Radiator Traps

Steamhead

No, replace the elbow itself

with a tee. You'd end up with a horizontal opening in which you could screw in a short nipple and an elbow pointing up for the vent. This way you don't have to redo any of the existing pipes.

Why am I not surprised the hottest radiator in the house is closest to the boiler? This will change quickly when you add the vent!

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Bryan_5

Steamhead,
Got it, didnt see how that tee would fit when i first looked at it. When I went and looked again it was crystal clear. I will add that Gorton and see how it goes. I would like to thank you again. I have no doubt this will save me a ton of aggravation. I will let you know how it turns out.
Thanks,
Bryan

Steamhead

Hot Tip

If you have trouble unscrewing the existing elbow from the pipes, heat the elbow with a torch to a red heat. The heat expands the elbow and also slightly increases the tensile strength of the metal.

Be careful to keep the flame from anything that may burn, and have a hose or fire extinguisher handy as a precaution (of course, you knew all this). And turn off the power to any electrical equipment in the area of the pipes.

When the elbow is hot, it should be much easier to unscrew it.

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Bryan_5

Steamhead,
Will do thanks for the hot tip. You sure are an early bird. Or were you going to bed that late
Thanks again
Bryan

Bryan_5

Steamhead,
Thanks for your input. I should have the Gorton in the next day or so. I dont know when I will get the replacement Hoffman but I can always put it on when I get it. Also found a name on the radiator Valve Body. The company that made them is Detroit Lubricator Company. I dont know if the Water Seals were made by the same company or not. Cant find any markings on the traps themselves. Do you have anything on the Detroit Lubricator Co? I will post the pics and results when I get it done this week. Thanks again.
Bryan

Steamhead

Detroit Lubricator Co

originally made those "sight-feed" lubricators used on stationary steam and early gas engines. It became a part of American Radiator Co sometime in the early 20th century. Their gear was prominently featured in the "Ideal Fitter" catalogs published by American Radiator.

My 1916 Ideal Fitter shows your "Detroit Multi-Port" valve. These could be set, at installation, to only admit enough steam as the radiator could condense. The water seals served as back-up units to keep steam out of the dry return, since in those days boilers could not be regulated to within a few ounces pressure. Later on, these orifice-type valves were used without water seals or traps since accurate regulation had become possible.

If any of those old valves have stopped working, Tunstall can rebuild them.

www.tunstall-inc.com

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Bryan_5

Steamhead,
Thanks for your reply. Those valves are not orffice type valves. The valve has a copper sleave with a large rectangular hole to varry the amount of steam. I have posted a pic. The valves work great. I have repacked all of the leaky ones and have had no trouble with them since. Thanks again for your help. Should have the new Gorton today or tomm. Will let you know the results.

Bryan_5

Steamhead,
That page is great. If its not to much trouble could you post page 212. It says it has the roughing in specs I would be interested to see that. One more question for you. It says that it is a packless valve. These valves have been packed in the past and some needed to be repacked, which I have done with no problems. Why would that be? Are they just worn? They have no apparent ware but I dont know that for sure. I promise to put this post to rest very soon. Will install that Gorton tonight. Thank you so much for your genorosity.
Bryan

Steamhead

Here ya go

the rough-in specs were on page 288.

Packless valves had bellows arrangements which sealed around the stem. This was very important on systems that could run in a vacuum. Over time, these bellows would wear out and leak.

As long as you're not pulling a vacuum- which is not a good idea when burning oil or gas- using packing on the stems should be OK.

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Bryan_5

Steamhead,
Thanks for the pic. I can not thank you enough for your help. I put the new Gorton on last night and all I can say is WOW. You were right on the money with your recomendation. I went from having the closest rad to the boiler being the hottest rad in the house to having them all be much hotter than that one. The difference is like night and day. The system went from completly cold to piping hot in 20 minutes. Every radiator was completly hot and even. My large radiator in the kitchen (the white one in the pics) Heated all the way across and down. That is a first. I am telling you those radiators were hot!!!! And that was only after running for a 1/2 hour. I cant wait for winter. I do beleive my Oil Man is gonna be upset. I think i just put a big dent in his pocket book. The dead men would be proud this system is running the way the designed it to. You are truly a gift to your industry. Steamhead you are a Dead Man walking. Thanks again for all of your help. BTW I will put a longer nipple on when I get the other vent.
Thank you so much
Bryan

Bryan_5

BTW,
The water hammer is gone. No more waking up in the middle of the night.
Bryan

Steamhead

Cold to hot in 20 minutes?

Sounds like we could down-fire that boiler by one or two nozzle sizes and still get plenty of heat!

Glad I could help.

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Steamhead

Something to watch out for

Now that the steam in your system is circulating as it should, it will probably wash a LOT of dirt back toward the boiler. If this dirt is allowed to build up, it will impair the formation of steam, and gunk up the low-water cutoff so it won't stop the burner if the water gets too low.

For the remainder of this heating season and the first month or so of the next one, blow down your low-water cutoff every day by opening the drain valve on the bottom. Do this while the burner is running- the cutoff should stop the burner as the float chamber drains out. If the burner does not stop when you blow down, CALL FOR SERVICE IMMEDIATELY! The boiler will crack if it is fired without enough water in it. Fixing or replacing a low-water cutoff is much less expensive and time consuming than replacing a boiler.

The boiler itself may need to be flushed and/or skimmed also. If you notice the water in the glass zooming up and down by more than an inch or so, or if you hear anything other than a smooth, barely audible boiling sound coming from the inside of the boiler, there is dirt in the boiler and it will need cleaning. Dan covers this in the last chapter of "The Lost Art of Steam Heating".

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Bryan_5

Steamhead,
Thanks again for your reply. The nozzle was reduced last year by my normal tech. I dont recall what the new nozzle size was that he put on was. I could be way off but 1.25 sticks in my head. I will find out. As far as the lwc goes I will make sure to do that. Dont think I will be using the boiler much more this season but who knows. When I first got this house this system had not been well maintained and it took a long time to get that water clean. You are probly correct in the fact that the boiler needs a good cleaning. I did notice some condensate at the top of the gauge glass. That was there before adding the Gorton. Havent noticed any surging when the boiler was running however. Thanks again for all of your help. You have no idea what it means to me.
Bryan