Getting more heat from a steam radiator?

jalubarsky

My steam heated house overall is quite good especially since I added main venting and balanced my radiator vents. My problem is my kitchen is cold compared to the rest of my house especially noticed with our current cold spell in NJ. I had a local contractor come in and the only suggestion they could come up with was to add a kick plate hot water heater to add btu's. There is no wall room for a larger or additional radiator. This is at the end of my main. I went online and did find the Radfan product which is sold in the UK but not here is the U.S. My radiator is an in wall unit that is 28 inches wide and about 3 1/2 inch deep. Any suggestions for getting more from this single radiator? Does adding a fan make sense? To me it does - if you blow air through the radiators box it will produce more convection. I know I could do something with better insulation in this part of the house but that isn't easy either. Any suggestions are welcomed.

Gsmith

Picture of the radiator? Does it get hot all the way across in this cold weather?

JohnNY

Kick space heater should be the very last choice. Where are you located in NJ?

nicholas bonham-carter

Yes tell us if it gets hot all the way across. Since it is at the end of main, it may get steam right at the end of firing, if the main venting is too slow, or if the radiators in front have too large a vent on each one. To balance everything out, and have all the radiators get steam simultaneously, make sure the main venting is very large, and the radiator venting slower, (Hoffman 40’s).
What sort of main vent have you got downstairs?
Where is the thermostat in relation to the other radiators?—NBC

jalubarsky

I agree that to me a kick plate is a bad solution hence the question. The radiator is in the wall. Its dimensions are 30 inches wide by 5 inches deep by 7 inches in height. The radiator gets fully hot. I do have an older vent but it seems to work quickly and well. I am going to order a Gorton D just to make sure it is heating up as quickly as possible. The kitchen is in the far corner of the house from the boiler which is one floor below. I think the rad is under sized for the heat loss I have so that is why I went online to see if there was a way to boost this rad unit and hence the fan question.

Fred

We need a picture. This sounds like a baseboard radiator that has been recessed in the wall. How tall is the surface (wall) enclosure? I'm wondering if there might be a way to install a larger radiator/convector or stack another one above this one?