Welcome! Here are the website rules, as well as some tips for using this forum.
Need to contact us? Visit https://heatinghelp.com/contact-us/.
Click here to Find a Contractor in your area.

old steam, now water ?s

Bob Brewer
Bob Brewer Member Posts: 1
in THE MAIN WALL
1. This is my home system. The hot output line from the boiler is 2" copper, which goes into about a 4" cast iron, so I assume my system was steam, now water. It's a 2 pipe system, with an inlet at the top of one end and an outlet at the bottom of the other end of the radiators. The system is totally turned off almost half of the year.
1. The radiators all have inlet cutoffs, some of which need at least a new o-ring on the stem soon; I've already bought the o-rings. Can I change these o-rings by just closing the cold water inlet to the boiler to remove supply line pressure? 2 or 3 valves have had stem seepage, or seep very slightly when the valve handle is turned.
2. I've disassembled a cutoff valve from a spare radiator to see the washer; it was in poor shape. The other cutoff washers are all probably very old; no new washers are available in my small town, but I assume I can get them elsewhere. However, all of the radiators but one stay open all the time. The cutoff all seem to still work, so I'd rather not replace washers or open the system just for the hell of it; on the other hand, I don't know for sure if they'd totally cut off the inlet to stop a leak. What should I do?
3. This is a hard h2o area, an area where hot water heaters build up a sludge in the bottom and electric heater elements build up a crust that shortens their life. Do I need to be concerned about my system slowly clogging up? Do I need to clean the boiler; I'd bet it's never been done, but I can check with the last owner of 11 years (2 for me).
4. The radiators are all American Radiator, painted white or off white; I've read the section on paint colors.
2 of the radiators don't heat very well, and 1 of the 2 has slight running water noises. There appear to be 2, straight slot bleed screws (set screw like), one halfway and the other near the top of the outlet end. I've tried to open the one at the top of the noisy radiator; it won't budge; I've tried a sharp rap with a hammer to jar it microscopically, along with WD-40, to no avail. I'm assuming it needs air bled out of it. I hate to drill and tap a new hole. The other radiator is almost inaudible, but doesn't heat much. Should I try to bleed it? If I can do so, should I mostly cut off the cold supply line to bleed them?
5. In the partial basement, on the output pipe, on a 1' pipe stub pointing up, is a small, round device with a corroded label that says "Ideal (unreadable word, possibly VAC) Vent" and American Radiator Co. This thing has a very small leak that I have to keep a bucket under. That's a pain, and the leak could get worse. I imagine the device was only necessary to the old steam system; can I remove it and cap or plug the stub? I assume Can I do this quickly by just shuting off the cold water inlet, with the pressure of all the water in the system above still present?
6. The boiler is a Bryant 234B 4GW. The dial shows a temperature of 110 degrees at 18-19 psi when the pump is running. Is this a proper setting, and does the system work its best at this setting? Is this even adjustable?

That's too many questions, possibly, but thanks in advance for whatever help you can give me.
Bob Brewer

Comments

This discussion has been closed.

Categories