Radiator spraying water

imheckintryin

this radiator started spraying a mist from this area here

Jamie Hall

Hot water? Looks like a mixed bag there -- you have a regulating valve on what looks like the inlet, and a steam trap on what looks like the outlet.

What have we here?

It it's steam, that regulator valve on the inlet is somewhat dubious. However...

If that is where it is spraying a mist, the likelihood is that the union between the valve and the radiator spud is damaged or not mated correctly. To remedy, you may need to loosen the union nut and inspect the union faces for any kind of damage or foreign material -- scratches, pipe dope, teflon tape, whatever. Make sure the union faces are perfectly clean and smooth -- do not use anything harsh to clean and polish them. Then make sure that the spud and the valve are perfectly aligned -- horizontally and vertically, and in a straight line -- then put the union back together and tighten the nut -- but don't be a gorilla. If pulling hard on it won't stop it from leaking, pulling harder won't help.

imheckintryin

Heck ok so I'm pretty new to this, but it looks like you're saying that if its steam, pieces are being used in incorrect locations, or if its mist, I may need to just disconnect it, make sure its clean with no cracks, then reconnect it? Sorry, I've never done this before so I'm new to the terminology

Jamie Hall

Sorry. That big nut on the end of the valve is part of what is called a union. It's only purpose is to hold the ends of the union fitting tightly together. The actual seal is made my the faces of the two pieces of the union -- one end is screwed into the radiator, and the other end is either screwed into the valve or -- more often -- is actually machined into the body of the valve itself. Those two faces are very closely machined and matched, and if they are pulled tightly together by that big nut they seal.

To loosen that big nut, you will need to turn the top towards you -- and you do need to loosen it. It looks as though someone at some point put some sealing thread into the threads -- which doesn't belong there at all, as the nut doesn't seal anything anyway.

mattmia2

It looks like a steam trap which would be 2 pipe steam, and a trv which could be 2 pipe steam or hot water but it also looks like it has a bleeder valve at the upper left. Maybe 2 pipe steam that was converted to hot water?

Jamie Hall

mattmia2 said:

It looks like a steam trap which would be 2 pipe steam, and a trv which could be 2 pipe steam or hot water but it also looks like it has a bleeder valve at the upper left. Maybe 2 pipe steam that was converted to hot water?

Yeah, I kind of leaned that way, too, @mattmia2 -- but I'm a little puzzled, as most two pipe steam radiators have the inlet at the top, not the bottom...

KC_Jones

Original 2 pipe air vent and someone is getting creative? Also unless the floor is massively out of whack, that radiator is sloped towards the inlet which would be incorrect for any 2 pipe steam radiator regardless of which one.

I too am confused. Perhaps a picture of the boiler to identify the system type would help.

Just thought of another possibility. Perhaps it was 2 pipe steam that was converted to water? Gutted trap?

mattmia2

Looking at the picture more closely, what I thought was a bleeder valve looks like it is just a square head plug, which is even more confusing. Maybe it was some sort of vapor system that was modified in some weird way?