Steam system balance (almost)

chuck_6

Jeff:

I'm a homeowner as well, and I'm glad you took Steamhead's advice. He is the best and has helped me many, many times.

Couple of things. You may want to switch the Hoffman main vents to Gorton vents (#1 or #2 depending on diameter of main pipe and length).

I have all Gortons and found that you need to vent by size of radiator and distance from boiler or thermostat. Our thermostat is in the dining room, opposite a big 22-section radiator. I have a 4 on that one, as well as the one in the foyer, which is right next to the thermostat. You may want to cut down on the opening for the room with the thermostat, and possibly even the room next to the thermostat, especially if the radiator is close to the thermostat.

Your other alternative is to get a tee at your supply house and put two Gorton vents on it. I have a tee in one of our bedrooms. The room is far from the boiler, and having 2 Gorton Ds makes a difference.

You may also want to have insulation blown into the walls (facing exterior of house). We had cellulose blown in and that has helped.

Call Ken Kunz at Gorton. His number is (908) 276-1323. He can advise on radiator vents and mention to him about the main which has the Hoffmans on it. I think switching to Gortons will help.

Chuck

Jeff_53

Almost there

For my one pipe steam system I’ve done a lot of things to bring my system into balance thanks to help from people on the Wall and from Dan’s books. (Thank you).

1) I replaced all the radiator vents.

2) I’ve replaced the main vents: one side with two Hoffman 75s and the other side with two Gorton #2s.

3) With the help of Steamhead and others I re-piped the drip connections below the water line. This helped a great deal.

With each step, the system has come more into balance. And it’s almost there…

BUT…I’m still having one problem.

The radiators at the ends of the mains with the two Gortons don’t come up evenly unless I set the radiator vents closest to the boiler much slower. (Even though Dan’s books say to vent by size).

Recently I discovered that none of the risers to the second floor are insulated. (I can feel the heat coming through the walls). This is especially true on the radiators closest to the boiler. I’m wondering if the lost heat in these pipes in having an effect on the balance of my system? Especially because the radiators closest to the boiler and upstairs and are large, thus taking more steam and leaving the rads at the end of the line to get less steam.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks (as always).

mel rowe

Jeff, I'm new at this also, but I have done a lot of things recently and it seems that you and I are traveling the same path. Just a couple of things to think about. Your rads on the 2nd floor are going to take longer to steam, since there is a longer pipe, and more air to move out before steam can get there. I think that one of the suggestions Dan had for this was not to reduce the venting for the closer ones, but to increase the venting for the harder to heat rad, by adding a second vent. If this isn't practical, is the 'stat shutting off the system too soon? I had this problem, among many others, and adjusted my 'stat so that it stays on a bit after the set point is reached, so that the hardest-to-heat rads have time to vent and come up to temp. I tried for years to get my system balanced and finally gave up and installed thermostatic rad valves everywhere. These helped a lot toward evening out the temp. from room to room and made it a lot better. And now that I've learned a lot more about one pipe systems, I'm making some major changes to correct mistakes that have existed since I had my ancient boiler replaced by someone who had no clue as to how to do it right.

Bob W._3

I would vent the risers to the hard to heat rads if possible. You can put big Gortons (C/D) on the rads and they might heat better but will probably complain a lot (noise). If you vent the risers you can use 1A's and adjust to suit.