heat not getting to end of run

Jay Beuoy · March 2008

My wife and I moved into a three story older home in
December. The heating on the third floor has been poor since the beginning. It is a steam system with a new Burnham boiler. Heat gets to the radiators because the pipe is warm coming up to the valve, but the radiators won't get all the way warm unless we put the thermostat high enough to keep the system running for a long period of time. There is some hammering so I suspect I have at least one bad steam trap. I can't find an expert in my area to call in. I wonder if the new system was incorrectly installed. I also wonder if the third floor radiators are sludged up. Can I clean them out? Where do I begin? Also, I noticed that although it is a two pipe system that the third floor radiators have relief valves. I read on this site that a two pipe system should never have those. Any ideas?

Timco · March 2008

what pressure are you running at? You should not need more than a pound or so...without a thermal camera, you may be best just finding the replacement cap & cage for your traps and doing them all...it's cheap & easy enough. As for the vents, I would remove them. You want the pressure moving the steam through the open traps towards the main vent, not out the rad vents...

Tim

Jay Beuoy · March 2008

thanks for those ideas

Thanks Tim,
I am running about one pound of pressure. I have ordered a infrared thermometer. Is it true that if the temperature is the same on both sides of the trap that the trap is then bad?
Also, does anyone know if it pays to take the radiator off and clean it? How would I do that if I did?

Thanks

Timco · March 2008

The temp will be lower on the drain side of a trap if working properly. See my pics. The rads have just seen steam & air. No need to flush the rad, but returns do get flushed if one is blocked.

Tim

heat not getting to end of run

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