radiator valve troubles

jacknife

greetings - new here and looking for some advice... i have very loud valves on my radiators that seem to alternate their noise making from day to day. sometimes its one room then onto to another the next. it sounds as if they are blowing steam but none is visible upon inspection. i have just replaced the original 1940's oil furnace with a pennco gas furnace. i also have new sounds coming from these old valves that would be best described as breathing in and out. is the answer: replace the valves or is there some procedure i should try first? thanks for any and all assistance - chris k

Steamhead

If you can hear the vents venting

you don't have enough vents.

First thing to check is whether there are vents on the end of your steam mains. If not, have properly-sized ones installed. If so, they may be to small, and should be upgraded.

If you haven't done so already, get a copy of Dan's book "The Lost Art of Steam Heating" available on the Books and More page of this site.

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