Which direction to repipe. 🤔

brandonf

Second floor unit
I plan on moving one radiator to a different part of the room.
It's one pipe steam.
I would have to go from the radiator into the floor then horizontally about 7 ft and then vertically 10 feet to the basement.
My question is should I start piping from the radiator to the basement?
Or should I start piping from the basement to the radiator?
The vertical part would be exposed in the corner of the room below just to give off a little extra heat in that area so I'm not sure if I would have to increase size of the pipe or factor that into the EDR.
Thoughts?
Thanks in advance

Jamie Hall

I don't think there is a preferred direction... so considering the bits of pipe, I expect if I were doing it I'd start in the basement, and save the really critical connection -- the one from the "horizontal" in the floor (remember that that has to pitch at least 1 inch for every ten feet of run) for the short bit up to the radiator valve...

You don't need to increase the pipe size for the uninsulated riser or runout, nor do you really need to add in their EDR -- it's negligible.

JUGHNE

Don't forget swing 90 elbows at the main and the transition from horizontal to vertical.
If you start at the main you may not need any unions.
Sometimes you want one.

brandonf

> @JUGHNE said:
> Don't forget swing 90 elbows at the main and the transition from horizontal to vertical.
> If you start at the main you may not need any unions.
> Sometimes you want one.

I'm not up on the exact science of swing joints. Haha most of the ones I see in the basement are 2 45's

EBEBRATT-Ed

A swing joint is 2 elbows (double swing is 3 elbows) can be 90s or 45s or a combination of both with nipples in between the elbows

Picture this.

Lets say you are doing a simple first floor radiator with 1 pipe steam. You come off your steam main and have to pitch the pipe up towards the radiator. So when you get to the radiator you want the pipe to go straight up so you put a 90 deg elbow on the end of that pipe. Does the pipe go straight up? No, it can't. The vertical pipe will be out of plumb because the 90 degree elbow is ridged and the pipe wont bend.

How do you fix this?

You come off the main with your pipe when you get to the outside wall below the radiator you put your 90 on. But don't point it up, point it to one side. Then put a nipple and another 90 on it and point this 90 straight up. two elbows that's a swing joint. Now the vertical pipe up through the floor can be perfectly straight.

Also keep in mind that coming off the main on 1 pipe steam it should be a tee pointing on a 45 deg angle then a nipple and then a 45 pointing horizontal (with pitch allowance)

If you have steam look at how the other stuff is piped and follow suite.

You can pipe from the basement up or from the second floor down.......doesn't matter.

second floor down will probably be easier. The most critical measurement is your riser length . That's the one that will determine your pitch

brandonf

Wow. That is the best description I've seen. Now I get it. That sounds pretty easy.

JUGHNE

If your steam main tee is pointing straight up, you would want some swing fittings there also.
The horizontal portions are very sensitive to having max slope.

EBEBRATT-Ed

@brandonf
Not so easy if its your first time but you will figure it out. Have fun you got all summer!!!