Need to replace corroded supply to radiator

mattmia2

I put like a 3" gauge on a tee on mine so I could see it from across the room. Or maybe on a 45 and nipples off the tap in the valve. I don't remember now.

RickT

Well the pump came on and the boiler fired up just fine and we're in business!

I'm going to run it at 200 degrees all night to get the air out and back it down to 150 in the morning.

This website was such an incredible help. Thanks so much everyone!!

mattmia2

At 200f there is some chance of cavitation in the circulator but on the return it should be cooler.

RickT

Update on the new 1" PEX piping I installed on the busted radiator: looks like reducing that pipe size from 1-1/4" down to 1" actually made a positive difference as I had expected. By middle daughter's room used to be unbearably hot at night even with 20F outside like it was last night. Now it's great. I don't have a TRV actuator yet; the valve is fully open. I still plan to get one at some point.

The bathroom and the boys' room are both pretty hot (we had to have a window fully open all night in both to make it comfortable, haha). The master BR has always been cooler than all the other rooms and it was fine, never got too hot. All these rooms are upstairs.

The 1st floor remains fine, as it has been in the past. My 2 yr old was running around in shorts and a tank top when I left this morning.

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1824465#Comment_1824465

That sounds bad! But it has been at 200F before. When we bought the house the previous owners had it at 200F, and I ran it that whole winter without even bothering to look at it (I had just suffered a sudden cardiac death at around that same time, so we were.. busy with other things haha). So I wasn't too worried about it.

Anyway I backed it off to 190 this morning and going to keep it at that for a few days before backing down to the usual 150 or so. I need to get a return temp monitor that will work on the existing large cast iron pipes. Any suggestions? I'd like to turn the temp down as low as possible so we can reduce the large temperature swings, but of course want to make sure we don't have condensation in the boiler.

I also need to install an outdoor reset… what do people suggest?

mattmia2

glad you are ok.

You can close the valves on the radiators partially to balance the system assuming it has separate supply abd return mains.

you can get strap on thermometers for the rwt.

odr probably isn't practical on that boiler. i suspect you will find the lowest temp that keeps it from sustained condensing will heat the house on the coldest day.

RickT

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1824556#Comment_1824556

Ah ok that makes sense on not needing an ODR at this time; yes I have actually found that even in the coldest times of the year, 140F has kept everything just fine. And when I put my hand on the supply and return pipes, they have felt very similar in temperature too so I doubt I am getting much of a temperature drop. I believe my B&G pump is 1/12 HP and it is able to move all the water around so fast that the combined return temp stays pretty elevated (it's all a single zone).

But since I just put new water into this system and I am not sure how long it will be before I can afford one of these new whizbang condensing boilers, I figure it would be good to monitor the return temp and make sure I don't damage what I have.

Unfortunately I do not think it's possible to budge any of these radiator valves. They are 130 yrs old, original to the house. I think they are set to where they are set. I think this summer I am going to plan to put TRVs on the two rooms that get too much flow.