system runs sooooooo quietly now without one knock, bang or ping and heats the house very nicely with all of the radiators getting hot. The distinct sound of properly functioning radiator vents letting air out then closing on steam is refreshing. Looking now to purchase your book so I can keep my system running at its best.

I apologize for the long dissertation but I wanted to express my gratitude and hopefully share with someone how easy it can be to troubleshoot your system and possibly rectify some issues on your own.

James

DanHolohan

Well done, James! Thanks for taking the time to share this with us. I can only shake my head about the "gentleman."

SWEI

Ironically, he seems to have done far less damage than most...

Jamie Hall

Thank you, James. So often we never hear back about how things went... and it's good to hear a story like yours!

xgear

Thank you Jamie! Yours was among the wonderful advice I benefited from. I would be remiss not to express my appreciation for all the wonderful free advice provided on this site.