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1 radiator banging time to replace?
1 pipe system with 6 steam radiators in 1920's era row house (Washington DC). System is quiet sans one large radiator. The upstairs radiator has a consistent bang when it comes online. 5 progressively louder bangs and then it stops. I made sure there is good tilt on the problem radiator to ensure drainage and it heats evenly with the rest of the house. Valve is all the way open. Seems to me given the length of the radiator (long as two windows) it could have a low spot in it. I've tried adding more tilt but that has not helped.
Curious if I'm missing anything in my troubleshooting? Could it be the valve?
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Comments
You _might_ get lucky and be able to carefully raise the radiator very slowly over several days to see if anything changes. By raising the radiator, you can undo the possible change in pipe angles that may have resulted from likely settling of the house over the last 100 years.
You mentioned the valve and it could be that the valve has failed in a way that is trapping water in the radiator. You might be able to get an idea of this again with careful listening right at the valve (a screwdriver makes a great stethoscope, just put the sharp end against the valve and the handle against your ear). See if you hear gurgling at the start of the heating cycle but don't deafen yourself when it bangs!
As described above have seen simply raising the radiator slightly fix the issue which appeared to be water stuck in a pipe that had settled and lost its original pitch. It’s actually amazing what a few strategically placed quarters under a radiator can do to deal with issues! Money well spent.
After the banging subsides listen closely for gargling or bubbling/sloshing sounds which may guide you to where water is building up.
If the banging is before the radiator itself starts to get warm, then it's likely water hammer in a pipe.
Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England.
Hoffman Equipped System (all original except boiler), Weil-Mclain 580, 2.75 gph Carlin, Vapourstat 0.5 -- 6.0 ounces per square inch
I've been poking around on this forum for years and with all my research never once did read about lifting the whole radiator to solve a banging issue. The other sad/funny thing is I've had some very reputable pros here that never mentioned it either.
You win the Internet today.
Mine unfortunately wasn’t able to be fixed so easily, see the Autumn Saturday Repipe thread 😅
NJ Master HVAC Lic.
Mahwah, NJ
Specializing in steam and hydronic heating
Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England.
Hoffman Equipped System (all original except boiler), Weil-Mclain 580, 2.75 gph Carlin, Vapourstat 0.5 -- 6.0 ounces per square inch
1983(?) Peerless G-561-W-S | 3" drop header, CG400-1090, VXT-24
1983(?) Peerless G-561-W-S | 3" drop header, CG400-1090, VXT-24