What is the formula for determing radiator size?

Marguerite ~ From Brooklyn ~

Dear Everyone,

Greetings. I am a homeowner. I have a gas steam heat system. The radiators are a one-pipe system. I have a contract with Keyspan.

The problem in my home is uneven heating throughout the house. My basement is very warm, the first floor is fine, but the second floor tends to be too cool. And, my Master Bedroom which is the farthest from the boiler is so cold ranging anywhere from five (5) to eight (8) degrees cooler than the room with the thermostat. This radiator has a Gorton Size D air vent installed.

The band aid on the problem when I had a mercury thermometer was an adjustment to the heat anticipator by Keyspan.

Now I have a digital thermostat and the only choices are fast or slow cycle. This does not address the cooler upstairs as before. The radiators either are just getting hot and the boiler shuts down, or they get plenty hot, but the don't stay hot long enough to heat sufficiently. The Master Bedroom was always too cold, even with the mercury thermostat.

I have been calling different manufacturers to educate myself and to try and determine what my problem is. The Field Supervisors at Keyspan seemed to think it was a balancing problem. I have talked with White Rodgers, Weil McLane, Hoffman and Gorton.

Ken at Gorton is helping me balance my heating system. I have some air vent purchases to make and some changes to install, which include a tweaking of a few air vent sizes on some radiators, larger air vent sizes to the riser (from a Maid O'Mist adjustable to a No. 1) and the quick vent (from a Hoffman 45 to a No. 2), as well as installing insulation to the pipes in the basement.

Hopefully, this will solve my problem. I have been concerned about radiator size. I have been suspicious that the radiator in my cold bed room is too small.

Does anyone know the formula for calculating this, so that I can determine correct sizes of the radiators in my home and rule this out as a possible problem (either too large or too small)?

Also, any recommendations on the pipe insulation? Brand, etc.?

I would appreciate any advise or comments that you may have.

Thank you very much. Take care.

Best regards,

Marguerite
(from Brooklyn)

Marguerite ~ From Brooklyn ~

Radiator Size, Balancing The System & Pipe Insulation

Dear Everyone,

Greetings. I am a homeowner. I have a gas steam heat system. The radiators are a one-pipe system. I have a contract with Keyspan.

The problem in my home is uneven heating throughout the house. My basement is very warm, the first floor is fine, but the second floor tends to be too cool. And, my Master Bedroom which is the farthest from the boiler is so cold ranging anywhere from five (5) to eight (8) degrees cooler than the room with the thermostat. This radiator has a Gorton Size D air vent installed.

The band aid on the problem when I had a mercury thermometer was an adjustment to the heat anticipator by Keyspan.

Now I have a digital thermostat and the only choices are fast or slow cycle. This does not address the cooler upstairs as before. The radiators either are just getting hot and the boiler shuts down, or they get plenty hot, but the don't stay hot long enough to heat sufficiently. The Master Bedroom was always too cold, even with the mercury thermostat.

I have been calling different manufacturers to educate myself and to try and determine what my problem is. The Field Supervisors at Keyspan seemed to think it was a balancing problem. I have talked with White Rodgers, Weil McLane, Hoffman and Gorton.

Ken at Gorton is helping me balance my heating system. I have some air vent purchases to make and some changes to install, which include a tweaking of a few air vent sizes on some radiators, larger air vent sizes to the riser (from a Maid O'Mist adjustable to a No. 1) and the quick vent (from a Hoffman 45 to a No. 2), as well as installing insulation to the pipes in the basement.

Hopefully, this will solve my problem. I have been concerned about radiator size. I have been suspicious that the radiator in my cold bed room is too small.

Does anyone know the formula for calculating this, so that I can determine correct sizes of the radiators in my home and rule this out as a possible problem (either too large or too small)?

Also, any recommendations on the pipe insulation? Brand, etc.?

I would appreciate any advise or comments that you may have.

Thank you very much. Take care.

Best regards,

Marguerite
(from Brooklyn)

Marguerite ~ From Brooklyn ~

Balancing The System, Radiator Size & Pipe Insulation

Dear Everyone,

Greetings. I am a homeowner. I have a gas steam heating system, with radiators that are a one-pipe system. I have a contract with Keyspan.

The problem in my home is that I have uneven heating throughout. My basement is very warm, the first floor is fine, but the second floor tends to be too cool. In addition, my master bedroom, which is the farthest from the boiler, is so cold that it ranges anywhere from five (5) to eight (8) degrees cooler than the room where the thermostat is located. This radiator has a Gorton Size D air vent installed.

When I had a mercury thermostat, the band-aid on the problem was an adjustment to the heat anticipator by Keyspan. They had the boiler run longer, deliberately overshooting what the thermostat was set for. This enabled the radiator in my bedroom to get hot. Before they did this adjustment, the boiler would shut down just as the radiator was getting hot in this room. This improved the situation, but did not rectify it. I still had a cold bedroom.

Now I have a digital thermostat and the only choices are fast or slow cycle for the heat anticipator. It is set for a slow cycle. Now, I have a new problem on the second floor - the radiators either are just getting hot and the boiler shuts down, or they get plenty hot, but they don't stay hot long enough to heat sufficiently.

I have been calling different manufacturers to educate myself and to try and determine what my problem is. The Field Supervisors at Keyspan think it is a balancing problem and that the thermostat is being satisfied too quickly. I have talked with White Rodgers, Weil McLain, Hoffman and Gorton.

Ken at Gorton is helping me balance my heating system. I have some changes to make, which include a tweaking of a few air vent sizes on some radiators; larger air vent sizes to the riser (from a Maid O'Mist adjustable to a Gorton No. 1) and to the quick vent (from a Hoffman 45 to a Gorton No. 2); as well as installing insulation to the pipes in the basement.

Hopefully, this will solve my problem.

Additionally, I have been concerned about radiator size. I have been suspicious that the radiator in my cold bedroom is too small.

Does anyone know the formula for calculating this, so that I can determine correct sizes of the radiators in my home and rule this out as a possible problem (either too large or too small)?

Also, any recommendations on the pipe insulation, i.e. brand, specifications, etc.?

I would appreciate any advice, or comments that you may have regarding anything in my posting to The Wall.

Thank you very much. Take care.

Best regards,

~ Marguerite ~
From Brooklyn