Radiator vent odors

1Ole_timer

Good day.

ethicalpaul

Is it all the radiators or only some of them? This might help you narrow down the offending section of pipe. What does it smell like?

1Ole_timer

Good day.

Waher

Steam should be hot enough to kill any bacteria.

You could disconnect the radiators, power wash them out, and do the same with the pipes to push whatever is in the pipes all the way back to the mud leg of the boiler to flush it out.

I think at some point some other chemical, vinegar, TSP, whatever, was put in the system and got carried into the pipes & radiators. The returning condensate hasn't been enough to flush it back to the boiler to be skimmed/drained/blown out.

ethicalpaul

What @Waher said makes sense to me. Did you add any additive after installation and/or observe any evidence of dramatic carryover such as water squirting out of any vents, dramatic water level loss in the sight glass during firing, or whooshing sounds in the header?

I guess you said you added "chemical cleaner". What was it?

There's just nothing else that can get in there except for boiler water and whatever is floating in it. Was the boiler skimmed?

nicholas bonham-carter

It may be the remains of stopleak, put into "cure" the previous boiler. As it seems to contain some sort of sulfur compound, it can be smelly, until rinsed out.--NBC