Steam Questions

Charles

I live in Westchester and I have a big red boiler in my house that is from the 30's. The radiators have only one pipe going to them, and my house is 2 floors, with one zone. The only up-keep I've ever done is drain it every couple weeks during the winter. It looks as though it was originally coal, then oil, before it was converted to gas. There are a bunch valves all over the thing, half of which I have no idea what they do. There is also a "differential" with 2 sliders on it and a gauge (which does not work at all). The only problem we've had was that the heat wasn't getting up to the 2nd floor when we first moved in. I put "varivalves" on the upstairs radiators. This seems to have solved the problem, but they hiss and spit quite a bit now, and the first floor takes forever to heat up (should I put varivalves on all the radiators?). My main concern is that there may be too much pressure, and since the gauge doesn't work, I'm worried that the pipes may burst. Basically, I'd love someone to come in and tell me what everything is, how it works, and how to properly maintain it rather than the moderately informed boiler guy who comes once a year to vacuum the boiler out. There are also 2 vents on the mains, but they never hiss, which leads me to believe that this is why the upstairs vents are hissing & spitting so much. So... I need someone to tell me if there are any repairs that can be made (i.e. replace the mains vents, which I have no idea what to replace them with) without disturbing the gunk that is probably holding the whole thing together, or just leave it alone. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. - Charles

HeavyP

Steam problem

There could be several reasons why your steam system may not be operating up to par. It could be the main vents are not working, it could be the returns are clogged, steam pressure may be too high etc. I live and work out of Westchester County, and if you are looking to have someone come in and explain how the "system" is supposed to operate and would like to know your options, drop me an e-mail. cbart71@juno.com........Chris

flange

sounds like youve got a good old one pipe steam system there. what most mechanics forget is to let the system breathe a little bit. you must have an off cycle to let your condensate return to the boiler where it belongs. if you dont have this off/on cycle, your condensate gets stuck up in the rads, and the presure of the system coming back up helps it out of the airvents. have seen this in a lot of schools, water actually running down the steps after a mechanic"adjusted" the pressuretrols. make sure your boiler pressure goes to zero after a firing cycle, this allows the condensate back, then refire. p.s. larger systems that dont do this will use makeup water all day, then at night when the system goes into setback they flood the boiler room.

Steamhead

Steam Distribution Problem

Charles, you have a classic one-pipe steam system there. With proper care it will provide years of comfort.

Sizing vents is important. The vents on the steam mains are crucial to quick, economical steam distribution. They should let all the air in the mains out in about one minute, then close when steam reaches them. Measure the length and diameter (outside diameter is fine) of each main and tell us what vent is on it. We can tell you if you have the right ones.

The Vari-Valves may be set too far open for those radiators. The steam rushes up the risers and the water can't drain back, so the vents spit. Improper main vents can contribute to this also.

It's normal not to see any pressure on a standard steam boiler gauge. The steam should circulate on a couple ounces, which is not enough to operate a gauge reading 0-30 PSI. If you wish, you can get a gauge that reads in ounces.

I like those big old boilers, but converting them to gas isn't always efficient. You're probably getting an annual efficiency somewhere around 50%. A new gas-fired steam boiler will have an annual efficiency of at least 80%. This will cut your fuel consumption drastically.

All your steam pipes must be insulated. Use Fiberglass pipe insulation with wall thickness of at least 1-inch. Otherwise the steam will condense in the pipes instead of the radiators.

If this sounds like a lot, it is. Go to the Find a Contractor page of this site and follow the instructions to locate a steam man near you. You'll be glad you did!

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Charles

Thanks for all your input! I'm going to have cbart71 swing by soon to school me on my setup and what I need to do.

- Charles

Steamhead

Cool!

I'm sure when Masterplumb is done, you can look forward to a quick, quiet, efficient, long-lasting system.

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Christopher

Steam Radiator

Hey we moved into a 98 year old house that has been converted into apts. We have the old radiators that are coverd with layers of paint. What can we do to strip all the paint as i know this would probably help with the heating bill for the landlord..Can anyone help. Please email as I am working on this for my 78 year landlord plus redoing apts thought out..HELP PLEASE

Steamhead

Scrape the worst off

and use a good chemical stripper for the rest. Using heat doesn't work too well on cast-iron.

If you have a steam system, the radiators should be fairly easy to disconnect without draining the system. A hot-water system would need to be drained before disconnecting anything.

That paint is probably leaded, so take appropriate precautions.

When you repaint, use paint that can handle the heat without peeling.

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Unknown

The paint layers don't change the output, the color does

check it out here...

http://www.heatinghelp.com/newsletter.cfm?Id=38

It is therefore evident that undercoats of paint, regardless of kind, have no significant effect on the performance of the radiator, except in the practically impossible case where the paint was thick enough to act as an insulating covering. In repainting a radiator, it is therefore unnecessary to remove the old paint.

Noel

Mad Dog

Hi Charles Mad Dog here steam is my thing

saw your post. We live and breath steam heat...just installed a system from scratch pipes and all with antique radiators. Triple Crown is located in Floral Park Ny Nassau queens border. We will actually be in your area, this coming tuesday, working on a 2 pipe vapor system that needs attention. Varivalves stink!!!!!! believe me I know..they may have improved things, but they are not the answer. If you would like, we could stop by and do an evaluation on your system. Let me know. See our work at "find a contractor" on Heating Help, put in 11001 our zip Matt Mad Dog Sweeney

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