Second floor radiators not as hot as first floor radiators

Eugen Tarnow

I live in house that was built in the 50s. I believe I have loop hot water heating and only one zone for three floors. The second floor is 8 degrees colder than the first floor and the radiators reach an outside temperature of 85 degrees on the second floor and 105 on the first floor.

What should I try first? Close the dampers on the first floor? Get another pump? Get longer radiators on the second floor? Blow insulation into the walls that presumably have the heating water pipes?

JimGPE_3

Where are you measuring the "outside" temperature - on the radiator cover, or on the pipe itself which is inside the cover?

If you are measuring the bare pipe temperature, I'm surprised you have any heat at all. Pipe temperature should be more like at least 150F for a residential hot water heating system.

Is this your first heating season in this home? If not, what has changed since last year?

Eugen Tarnow

How I am measuring the temperature

Jim, I am measuring the temperature using a thermometer that I leave on top of the radiator cover (which is about one foot away from the pipe). This is our first winter in the house. Our neighbors who have identical houses complain about the same problem.

JimGPE_3

First, that temperature is not particularly signifiant from an engineering standpoint. The significant temperature is the water temp, which can be closely approximated by measuring the surface temp of the bare pipe to the rad. Careful, its probably pretty hot. Or perhaps the boiler has a thermometer piped into it.

Second, there are a significant number of possibilities. The controls or pump could be bad. The valves could be partly or all the way closed. You could have air in the lines. Your window caulking could have dry rotted, giving you significant infiltration of cold outside air. The thermostat could be located above a heat source, giving it a false reading. I could go on.

Given the input from your neighbor, I'd say its probably none of the above. I suggest the heating system is poorly designed, and I would guess that the same guy designed the whole sub-division, and everyone has the same problems.

You need a residential contractor who has some gray hair. Some investigating needs to happen. Perhaps one of the local contractors will chuckle when you call him and say he knows exactly what's wrong, and he's fixed ten other homes in your neighborhood.

Or perhaps the "find a contractor" link above might be a good place to start.

Phil_3

poor design

how about a heat antisapator on the stat/inadequet pump flow

keith

cold rads

It sounds like maybe the water temp is to cool to do any good up in the 2nd floor baseboard. Do you have one pipe leaving the boiler and one pipe coming back? If so, how many feet of baseboard are on the "1" zone of heat. What is the water temp. leaving the boiler? What is the water pressure in the sytem? Both readings are located on the triadicator, usually located on the front of the boiler, over the burner. It is about a 21/2" round dial. Chances are the house has not been operating this way for the last 50 plus years. Get back to us, maybe we can help.

Dave Flood

Hello Eugene,
Jim brings up some very strong points which I agree with. One is to contact a local contractor and have him take a look at your system. Many of the homes in the 50's had no insulation in the walls, so you loose a lot of heat. At 0 Degree's outside, a house with 3.5 inches of insulation will lose 5 BTU's per sq ft through the walls. Same house with no insulation will loose 20 BTU's per sq ft throught the walls. So in answer to your qwestion about insulation................."YES".............insulate. If you and your neighbors are having the same problem, it sounds like an installation problem. From what you've explained, it sounds like the system needs to be zoned. Once again, call a reputable local contractor. It's going to cost some money to get it straightened out, but the rewards are there in the long run.

Dave Flood
Dir of Tech Ed
ICPA Tech Trng Ctr
Wallinford, Ct

Eugen Tarnow

Thank you all!

Thanks a lot for all your suggestions!