Boiler safety and startup tests, radiator replacement options

meycou

Hello, I've just been introduced to the world of steam heat, after buying a home that has a steam boiler and 1 pipe radiators. I read "We got steam heat", so now I kind of know what I'm looking at in my basement, but I was wondering what tests I should do now, before it gets cold, to make sure my system is fully operational come winter. We haven't needed the heat yet, since we moved in this summer. In the future I plan to install mini-splits, but for now I want to make the system we have work.

Details on my system: The house was built in 1951, Northeast PA region. It currently has 6 radiators, one cast iron baseboard, and two capped pipes where radiators used to be, but have been replaced by a standalone electric baseboard. Interestingly, there are 3 pipes leading into the wet loop from the radiators, seeming to make 3 separate loops. One leads from the main loop around the house, but the other two, while I'm not sure, seem to be from a radiator in the kitchen, and from the baseboard. A lot of the pipes are not insulated, which I plan to insulate once I know the system is working. Photos are attached.

The cast baseboard has me worried, since it's a one-pipe, and in the book Dan mentioned that the setup can cause water hammer. Is it safe to have it on, or better to keep it shut? It's in the laundry room, so it's not really needed.

From what I saw in the book, I plan to do a leak test, and a low-water shutoff test. For the leak test, how do I know when the water has reached the header? And are there any other tests I should do, besides firing the system up and making sure every radiator gets warm?

Now, we are remodeling the bedrooms, and I found lead paint and plaster & lath, so the walls are getting stripped and replaced with drywall. The wife approval factor of the large radiators in each room is very low, and they take up a lot of space, so I was wondering what my options were to replace them. I found these slimmer, wall mounted radiators https://runtalnorthamerica.com/steam/ https://www.modernwarmth.com/products/1-pipe-or-2-pipe-steam that I was thinking we could mount high up on the wall, both for floor space and so they're out of reach of the kids. I have experience with black pipe plumbing, so I'm not afraid of re-plumbing them a bit, but are these options that could work? Would the blitz ones, being aluminum, not cause extra corrosion? Or would I be better off leaving the existing radiators, and building a cabinet around them?

Thanks in advance!

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Jamie Hall

Well let's see… for the boiler. There's no harm to filling it to the header. You can usually tell by the pipe getting cooler. Be sure to lower it back down, though, before you fire the old girl up!

The other two checks are the low water cutoff, and depending on the type of cutoff than can be variable. Some advocate lowering the boiler water level to below the cutoff; the boiler shouldn't fire. That's great — if you have a place to drain the boiler. If you don't… some (probe type) have a "test" switch which at least tests the electronics. Your type doesn't have the electronics, but it does have the valve with the big yellow handle. That should be opened once a week or so to blow any crud out — and if you do that with the boiler running, the boiler should shut off while you're at it. Be sure to have a bucket under it! Yo don't want water to get into the burners! Pressure control — the only reliable way to test that is to fire up the boiler and see what it does. The pressure control should shut off the boiler if the pressure goes to its setting. Simple enough — but if it's the code required 0 to 30 psig gauge, it can be hard to see any pressure building aat all!

Now on radiators. Yes, cast iron baseboard can be problematic, but it can also work. Make sure that it is slop0ed to the inlet valve so that it can drain — and make sure that that inlet valve is open and stays open. Don't close it! If it hammers — and it might — try putting a slower vent on it.

Not sure about some of the other piping. However, the big cast iron radiators put out wonderful heat. See if you can keep them… nothing else will do as well.

Now ONE OTHER THING. You mention lathe and plaster walls. Do NOT demolish them unless you absolutely have to. Drywall is a miserable low cost substitute. Lathe and plaster is quieter, provides decent insulation, and is much more stable. If they do have lead paint (I'd be a little surprised — trim yes, walls? Not so much — I've never seen it) you may be able to strip the paint without much trouble and without that much damage to the walls. Try that first.