webste system circa 1929

john_27

a friend of mine has a webster system circa 1929...oil fired.The whole house is cold.Here are some facts:
-system psi is 3
-cycle is only 15 minutes(house not even close to heated)
-3 zone(each zone is a vertical riser)
-water level is halfway up the glass(isn't this too high)


--I need some thoughts. My guess is that the system is still on vacuum vents(I'll check), the system pressure is too high(no vaporstat?),and possibly some of the returns are clogged.
Ive read "Lost Art"...including chapter 15...My guess is that the solution will involve Gorton #2's...what else could I check?

Unknown

starting point

Is there steam in any part of the return piping?

Even though the pressure is too high, the returns should be cool, compared to the supplies.

Check every radiator trap and main trap with the system hot and running, for a trap that is hot, while the pipe supplying it (or radiator supplying it) is cold. This trap works.

The one that has steam blasting through it into the return will be hot on both sides, as will the radiator feeding it. It will be closing those other traps, freezing the air removal behind them. Cold radiators with hot traps result.

Lowering the steam pressure will help narrow the problem considerably.

Noel