Steam radiator on 1 pipe system has 2 pipes

Steamhead (in transit)

isolated the rads from the steam. Either that, or the connection to the wet return did since it was under water.

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S.L. Mapes

Steam radiator on 1 pipe system has 2 pipes

I own a 3 unit 3 floor apartment building with a one pipe steam system fired by a gas boiler. All the units have radiators with one pipe going into the radiators, EXCEPT, that in the second floor apartment, 2 of the 5 radiators have a second smaller pipe coming off the end opposite of the main steam pipe. First question-Why, in a one pipe system, would there be two pipes on only 2 of the radiators, out of probably 12 in the whole building? The 2 radiators have the usual adjustable air vents (1A's). I have undone the second pipe on both radiators and plugged the hole and capped the pipe going through the floor. Second question- am I okay doing this?

Steamhead (in transit)

I've seen this before

either these were very large radiators, or they wanted to be able to control the rads' output in those rooms for whatever reason.

Whether or not disconnecting the return pipe is OK depends on whether the steam pipe is big enough to handle the condensate. If it isn't, the rad will bang.

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S.L. Mapes

steam radiators

Thanks for the info. The main steam pipe size coming in is the same as on all the other radiators, big or small. One radiator is about 3 feet long and the other about 2 feet long- not overly large radiators. Question- where does the return pipe go for these 2 radiators- back into the main steam pipe? Thanks

Steamhead (in transit)

Either to the wet return

or thru a water seal into a dry return or the steam main.

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S.L. Mapes

For STEAMHEAD

Why would they set up these two radiators like this? Since I've disconnected the return pipes, my Tenants report no banging of the rads- I hate to mess with what the Deadmen did, but the radiators weren't heating so in order to put a tilt on them, I had to disconnect the return pipe. What kept the steam from going up the smaller return pipes on the two rads, since it is a 1 pipe system? Thanks