Steam Basement Radiator Options / Ideas?

mayzejane

Howdy all! I'm looking for some advice. Attached is a picture of my idea. I believe I have a one-pipe steam system. I'm trying to free up some space in my garage/basement so that I can finish it. I'm planning to get a ductless minisplit for my main bedroom and get rid of the radiator in my bedroom / pipes which snake around my entire basement (my bedroom is farthest point away from boiler), since I don't really heat my bedroom at night anyway and am not in there during the day. I'm wondering if it's possible to add a wall or ceiling radiator in my basement along the existing pipe-line or will the pitch not be great enough? The garage area is around 400 sq feet and currently has two radiator junctions. One to my bedroom and one to another room which is where I want to cut the existing pipe and put in a wall-type radiator. Does anyone know if something like this is remotely possible? Maybe there are better options? Would love any input!

Jamie Hall

Is this a steam system? Two pipe or one pipe? In either case, the bottom of the radiator has to be above the water line in the boiler. In fact, at least 28 inches above the water line for every psi your pressuretrol allows.

mayzejane

@Jamie Hall Whoops, that info is important! I believe it's a one-pipe steam system (all the radiators only have one pipe to them) but there is that weird return line about 4 feet below the pipe. What do you mean the water line in the boiler? The boiler is about 7 feet lower than that pipe in the picture above. Does that make sense? Here's some more pics of the pipes: https://imgur.com/a/vJtu0

Jamie Hall

That lower pipe may have been intended as a wet return. I wonder if it still is...

If it's one pipe steam, you can (since you have that handy lower pipe) hook a radiator up with a downfeed to it. However, as I noted, the bottom of the radiator must be at least 28 inches per pound steam pressure above the water line (where the water stands in the sight glass) of the boiler. You could vent the radiator as usual for one pipe steam, but you need to allow the condensate to go somewhere and you could also put a vent on that outlet line -- so you would use a radiator set up as two pipe (an inlet and an outlet) and run the outlet to that lower pipe -- if the lower pipe is at or below that boiler water line. If the lower pipe isn't at or below the boiler water line, you would need a steam trap on the outlet of the new radiator.

mayzejane

@Jamie Hall Amazing info, thanks! The second line goes to the floor, below the boiler, so it must be a wet return. Last question, so if I'm going to tie into the wet return, do I look for a 2 pipe steam radiator when I'm trying to buy a new one for the wall? I'm also going to try some junk yards!

mattmia2

you could also use the water in the boiler to heat that radiator if you can't get enough height to set it up as steam.

Jamie Hall

mayzejane said:

@Jamie Hall Amazing info, thanks! The second line goes to the floor, below the boiler, so it must be a wet return. Last question, so if I'm going to tie into the wet return, do I look for a 2 pipe steam radiator when I'm trying to buy a new one for the wall? I'm also going to try some junk yards!

Exactly. A two pipe steam radiator -- rather short, so you can mount it high enough. Then at the outlet, come out into the bull of a T. Put a vent on the upward leg of the run, and connect the lower leg to that wet return.

mayzejane

@Jamie Hall Awesome, thx! @mattmia2 Cool, will look into this as well!