Typical steam radiator behavior

camilleb

Hello,
I've just moved into an apartment in an old building that has three old cast iron radiators. They are all different sizes and different models. I've never lived anywhere with radiators and am not familiar with how they are used or what is typical performance. They just turned on the heat yesterday, and there are a few things that are worrying me. 1) Steam venting: I can hear/see steam venting from the pipe where the radiator connects to the floor. 2) Water leaking: Very hot water leaks out of the valve where the pipe connects to the radiator on one of the radiators. 3) Whistling from the air valve: They all whistle, at varying volumes and pitches. I'm not concerned about efficiency as I don't pay for heat, and the noises don't really bother me, but I'm honestly concerned for my safety! If it's just that they're poorly maintained but otherwise safe, I'm unlikely to do anything about it, but I would like to know if they are a hazard. Thank you!

Jamie Hall

Moderately typical... for a poorly maintained system.

Sigh...

The leaks which you are noting shouldn't be there. Not that they are unsafe, mind, but they are indicative that no one has checked and maintained the system properly. You might be able to fix the leak on the valve, if it is from where the valve stem goes into the valve body. The leak on the pipe... well, probably not easily. The whistling vent indicates that the boiler is being run at too high a pressure for efficiency. But... since you don't pay for the heat, that's not really your concern either!

But no, none of those problems are a hazard. Nuisance yes. Wrong yes. Inefficient yes. Hazard, no.

camilleb

Thanks for your response! I'll see what I can do about the valve. It's annoying, but I'm glad to hear that none of it is a hazard. Thanks!