boiler replacement without venting the mains

jeremy572

Hi,

I'm a homeowner in the Boston area and I have a question about a new steam boiler we had installed last winter. Our old oil system was perhaps 10 years old and we never had any issues with it. Due to our downstairs neighbor's renovation we ended up converting from oil to gas and having a new boiler put in. All of the piping on the first 2 floors was replaced as well. The new boiler has mostly worked, but there is one radiator at the top of the building in our unit (5 floors up) which only gets hot intermittently (every few days) and after a very long time (6+ hours after calling for heat).

Some of our radiators have two pipes and some have one pipe. The problematic radiator has only one pipe. We've tried all sorts of experiments with valves and steam vents on the problematic radiator and all of the other radiators, but I haven't been able to get it to work reliably.

I did some reading on heatinghelp.com and it mentioned that venting the mains was important to make sure there's adequate pressure. I spoke to the tech who managed the install and he said venting the mains "wasn't necessary" so they didn't do it.

I really don't know much about this stuff beyond what I read here recently. I'm wondering if anyone can help point me in the right direction. I'm inclined to tell the tech that I read venting the mains very well might be necessary, and how would he know if he never checked things like whether the top floor radiators all worked reliably?

My current theory is that the old system did have adequate pressure for whatever reason to make it to the top floor radiator, and the new system does not. If anyone can confirm whether this is even possible, that would be most helpful!

Thank you,
Jeremy

Jamie Hall

Oh dear. Well, if your tech told you that venting the mains isn't necessary, he hasn't a clue about steam -- and I'd be willing to bet that the near boiler piping -- and pretty much anything else he touched -- is messed up too.

Including the pressure control.

Pressure isn't needed for steam -- or, more accurately, very little pressure is. A few ounces. However, if the piping isn't right, and the venting isn't right, you can't get even or even adequate heat no matter what the pressure is.

So... since I take it you are the owner (?) your problem is a little easier: find a person who really does know steam to go over the system and figure out what needs to be done. Try the "Find a Contractor" tab on this web site. I would suggest Charles Garrity ( @Charlie from wmass ) but I'm not sure that he works in Boston; I know there are some others who do, though.

jeremy572

I was hoping you wouldn't say that . Thank you very much for the advice and the referral!

Jeremy