One pipe system in house under construction

Steamhead

Dole or Hoffman #1A or Vent-Rite #1. These can be varied to suit whatever stage the project is in. If the first floor is still cold get some Gorton #D vents for those radiators.

I'm not a big fan of changing steam to hot water. I find that, assuming the boilers are of similar efficiency, a well-operating steam system is just as good as hot-water. It costs less to fix a steam system than to convert it. And a steam system won't freeze like hot water will- especially important since the house being remodeled is not as tight as usual.

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T.J.

One pipe steam system

This is a great pace you guys have here. Never thought I'd have a question, but never say never. I do have Dan's "Lost Art of Steam Heating" but nothing specific about my situation.

I've got a one pipe steam system that is currently serving an old house that is being remodeled. At present, the boiler is only connected to 2 radiators on the 1st floor and four radiators on the 2nd floor. During the remodeling, four radiators on the 1st floor were disconnected and only one on the 2nd floor was disconnected. I'm sure the boiler is way oversized at this present time but until construction is finished I don't think I have many options.

The problem is where new construction meets old house is not completely insulated and tight, and alot of infiltration is getting into 1st floor. The thermostat is on 1st floor and set a reasonable 65 deg. The upstairs gets uncomfortably hot at 75-78 deg. Is there something I can do temporarily to "rebalance " or trick system. My only thought is to check all vents and if necessary, put much quicker acting vents on 1st floor as compared to 2nd floor. Anybody have any ideas? Thanks for reading and replying.

Tim

Dennis - Reliable Services

It sounds like you

are doing a large remodel. Do yourself a favor and convert that old system to hot water, its not that big a deal at this time as you have most of the radiation disconnected.

T.J.

Your right on the money

In my mind, the size of the new addition and the fact that I'll only get this chance once, has made me decide to go with hot water radiant floors or panels where I can't do floors. I love the one pipe steam i have, but I just feel in the short and long term, the hot water will install easier and be more comfortable. Thanks for your input.

T.J.

Vent story

Thanks for your input SteamHead. Your name sure gives me confidence in our responce.

At present, the two 1st floor radiators have a Gorton No.5 and a Hoffman No.40 The Hoffman No.40 is closest to the T'stat and it always seems to be hissing (venting).

The four radiators upstairs have: Qty (2) Gorton No.C, Gorton No.6, and a Hoffman No.40.

Heres something I just discovered yesterday. I have 2 Gorton No. C vents in my main lines in the basement. From what little I know and read, these main line vents should be something like a Gorton No.1 or 2. Is it a good idea to maybe change these main vents or should I just let them be ? All vents have been in this house for quite a long time (12 years). Thanks again for your insight.

Tim

Steamhead

I've done that

where there was no tee to install a vent and space was limited or someone else had already drilled the main for this type of vent. Sometimes you have to use more than one vent. The Gorton #D radiator vent has the same capacity as the Gorton #1 main vent.

If your mains are 2-inch pipe, use one D if theyre shorter than 20 feet long. Between 20 and 40 feet use 2 D vents.

However, if there is room, I prefer to drill and tap a 3/8" or 1/2" hole and install Gorton #1 vents in the above situation. This method is also necessary if a 2-inch main is longer than about 40 feet or if the pipe is bigger than 2-inch- in this case, the Gorton #2 is the vent to have.

On the existing radiators, try moving the Gorton C vents downstairs and use the smaller ones upstairs for now.

In-floor radiant is nice. But if your steam system has enough capacity and you can get some good used radiators in the right sizes, heating the addition with steam might be a good way to go! We have several people here on the wall- Noel, Mad Dog and myself- who have installed steam, and it has worked well.


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