House has wide variation in temp: options?

JB_4

I'm a homeowner in NY. Sorry if this forum is for tech people only?

Anyway, I think I have a single pipe steam system.

My 2 story house is 64 degrees on the 1st floor and 75 degrees upstairs, and the thermostat is on the 1st floor.

1. Can I add thermostatic valves to certain radiators to try and control temp within rooms? Turning off the rads in the upstairs is too much, it gets too cold. I need to be able to partially close the rads in the upstairs. The steam rads are only on or off correct?

2. Whats involved in adding zones? I assume thats not even possible.

t. tekushan

thermostatic valves, vent rates

Yes, there are thermostatic valves for one-pipe steam, but they are thermostatic vents that go on the side of the radiators in place of the existing vents.

BUT... If the radiators are not heating up as quickly on the first floor, the first thing to do is to balance the system so that all of the radiators heat at the same rate. The first order of business is to determine if the vents are working properly. Sometimes the vents get clogged. If so, they will not allow enough steam into the radiator before the boiler shuts down. You can try soaking them in a vinegar solution to clean them.

The point is, if the downstairs radiators are cool, there is a system balance problem and these problems are usually caused by unbalanced venting. Being unfamiliar with how your particular system is set up vis-a-vis the path of the main and its own venting characteristics, the size of the radiators you have on the respective floors, etc, its often easiest (though not a comprehensive assessment) to attack the problem of the individual radiator vents. I prefer adjustable vents.

michael_15

a few notes from another homeowner

The easiest way to check to see if you have one-pipe or two-pipe steam is to count the pipes on your radiator. One-pipe has only, well, one pipe, whereas two pipes . . . well, I'll spare you the details.

I would make sure that your venting is correct before seeing if you need to invest in thermostatic radiator valves -- they're not cheap. Unless the cost doesn't bother you.

You must leave the supply valves (on the pipe entering the radiator) either fully closed or fully open, however, you can adjust how much heat the radiator takes on by adjusting the size of the air vents.

An adjustable air vent allows you to change how quickly air is let out of the radiator and therefore how fast it heats up. If rooms heat too quickly, get a smaller air vent. If you have the old Ventrite vents, there's a dial on the bottom which you can turn. On the other hand, a thermostatic radiator valve (TRV) lets air out but will close when the desired temperature is reached.

If your first floor radiators seem unusually cold, I'd check to see if the air vents are even working. You can do this in a few ways. For example, you could simply pull the vent off and see if steam comes out of the hole, or, you could just buy a new vent and replace it. You can get cheapo air vents at a place like Home Depot for around 5 bucks just to check your existing ones; once you've determined how many/what size you need, you can get quality vents at a plumbing supply store.

And no, this forum isn't only for professionals/technicians. I hope not, anyway, since I'm neither.

-Michael

Steamhead

Also check

to see if any radiators were removed from the first floor. If so, this can cause unbalance. You'd be surprised how many times I see this......

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