Bridge gap between radiator and supply pipe?

howdoesthiswork

Hey there, I have a 1 pipe steam heat system. recently had a bathroom redone and I really do not want to drill holes in the tile for the feet of the radiator.. It also seems like others have used a grinder on the feet to bring the height of the radiator down - but a half inch seems like a lot to cut off.

Any kind of bent pipe or elbow fittings I can use to bridge this gap? OR take / cut off the shutoff valve and extend it up an inch or so? OR should I just look at getting a new (to me/used) radiator with a matching height (or shorter, to shim up) ?

tcovert83

Maybe you could try a taller valve? Hard to tell what pipe diameter you have here, but I needed tall replacement valves for a project in my home and found them by Marsh Steam. I used the R100a products. You'd need to figure out the pipe diameter in your riser and then see if the Marsh Vales are tall enough. I bought mine from New York Replacement Parts. There may be other manufacturers as well. I think what you want is a valve whose height from the bottom of the valve to the center of the horizontal pipe is half an inch taller than the one you currently have, but you should double check the math…

howdoesthiswork

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1905621#Comment_1905621

Thanks! Will certainly look into that! Tried looking up some other valves but a ton seemed even shorter than the current one lol

howdoesthiswork

Oh, and its a 1-1/4" diameter (ID)

Jamie Hall

Have you tried simply lifting the valve? Sometimes there's enough give… and lifting it will do no harm if you can.

STEAM DOCTOR

Or you can use a pipe extension. Or you can look into eliminating the valve.

howdoesthiswork

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1905627#Comment_1905627

the first floor bathroom is on this same pipe also (straight pipe from basement to second floor, with a T fitting for the first floor and then the valve in my picture), so I dont think there is much give... I guess I could first disconnect the first floor radiator and then see if there is enough give from the basement. Will give that a shot, thanks!

pecmsg

don’t think or haven’t tried?

tcovert83

"I could first disconnect the first floor radiator and then see if there is enough give from the basement"

won't this mean your first floor bathroom radiator is now too short for the pipe though? or maybe I am visualizing this wrong?

mattmia2

If the pipe is exposed below you could unscrew it and replace it with a longer piece of pipe. Or 2 pieces of pipe and a union because unscrewing that valve in place will be a challenge.

Long Beach Ed

As Steam Doctor suggests, there are pipe extensions made for this purpose. See if your local supplier has a domestic one.

https://www.supplyhouse.com/Bluefin-BLEX125C-1-1-4-Black-Extension-Piece

Long Beach Ed