Radiator vent question

chuck_6

Dave:

As EMS said, you should put a small opening in the room with the thermostat. I would only go with Gorton vents. Put a Gorton 4 in the room with the thermostat. For the upstairs room with the radiator that does not heat, use a Gorton D. You can even get a tee and put 2 Gorton Ds on it. Also, make sure the valve works properly and is completely opened and have the radiator pitch toward the valve (side where it comes out of the floor).

Call Ken Kunz at Gorton. His number is (908) 276-1323. Double check your main vents as well. Talk to Ken about them as well. You may need additional main venting. Ken can walk you through which radiators need which vents.

Chuck

David_30

I'm new at this so forgive me if this is a dumb question. I have a one pipe steam system and the radiator furthest from the boiler is tough to get warm. There are radiators on a different main that get very warm and I dont need them (unused rooms). Is it ok to shut those dowm and if so will that free up more steam to the other main and eventually the radiator furthest away? I've properly vented all the mains (based on advice here last year) with a Gortons. Any advice appreciated.

Ryan_10

Why not...

just try it and see if it works. No sense in heating unused rooms anyhow. Incidentally, how long is the boiler running when it cycles on? I still have major problems to deal with, but when I moved in, the boiler was firing for 5 or 10 minute cycles because the anticipator on the stat was set too short. The radiators were only heating about 2-3 elements before the boiler shut down.

Bob W._3

Before you do that why don't you just take the vent out and see if the rad heats. If it does, experiment a little with your venting strategy. Its really just a question of balance. Shutting down too many radiators will probably result in short cycling. Ask me how I know that.:)

Ems

cold furthest radiator on 1 pipe steam; possible solutions

You say you have unused rooms that get too hot, and the furthest radiator doesn't get warm enough. Quite possible the thermostat (or whatever causes your boiler to fire and shut off) is too close to a radiator with an air vent with a too-large hole, causing it to heat up too fast, and consequently heat the thermostat too soon, and shut down the system.

One solution would be to install an air vent on the radiator nearest the thermostat with a smaller hole. Worked for me in a 100-year-old 4-flat in Chicago.

As one person suggested, simply remove the air vent from that furthest radiator, and see if it heats up. If it does, obviously the solution is an air vent with a larger hole to vent the air quicker, and let more steam in, before the system shuts down.

As long as there is no water trapped in the unused rooms and/or they stay above freezing, I agree with another person who suggested simply shutting off the radiators in the unused rooms. However, the shutoff valves must be in good shape, and capable of TOTALLY shutting out steam, or condensate water will get trapped in the radiators. As someone pointed out, there is the risk that the boiler will then be too large for the the number of sections of radiators it will then be heating, and might short-cycle.