Radiator Letting out Steam

ka4222

Hi all,

I recently bought a house with steam (one pipe) heating and running into issues. I’ve had an HVAC company come out and service it this year and have bought Dan Holohan’s book - but looking for advice. 

One of the steam vents on a side room on the first floor was completely non operational and painted/rusted shut. The HVAC guy didn’t have another on his truck but told me to go to Home Depot, buy another valve, and attach with Teflon tape. He also adjusted the grading of the radiator as it had been completely level. 

Now, after both buying a valve from Home Depot and then buying another Gorton valve online that should be appropriately sized and replacing the first, the valve still won’t stop letting off steam. I’m having to add water to the boiler every few (2) days and I can hear the radiator loudly hissing for literally hours some days. 

If it’s not a rusted shut or incorrectly sized valve, what could it be? It seemed simple enough to replace but could I have messed it up? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Jamie Hall

I don't think much of Home Depot radiator vents, but they usually don't fail immediately, and Gortons are pretty reliable. About the only thing I can think of off hand is to wonder if the threads have been damaged somehow. Is the steam coming from the vent opening, or is it from where it screws in?

Try covering the vent opening with electrical tape and see what happens.

ka4222

Jamie Hall said:

I don't think much of Home Depot radiator vents, but they usually don't fail immediately, and Gortons are pretty reliable. About the only thing I can think of off hand is to wonder if the threads have been damaged somehow. Is the steam coming from the vent opening, or is it from where it screws in? Try covering the vent opening with electrical tape and see what happens.

It’s coming from the vent opening. I had some Teflon tape I just covered the opening with and that’s solved the issue temporarily. Completely silent with no steam coming out. 

I’m tempted to keep the tape on for now just so my low water shut off isn’t kicking on every two days - but any suggestions? Could it be the wrong size vent? I used a number 5 because the room is in the first floor right next to the living room with the thermostat - but it also isn’t the best insulated (started life as a porch) so not the warmest room before the radiator went haywire. 

delcrossv

I've had a number of out of the box failures with Gortons. Switched to Maid-o-mist. If the rad isn't huge, you can probably go to a #4. Hoffman #40 is another good pick.