First Floor Radiators don't heat up

marco_2

Ira

Radiators do not heat up

My daughter has a one pipe steam heat system in
New England.
Normally, the radiators on the first floor are all cold,
while the radiators on the upper floor heat up.
To get the radiators on the first floor to heat up
the thermostat has to be set so high for so long a period that the
upper floor gets unbearably hot.
How do I go about troubleshooting to find the problem and get all the radiators to heat up at the same time.
I already replaced all the radiator valves with new ones.
What should I do next?
Any ideas?

kevin coppinger_4

What is the venting like?

have you tried to remove the radiator vents as the system heats? Is there a main vent(s)? Sound like you need to get more air out on the 1st fl. faster. kpc

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Tom_42

How many

main lines does the system have? Also check to see if the system has main vents and what kind of condition they are in. If the main vents are old you might consider a Hoffman #75. Go to any local plumbing supply store (not Home Depot) and they should have it or be able to get it for you. The previous post is right, you need to make sure air getting enough air out of the system. The other thing that might be happening is that there could be an obstruction preventing steam from actually entering the radiator. The obstruction could be water or debrees. The last thing I would check is the water site guage. Make sure it is at the right level (the middle of the guage in most cases). I had a similar problem that your daughter has has with her system and I had unintentionally overfilled the boiler with water which radically altered the ability of the steam to get to any of the radiators.

cmcmahan

clearing water or debris

Made the same mistake in filling my boiler (hot water heat) too high and have been experiencing localized heat outages in the radiators that are the closest to the system head (i.e. all other radiators farther from the head and on upper floors work just fine) After replacing bleeder valves and dropping the water to the recommended level, still no heat in the same problematic radiators.
So, I have to assume that there is water or debris present somewhere. Where are buildups likely to occur and how would one go about the cleaning up?
Technician due to arrive tomorrow because it is wicked cold here in Rhode Island now and I've got some right unhappy tenants about now.
If no replies, I'll pass on what I learn tomorrow for the benefit of all.

regards.

cmcmahan

turns out I'm

not the brightest bulb and had bought the wrong vents for my radiators.
Problem solved.

Hal Kennel

no heat

We have an old steam system that untill now worked great. Now we have little heat on the frist floor and to much on the secound floor. I replaced all the vents on the radeators, no good. What next ?/
Thanks

Heli Awany

Steam radiators filling with water

We have an old 1910 large house with steam heat that I really love. I think it is a single line system as we do not have return lines. Most pipes were replaced recently but we are now starting to have a BIG problem. Two of four upstairs' radiators are constantly filling with water! All run on different lines. We need to empty the radiators daily and get 1-2 buckets of water. One of the radiators has its own supply line, thus no radiator connects to it downstairs, the other one has a downstairs radiator that works as it is supposed to. I am getting tired of this mess and no one seems to know what the problem is. Could anyone help me understand how does a steam system push 1-2 buckets of water to a radiator on second floor and how to fix it?
I thank you so much, because it is COLD in New Jersey now!
Heli Awany

marco_2

Try This ....

If you're pulling BUCKETS of water out of your steam rads you do have a serious problem. Especially if you replaced a bunch of pipes. It's possible that you new pipes are not pitched correctly, not allowing the steam (condensed back into water) to return to your boiler. Pitch is key throughout the system. However, your problem could also be simple: (1) water level is set too high. Check the sight glass on your boiler it should be about 3/4 full. OR (2) automatic water feeder (if you have one) is defective -- it keeps filling the boiler. Check the latter two first.

Heli Awany

Radiators filling with water..

I think it is the pitch... We had an automatic feeder that also broke so now we are feeding manually. Also, you should note that a plumber changed a thin tube that is part of the pressure valve/regulator with a different caliper tubing. The old one was about 1/2 inch diameter and the new one is a little bigger close to 3/4. The plumber told the diamiter would not matter, the regulator would compensate it, when we have the pressure put all the way down. We keep the system only about middle of the cage. I'll try putting some blocks on other ends of the radiators and see if it makes a difference. But still I cannot imagine that condensation would make that much water in such a short period of time.

Thanks for your insight and help!

Heli

marco_2

water level?

what's your water level like in the sight glass?

Heli Awany

Water Level

When the system is not running, the water level on the sight glass is about half way. When it is fully running, the "water line" drops down so that it is barely visible in the sight glass, maybe 1/2 inch up the bottom. Of course, with all the empting, we have to add water once a day. We have all new release valves, and hear them hissing occationally, or what I would call normally the way I am used to. Why whould the water run only to those two radiators upstairs and not the others?

Thanks again! Heli

marco_2

get qualified help now

Heli --

if you haven't already fixed your problem -- you should call in an expert. adding water everyday is clearly not normal, so call in an expert