Shimming a radiator

celluliteradio

Hello good people of heating help. I recently bought a house built in the 1950s with a single pipe steam system. The radiators are all perfectly level and I’m thinking of pitching them a bit towards the main valve. I’ve heard using a piece of wood as a fulcrum to lift one end will work, and slip shims or washers under the feet while it’s raised. I’m just worried of cracking an old pipe or something while doing this. I’d rather not disconnect them from the supply valve if I can. Anything else worth trying that I have not considered? Or is a 2x4 the way to go?

Kahooli

you're only lifting it enough to put a shim under. low chance of cracking pipe

nicholas bonham-carter

Quarters make excellent shims, but be careful not to lift much above the height to get the quarters underneath. Also pay attention to the state identified on the quarter as some states are better than others{*.—NBC

Fred

Do you hear any gurgling or hammer in any of the radiators? If not, don't mess with them. If you do, then pitch those a little more. Sometimes we look for "things to do" when there really isn't a problem.

celluliteradio

Merry Christmas and sorry for the delayed response. Two radiators on the second floor have Hoffman 1a vents set to the lowest setting. There’s no water hammer but the vents do bubble a bit when the radiators become totally full of steam. They will also whistle like a boiling tea pot for a minute or two, also only after the radiator has totally filled with steam. The vents are new and do fill with some water, which I assumed might be the whistling issue, and that pitching might help.

EBEBRATT-Ed

I agree wit @Fred if their working ok leave them alone. If the vens are spitting or you have gurgling the pitch them a little at a time. You can always shim them and try it add more if needed

bringtheheat65

I’m just finding this 8 years late but I wanted to shim slightly due to rattling. The Vari Valve air vents do vent steam ok. It’s 50 years old is the radiator. All the others are 70 and sounds like the author’s setup. My concern is to have thin metal shims on carpet. I’m thinking it’s ok since the feet are in the carpet.

Jamie Hall

If the radiator's feet are already on the carpet, metal shims (or even wood or plastic) aren't going to hurt anything.

techforlife

Quarters work very well, or slugs (remember those?) are cheaper!

bringtheheat65

thanks for the replies. I just realized I did not include part of my paranoia. It’s the heat I’m concerned over. Betting that doesn’t change any replies but to clarify my thought. The heat never burns to the level of combustion. I had seen dark marks in the base where the steam pipe runs up close to the flooring.

ethicalpaul

I'm not sure what you're saying, but if you're concerned about steam pipes causing combustion, don't be. ~212F is not hot enough by a long shot

bringtheheat65

ok thanks. The story is bigger than this actually to explain my worry. If the wood didn’t have a combustion issue then the legs/feet won’t for wall to wall carpeting. The larger part is I was told to get a reflective sheet to protect the paneling as it can dry out behind the radiator. This one is the only non covered one. So heat was brought to my attention as possible concerns. I’ve learned a lot trying to fix radiators and replace boilers in an aging house. Combustion is not my specialty in these kind of scenarios. I just take extra steps to avoid electrical and heating appliance impacts. Too many bad stories from house fires. Ok I rather side in paranoid. lol.

ethicalpaul

Drying out precious wood or other objects is a possible concern. I have to keep reminding my wife not to keep houseplants on the radiators.

bringtheheat65

I’ll attach a pic of the unit here just for show. The long level shows slight bubble to the left so maybe not required to shim just for small rattling. Btw the rattling stops after a while.

ethicalpaul

The level doesn't matter. It has to be wildly out of level to matter. It doesn't matter which way it pitches, within reason.

The bigger issue is that Vari-Valve vent, those things are a hazard.

I can't hear your rattling from here of course so I can't speak to its cause, but it's not the pitch of that radiator.

bringtheheat65

wow ok now I’m concerned because I used Vari Valves to replace terrible Maid O Mists. The system had gotten way better but mostly due to the green solution the pros used to help clear it or possibly seal issues.

I’m probably wandering into naivety but that solution seemed to act like the old honey oil additive for very old motor engines. I don’t trust most additives but that’s digressing.

The vari valves seem well made. I know there are better which usually gets reflected in price. Get what you pay for.

Are these hazards due to steam spitting? Or pressure? The worst issue while I had the maids was a huge water leak from the air vent because the involved radiator was just above the boiler. No problems since the change and the additive.

I will try to attach a small audio of the rattling. I was about 8-10 feet away the forum doesn’t allow the file extension but I think I can embed it in a doc etc

no soap unless I use the cloud link with an expiration on it read only as well. Do not want to break any forum rules either. I may ask the forum owners.

Long Beach Ed

If the Vari-Valves work well on your system, enjoy them. On some improperly piped systems they tend to spit water as they vent very quickly.

Some tend to fail. If you get a cold radiator, take off the velve and shake it. If it rattles, time to buy a new Vari-Valve!

ethicalpaul

There is some confusion in your response, but I will say that love or hate Maid O Mist, the vent was not the cause of water squirting out of it.

We are bolted onto the end of a multi-year old post for some reason, but you need help. Try the Find a Contractor page on this site.