Noise complaint: can I lower the pressure on my system?

goodluck17

Hi all, I am glad to have found this site. Apologies if any of my terminology is off, this is my first home with a steam heating system. I just had it serviced by a reputable, local company who said it was in great condition. I had them check absolutely everything because the system is noisy - the boiler, radiators, and pipes. They said the pipes are pitched correctly and that I am most likely just not use to having steam heat. However, after reading through several forums it seems that that's a misconception. The system works well and heats the house extremely well, but it is just so noisy.

• There is a lot of hissing coming from the radiator's air vents. I had them install new, adjustable air vents but still makes a decent amount of noise.
• There is one radiator that specifically makes a lot of noise. It is like a metal on metal rolling noise, I can't really describe it but it is cyclic. I was thinking of replacing the steam valve (have also seen it been referred to as a "steam trap" ?) to see if that helps as it seems the noise is originating from there. But anyways, wanted to see if a reduction in pressure would help with this noise? After I had the system serviced, everytime it ran the system got quieter and quieter. I was ELATED. Then, slowly but surely, the dreaded noise coming from the specific radiator returned. I took a video of the boiler right after the service guy left, and while it was running the needle was barely above 0 psi, which leads me to believe it could be a pressure issue but this is how he left the pressuetrol (pictures below). Thank you all so much for your help!

pressure gauge as of today (9 days after the service appointment):

Ironman

Are there one or two pipes connected to the radiators?

I see some things that are wrong, but knowing which type of system you have would be helpful.

Pictures of the boiler and its near piping from further back would also help.

goodluck17

@Ironman thank you for your comment, here are photos of the boiler. Let me know if you need any other specific photos. All the radiators have one pipe.

reggi

Your water is chocolate colored and needs to be flushed.. if you're not familiar with flushing please post and someone will explain (do's and don'ts) .. the water in the sight glass should be clear.. G/L 👍

Long Beach Ed

Do you know if the pressuretrol was removed and the "pigtail" cleaned when the boiler was serviced? Does the boiler ever cycle on and off quickly (every minute or two) when it's heating? What brand vents are on the radiators?

Ironman

It sounds like the pressure in the system might be too high. A clogged pigtail will prevent the pressuretrol from cycling the boiler on and off as mentioned.

The near boiler piping is not exactly correct, but I don’t think that’s the main issue.

The muddy water not only indicates that the boiler should be flushed as well as the return lines, but they may be partially plugged.

goodluck17

@reggi @Ironman The technician flushed the system & the water was clear after the technician left and remained clear until I had to add more water. When I open the water valve rusty water comes in. That photo was right after I filled it up., once the water settles it looks clear again until the heat comes on then it gets a little chocolatey again.

@Long Beach Ed Yes, the pressuetrol was removed and the pigtail was cleaned. I will monitor & time the boiler the next time it comes on. (Edit: no, the boiler doesn’t seem to be cycling too quickly). The vents are Vent-Rite #1 Air Valve (3PSI, 1/8in)

Thank you all for your time and knowledge

goodluck17

I think this is indeed a pressure issue as the banging noises and excessive hissing don’t happen until it reaches a certain psi (shown above)

dabrakeman

What do you have for a main vent and is it working?

goodluck17

@dabrakeman im assuming this is the main vent and yes it is audibly working

dabrakeman

Just from your boiler size I can be pretty sure that vent would be well undersized. To properly know what you need you would need to get an estimate of the total length of your main and its nominal pipe size(s).