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Hammered

CMstir
CMstir Member, Email Confirmation Posts: 2
in Strictly Steam
Greetings—New to the forum. We’ve got steam heat. One pipe. 95 yr old home with a I’m guessing a mid 60’s era Weil Mac boiler. One radiator keeping us up at night with mucho hammer. It’s in a (future Reno) master bath, with reno-ed kitchen below. See pics 
I’ve highlighted supply route through kitchen below that appears to have been re-routed at some point when kitchen area was bumped out yrs ago (hence beam) Offending radiator upstairs seems about level (unpitched) and difficult to adjust height due to screw type legs imbedded in floor mortar. Not convinced the infernal hammer is just due to that or the zig zagging pipe route that feeds it. Would not be averse to completely replacing radiator with something more friendly and compact and opening bath floor to get to pipes when we get around to reno. Any temp fix ideas tho would be appreciated. Thx!

Comments

  • Ironman
    Ironman Member Posts: 7,508
    More than likely the rad or the piping is not pitched back toward the boiler and is holding water. Water hammer occurs when steam meets water laying in a pipe or rad.
    Bob Boan
    You can choose to do what you want, but you cannot choose the consequences.
    EBEBRATT-EdSTEVEusaPAethicalpaulIntplm.
  • CMstir
    CMstir Member, Email Confirmation Posts: 2
    Solutions?
  • pecmsg
    pecmsg Member Posts: 5,228
    Raise the left side 1/4 - 1/2" and see what happens. I know you said difficult but someone installed it, you may have to get creative.
    Intplm.
  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 24,479
    CMstir said:

    Solutions?

    Did you read @Steamhead 's comment? First thing to do is try his hypothesis, and make sure that that bit of horizontal pipe in the overhead can drain...
    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
  • BobC
    BobC Member Posts: 5,495
    Have you measured the steam pressure with a 0-3PSI gauge? If the pressure is to high it makes everything worse.
    Something is probably pitched wrong. Single pipe convectors are very fussy about the pitch the convector and the piping feeding it, a good pair of vice grips might help with those frozen bolts.
    Smith G8-3 with EZ Gas @ 90,000 BTU, Single pipe steam
    Vaporstat with a 12oz cut-out and 4oz cut-in
    3PSI gauge
    ethicalpaul
  • ethicalpaul
    ethicalpaul Member Posts: 6,356
    Knowing what I know now, I would never let a contractor re-route a steam pipe unless I personally vetted their knowledge of steam. You may have to open the wall to inspect the pipe's routing. But hopefully you'll get lucky and see results with working with the exposed parts

    NJ Steam Homeowner.
    Free NJ and remote steam advice: https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/new-jersey-steam-help/
    See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el

    Intplm.ttekushan_3
  • KC_Jones
    KC_Jones Member Posts: 5,789
    ethicalpaul said:

    Knowing what I know now, I would never let a contractor re-route a steam pipe unless I personally vetted their knowledge of steam. You may have to open the wall to inspect the pipe's routing. But hopefully you'll get lucky and see results with working with the exposed parts

    I'm with Paul on this one. If it was re routed, I'd be suspect of everything I can't see.
    2014 Weil Mclain EG-40
    EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Boiler Control
    Boiler pictures updated 2/21/15
    Intplm.ttekushan_3

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