Leak in the Floor 1 pipe system.

ksd99

What kind of electronic tool would I use to determine if I have a leak under a floor or wall? I have a radiator that I turn off periodically (via turning the air vent upside down) when the room isn’t in use, the riser to the radiator stays cold. I recently turned it off and I noticed the riser is hot. I doubled check the vent is off with no ability for air to get through. No heat is getting to the radiator or radiator valve.

The reason why I turn it off when the room isn’t in use is I do get some scratchy noises when the steam Initially starts - I thought it could have been pressure from the boiler since it’s the closest riser to the boiler.

leonz

Hello ksd99,

If I remember my single pipe steam correctly-the vent is upside down and closed the heated steam would not travel to the radiator as the atmospheric air in the radiator and piping cannot be forced out by the steam.

If you turned the vent upside down and it closed you stopped any further steam from waddling through the pipe and the remaining steam that is in the pipe heated the pipe and the pipe absorbed the heat from the steam since it was unable to travel up into the radiator

You may just be hearing expansion and contraction in the steam piping as far as the noise is concerned as
the same thing occurred in our first homes one pipe system and my in laws one pipe steam system.

If you are concerned about a steam leak an infra red hand held thermometer from harbor frieght would be fine to use if you cannot hear a steam leak hissing.