Bleeding my sTeAm Rads
Hi! My steam heat is making banging noise, so I asked the Steam PRO at Home Depot who says that I gotta bleed the steam radiators or need new rads and put this cleaner in the water. He says I gotta change out the water n put cleaner in it each week. He says their PRO can come to my house and do it and fix everything else I need but he says the steam is old and probably should be a heat pumps cus steam is against the law now in NJ and pumps are green but they will do that too. What do the PROS here say? How do I bleeds the steam rads? I pour the stuff in the heater and now is making more banging. Do I need the Home Depot PRO? How much do pump cost a month?
Comments
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Please do yourself a big big favor. Do not go to home Depot for these types of questions and do not hire their so-called pros. Everything that he told you, is pure steam heating heresy. Almost criminal.
14 -
Unsurprisingly your HD rep knows nothing about steam nor likely does their "PRO". Please ignore anything and everything they say. You don't "bleed" steam radiators. Only hot water radiators are bled. I would suggest you look on this site under Find a Contractor in your area link above. In the meantime get on the store here or Amazon and order We Got Steam Heat" by Dan Hollohan which will give you a good easy reading overview of how your system works.
Banging is due to steam contacting trapped water in a pipe. Surging or poor near boiler piping can cause water to get up into the pipes. Improper pipe pitch and sagging can cause water to collect in in a pipe. Folksk here will be willing to help if ou can provide alot more information. Start with pictures of your system.
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There isn't one single thing your Home Depot "pro" told you that is correct. Not one. As @STEAM DOCTOR said, that is borderline criminal — and possibly actionably fraudulent.
You are in New Jersey? You have some excellent real professionals handy by. I would suggest off hand either @EzzyT or @clammy . Just click on their name there in the sentence and you can send them a personal e-mail. Have either of them come by and take a look at your system — and clean and maintain your boiler, which probably does need service, at the same time.
Br. Jamie, osb
Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England6 -
Home Depot employees are like the internet. If the man at Home Depot says that steam is illegal then it must be true!
You have broken the law by purchasing that home and the Mattress Police will be inspecting your home any day now! I hope all the labels are still intact!
Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
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”The Steam Pro at Home Depot”.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Bob Boan
You can choose to do what you want, but you cannot choose the consequences.
8 -
IDK, troll?
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While I agree with what has already been said, I hope you don't find the tone of their remarks discouraging. They're really nice guys and very helpful. It's just that it gets frustrating when people call themselves "pros" when they clearly don't know the first thing about steam heating, and give bad advice and sell products that don't help or even make things worse. It happens way too often.
If you're interested in doing your own maintenance, we can help you with that. The first thing I would suggest is to get rid of the stuff they told you to add to your boiler water.
- Turn off the power to your boiler and drain all the water out. If you have a mechanical low water cutoff (that thing with the yellow handle and a sign that says "blow down weekly" or words to that effect), you should drain a few bucketfuls from there, especially if you haven't been doing it weekly.
- Refill your boiler with fresh water from your cold water supply to the level indicated on the glass gauge.
- Turn the boiler back on and observe the water level in the glass gauge the next time the boiler runs. If the water level appears to fluctuate significantly or you see any foaming, you may have found the source of your noise problem and you need to skim your boiler.
A fluctuating water level indicates that the boiler is producing large steam bubbles because the steam gets trapped under a film of oil or other contaminants. When the bubbles break the surface, they throw water droplets up into the system riser where the steam carries it out into your supply pipes and radiators. Simply draining and replacing the water won't cure the problem because the oil has a tendency to cling to the inside of the boiler, which has a lot of surface area, as the water drains out. The only way to get rid of it is to fill the boiler and skim the contaminants off the top. This is a procedure that typically needs to be repeated every year, and should be done several times on a new installation.
Skimming the boiler isn't rocket surgery, but it's usually best done by a professional, at least the first time. Most pros will gladly show you how to do it yourself in the future, because it's kind of a boring job, and a good steam professional usually has more interesting things to do. When you call around to find a knowledgeable steam pro, tell them your boiler needs skimming. If they don't know what you're talking about, hang up before they try to talk you into dumping more gunk into your boiler. If you call one of the pros from this site, you can probably save yourself some time.
If you feel confident that you can do it yourself, the first thing you need to do is to find your boiler's Installation and Operation Manual or IOM. If the previous homeowner was nice they should have left it in a plastic bag somewhere in the boiler room. If it's not there, check to see if it's with the other house papers and owner's manuals. If you can't find it anywhere, we can probably help you find a PDF version online, but you'll have to tell us the make and model of your boiler. While you're at it, a few pictures of your boiler and the connected pipes would be helpful.
Just another DIYer | King of Prussia, PA
1983(?) Peerless G-561-W-S | 3" drop header, CG400-1090, VXT-241 -
The Depot will send someone for free and I'll see what he says. Then I can find someone to do it. everyone else wants $$$ just to look.
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Of course they do. They are workmen. The Home Depot guy is a salesman. He makes his money selling things you don't need. The workmen make their money fixing and building things. There's a difference…
Br. Jamie, osb
Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
11 -
You get what you pay for, with rare exception if I do say so myself…
NJ Steam Homeowner.
Free NJ and remote steam advice: https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/new-jersey-steam-help/
See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el6 -
Who wants to bet he'll try to sell a new boiler or heat pump.
Extra points if he claims the present system is unsafe or illegal.
Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.7 -
I wouldn't care if it's free, I might even consider paying them to stay away from my house.
Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.
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@JohnNY is also in your area. Any of the steam pros mentioned and a couple more are all excellent but don't expect them to work for free. Fixing what you have will cost far less than ripping it out and starting over with a different system of heating. I will add a caveat that it is possible your current boiler has some defect that requires replacement but that is unlikely. I would trust any of the above mentioned contractors to make that call, but that in itself wouldn't be the source of your banging.
0 -
More precisely, you don't get what you don't pay for.
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They told me NationalGrid will pay for green heat pumpers cuz fuel is outlawed now. New an free I like that
6 -
Lowe's employee
known to beat dead horses1 -
Fuel is not outlawed, at least not yet.
And NOTHING is free. You're being conned.
Br. Jamie, osb
Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England6 -
the rebates won't be there when you have to replace it in 8-10 years because it is leaking refrigerant.
4 -
A heat pump won’t provide sufficient heat for a house that has a steam boiler.
Bob Boan
You can choose to do what you want, but you cannot choose the consequences.5 -
Cue "tears of regret" in 9 months.
Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.2 -
They told me NationalGrid will pay for green heat pumpers cuz fuel is outlawed now. New an free I like that
After you live in a home that has a good working steam heating system, you will never be satisfied with a heat pump or forced air system of any type.
That is from experience.
3 years before I retired, I got a call from a Rabbi that just purchased an old church building that was steam heated. "Such potential has this building". If all these old steam pipes in the basement were gone we could use this space as another meeting room. And this old boiler room is so big, we can store tables and chairs in this room after that old boiler is gone.
They installed 4 of the largest mini-split heat pumps available at the time. Everything was great all summer with the new air conditioners that the heat pumps provided. The following October was wonderful with the heat pumps in the larger sanctuary room upstairs and the lower basement hall was also comfortable. November however there were hints of insufficient heat on some of the colder days. By January, the Rabbi called several companies that work on steam heaters and asked about reconnecting the radiators that were still in position behind the decorative covers that were placed 5 feet apart for the length of the building.
"I don't think you can afford it was my answer. What type of budget do you have for the project?" It was not even 1/10 of the needed cost.
But "if you pay for a mechanical engineer to design a system of piping to connect to a new boiler that the engineering company would specify, I would be glad to bid on the project." (no free estimate on that project from me anyway)
But you can get a free estimate for your new heat pumps, and forget about the over 10,000 years of combined experience you have at your finger tips right here on this forum. Find someone that knows your system and let them look at it before you trash it. Who knows, you may be able to get it to be trouble free for less that $3000.00. I know that the heat pump with ductwork will cost more than that even with all the "Green Rebates".
Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
3 -
I can give you a boatload of new and free things. But none of them will heat your house properly. And efficiently. You will be miserably cold and paying through your nose, with heat pumps. Con Edison had such a program in my part of the world. A decommissioned a few hundred boilers probably. Was necessary to get the full Con Edison rebates. I have since reconditioned just about every single one of those boilers. Homeowners were cold and were subjected to obscenely high heating bills. For air conditioning they're great. Just keep in mind how many pieces of equipment you are putting in. Let's be super optimistic and say they last 12-15 years and don't need any repairs. What happens at the end of that time period? Every single piece of equipment will need to be replaced. And the government is unlikely to be paying for it. Cost of replacement will be astronomical. And that assumes, that you do not need any repairs along the way. Just try to imagine the comparative cost of repairing one piece of equipment to repairing 10 to 15 to 20 pieces of equipment.
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Let's get back to your original problem. Radiators are banging. Impossible to know why at this point. You have not given us any usable information. But curing banking radiators is often a 1 hour job. obviously, could be more involved and often is. But we're not talking about prohibitive repairs. Of course will cost some money. But regardless of what you do, there is money to be spent. You could repair your existing system. Or you could pay astronomical heating bills, live in misery, potentially pay astronomical repair and replacement bills not too long down the line. Just try not to be sweet talked by a salesman and try to see the big picture.
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They told me that I can bleed the rads myself but its better if the pro does it. I just want to make The banging stop and anew green electric system will do that
2 -
So, you've drank the Kool aid and believe the BS ………………..
Go all electric and get back to us in February / March 2026
Please hire a real contractor not Home Cheapo or Blowes!
2 -
There is no such thing as bleeding steam radiators. They are either ignorant as _______ or full of Baloney Stories.
4 -
This might be a BS post. Added bad faith.
3 -
If you don't mind, please post video, of them bleeding the steam radiators. And please let us know if the banging goes away.
I legit feel bad for you, the OP. It's not really your job to understand the heating system. That's what the pros are for. Unfortunately, the "pros" that you are dealing with, are either corrupt, ignorant, or some sort of combination. And how should you know any better. Home Depot is a multi-billion dollar enterprise and I guess you have no reason to assume or know, that their pros are handing you a bag of chicken byproduct of digestion
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If the alleged PROS at home Cheapo were even close to knowledgeable they wouldn’t work there!
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First of all, THERE IS NO BLEEDING STEAM RADIATORS.
Just in case you didn't hear @STEAM DOCTOR or @dabrakeman, I will say it again.
THERE IS NO BLEEDING STEAM RADIATORS.
I just want you to know that, because it underscores the fact that the Pro at Home Depot is clueless about how Steam Heat works.
There are two vintage heating systems that use identical radiators.
- Steam heat where the highest water line in the boiler is about 3/4 of the way up the boiler in the basement.
- Hot Water is where the highest water level is at the highest radiator in the system. that could be on the third floor.
The second one, Hot Water, is where you need to bleed the radiators. Those radiators will not bang and even if there is no water in them. This is the system that the Home Deport Pro is speaking of.
From your description of your heating system, banging and the like, You do not have the system that needs to bleed the radiators. You have the first system, and that one uses steam to heat the radiators. There is no water above the boiler room in the basement. Only steam. Once the steam gives up the heat, it will condense back into water and that water (what we call condensate in the business of steam) is a fraction of the stuff that fills the pipes to the radiators. That is like a small trickle of water that will find its way back to the boiler room at the bottom of the pipe taking up only about 1/16" of the bottom of the pipe to find its way DOWN the piping system back to the boiler.
If the pipes are not pitched properly, then the condensate can accumulate in a low spot and block the flow of steam. When the steam hits that water, it can cause a tiny explode inside the pipe and make a banging noise. A strategically placed pipe hanger can correct that sagging low spot and all the banging will be gone. That may only be the price of a $2.50 pipe hanger compared to the price of a new duct system the go with your free estimate heat pump.
By the way, if i didn't mention it earlier:
THERE IS NO BLEEDING STEAM RADIATORS.
If you are anywhere near Paul Bruneau in NJ, and you want a "FREE estimate" on how you can't bleed your radiators, give him a call. Paul is a rare resource here and is quite knowledgeable on residential steam systems. I believe he offers his knowledge in order to see more and different systems in other homes to gain experience beyond this own system.
Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
3 -
If you only want the banging to stop, just turn off the boiler. You'll freeze to death next winter, but it won't cost you anything. If stopping the banging and not spending money are all you care about, this is definitely the way to go. Never mind what I said before. I was assuming you valued maximizing comfort for minimal expense, like most sane, intelligent people do. My bad.
Just another DIYer | King of Prussia, PA
1983(?) Peerless G-561-W-S | 3" drop header, CG400-1090, VXT-242 -
I suspect..…Trolling. 🧐
Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.
4 -
Masterfixit......Why cant you fix it? What ARE you a Master at??? Mad Dog
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I think that is a request, not a personal title. He is asking Master to fix it
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Master has stopped the banging.
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Do you buy gas from NationalGrid? They're launching a pilot program where New York State pays a very substantial stipend to abandon your gas and prohibit petroleum fuel forever in a deed stipulation.
Your entire block has to agree and they install "Green Neighborhood" signs and give you a green hat.
They'll even install a 400 Amp electric service in the house. But you can figure out why they do that.1 -
2 -
…Oh that's very real. You'll be hearing about it.
And they tell you it will help your property value; so clean, so green!.
1 -
Green.
Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.0
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