Steam Boiler and Radiator Addition

K Fromberg

We added onto our house 1 1/2 years ago. We have a boiler with a btu input of 140, 000 and output of 112, 000. The house has gone from about 2000 square feet to 3000. We do not have trouble getting the house hot except for one roomthat is the furthest from the boiler. It is further than the other one by about 2 feet. It will not heat all the way through and has tremendous water hammer. The hammer seems to occur at the start of the heating and then again when is reheats. We have had the water cleaned and changed the vents so that the rest of the radiators heat up slower to let this last one catch up, but it has not helped. I have had to turn off radiators because the other rooms get too hot. We even put a main vent on it and all it did was scare my son because it sounded like someone snoring. Please let me know your thougts...my plumber asks me to write this...

Unknown

First thought; the steam piping might have the insulation removed.

Second thought; Boiler room piping might not quite be correct.

Third; dirty boiler water.

Fourth; boiler firing rate might not be enough for the amount of radiators.

Fifth; the radiator or it's valve might be partly blocked.

Noel

Unknown

Did you add radiator(s)?

If so, check the sizes of the pipes feeding them against how much steam (plus the pickup factor) that size pipe will deliver.

If you added radiators to the existing main, check to see if the main is big enough to deliver the new total load of steam (plus the pick-up factor).

Noel

bob young

return

That last branch might require a return.

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Have you checked the pitch of the radiator? One-pipe steam radiators should pitch slightly towards the pipe. Dead level is probably OK for a short radiator, but none should EVER pitch away from the connection. Similarly, any "horizontal" pipe connected to a one-pipe rad should pitch back to the boiler.

Are you 100% certain that the hand valve is FULLY open? Sometimes they "freeze" in a partially closed condition. One-pipe steam rad valves should always be either fully open or fully closed.

Before you start re-piping, you might want to remove the hand valve. Make certain it's not clogged up with gunk. Likewise ensure that the valve's connection to the radiator is completely unobstructed. If you find a lot of gunk, consider removing the radiator and flushing it out numerous times with water (perhaps fill with water & TSP and let soak, then rinse a number of times).

chuck_6

Radiator addition

In addition to Noel's comment about whether the main can handle the load of an extra radiator, also check to see if the main itself is properly vented. Having the biggest opening on the radiator is important, but venting the main is just as important. You may need to add another main vent or go with a larger one. Also, make sure all of the piping is insulated.

K Fromberg

Thanks

Thank you for all of the suggestions. We did add and insulate the piping for new radiators. The piping seems to be big enough and is insulated. We did check the pitch on radiators and changed the valve on the main vent. We cleaned the boiler water. Not sure about the load capacity or firing rate but will check them. I will also check the hand valve. I feel this might be the problem. Thank you and I will let you know how it goes. Hopefully with the solution.

Unknown

Sizing

Can you tell us what size pipe you added, how long it is to the radiator, what size pipe you cut it into, how many sq ft the radiator is, etc...?

Noel