2 steam mains, radiator isolating

Wcurtis

If i were to close off one radiator on one main, will this effect the steam supplying the radiators on the other main?

Trying to heat up a room with what appears to be an under radiated room, everything works...mains vents well, rad vents and radiators heat all the way across 

Jamie Hall

The answer to your question is -- not much, even on one pipe steam, and almost not at all on two pipe.

However... if the radiator in the room in question is hot all the way across, then you're stuck -- it's putting out all the heat it can put out, and you can't get any more out of it.

Wcurtis

What about isolating a radiator on the same main, would that help my situation?

Jamie Hall

Wcurtis said:

What about isolating a radiator on the same main, would that help my situation?

Nope. You still can't get more heat out of a radiator than it can produce, assuming it's hot all the way across.

bburd

@Wcurtis you might consider installing a larger radiator in the cold room if the piping is large enough for additional flow. We can help you determine this.

neilc

slow down all the other rads ?

dabrakeman

If you slow down the other radiators as @nelic says then maybe your cycle will last longer before the thermostat is satisfied and that room will heat up more.

Steve_175

When you say the radiator heats all the way across did you feel how hot it is across the bottom? If it is hot across the top but cool across the bottom then the radiator vent is to fast. A slower vent will give the steam a chance to completely fill the radiator and maximize it's EDR.

There is a YouTube video "Steam Radiator Infared Timelapse" that shows this.