Water hammer & cold radiator

JL7

Good morning,

I have a 2 story home with a one-pipe system of steam radiators and a boiler in the basement. I've been here for 1.5 years and last year the radiators were quiet (some minor taps and hissing). This year we have excessive water hammer throughout the house and the last radiator on the 2nd floor does not heat. If I turn off the other radiators and turn up the thermostat I can get it barely warm but not hot.

I've been told by a plumber that I need repiping by the boiler so that it has a loop. I've read several articles and threads on this site and I see that the Hartford Loop is industry standard and an important improvement to my system. However, he wouldn't say whether this is likely related to the water hammer and cold radiator. I don't want to spend a large amount to fix the piping then find out it didn't also fix the immediate problems. This guy comes highly recommended and seems to really know what he's doing so I plan to hire him and I want to make sure we address the whole problem.

My questions are: does lack of a Hartford Loop lead to water hammer throughout the system or just near the boiler? Could it cause water hammer on the second floor? Could it also cause a radiator to be cold at the farthest part of a system?

I'm hesitant because last year there was no loop and also no problem so I'm trying to understand if this is the most likely cause.

Additionally, I had a different plumber out in October due to buzzing in the boiler. He cleaned the system by adding a detergent and the buzzing stopped. However he also added so much water that the sight glass was full and it took a week or two to clear by draining the excess daily. Today it is completely full again. It seemed like he didn't really understand steam heat so I'm wondering if he changed a setting at the boiler that has led to issues. Is it possible that there is somehow excess water still in the system causing sagging pipes or water hammer?

Thanks in advance for the answers. Hopefully my questions make enough sense because I am definitely new at maintaining and reading about the steam system.

BrianT1077

Your near boiler piping is definitely incorrect and you also need to drain some water out of the boiler. The water line should be almost near the top of the Cycleguard LWCO. Your water line is way too high. The water line for that boiler should be 28 5/8" high from the bottom of the feet of the boiler, what they call floor level but yours is raised. Is that a BSI103? If so, I have the same boiler, mine is also raised so I measured from the blocks up. Where are you located? There are very good techs on this site and they may be near you. Also you can get the user manuals in PDF form right on Crown Boilers website. See the link below.

http://www.velocityboilerworks.com/product/bermuda-series-bsi/

Jamie Hall

Excess water in the boiler can and often does cause water hammer, because water gets carried up by the steam into the steam lines and collects in odd spots. That water sitting in odd spots can also cause a radiator to not heat, or to heat poorly, as it may block or at the very least condense the steam preventing it from getting to the radiator.

So...

Step 1 is to drain the water in the boiler down to where it belongs -- halfway up to two thirds of the way up the sight glass.

Step 2. Did your friendly add detergent man then drain all the detergent filled water back out of the boiler and flush it and refill it with clean pure water? If not, I'm afraid you are going to have to do that. Steam boilers do not take kindly to most additives.

Step 3. Keep a close eye on the water level once you have done step 1 (and step 2, if needed). If the water level keeps rising, there may be a leaking valve in the line from your household water to the boiler. If you have an automatic feeder, that might not be closing properly.

I don't see any wet returns -- pipes low to the floor coming back to the boiler. If there are none, then a Hartford Loop, while nice, is not required. Your near boiler piping is, as you have noted, not as good as it might be, but if it worked before without hammering that is very much a secondary problem. The lack of it isn't causing the hammering, and there is no hurry to fix that or the near boiler piping.

BobC

I would add the pressure in the system looks like it might be too high. The front tab on the pressuretrol sb as low as it will go and the white knob under the cover sb set and one. That should allow the boiler to run with a cutoof of 1.5psi. has the pigtail under the pressuretrol been checked to make sure it's not plugged?

All the other comments apply as well.

Bob

JUGHNE

From what I can see all the returns that are visible are wet returns. That entire horizontal pipe is below the water line. So the concern for a Hartford loop is justified.

Also the fill valve is piped into the "equalizer" and would put any added water in above the water line.

The fill valve may be seeping water into the steam piping, making wetter steam than you probably already have.
The overfill may have backed up sludge in the wet return also causing slow return of condensation.

I would look for a sag in the troubled radiator supply pipe.
You can perhaps raise/block up the valve end of the rad and then raise the other end a little more to ensure slope to drain back.

JL7

Thanks for all the feedback so far, very helpful! We're in Philadelphia.

This morning I drained the water to the right level. Hopefully it doesn't go right back up, I'll keep checking.

I reset the front tab of the pressuretrol - see picture - is the white knob set at one? I haven't touched the white knob yet because I couldn't tell how to read the setting. The pigtail under it has not been checked and I don't know enough to do that myself.

We found a sag in a pipe that runs the length of the house and raised it. Not sure if it's the supply pipe. It's the white pipe in the back of the first picture of my original post.

The guy who added detergent definitely didn't drain it back out. We did that over the next week so it's been out of the system awhile now. However I think he likely changed some settings on or near the boiler that started some of these issues...

Is it possible to adjust the automatic water feeder?

JL7

Update- after 6 hours the sight glass is nearly full again. Is his evidence of a leak or an improper setting?

Fred

It's an indication that water is leaking past the auto water feeder or, if you have that shut off, the water valve that bypasses the auto water feeder.

BobC

If you feel the pipe 8-12" above and below a valve and they are both very cold it indicates flow in that pipe.

Bob