A love hate relationship

As I said on another thread...

sometimes a little knowledge can just ruin things, can't it?  However... you are in pretty good shape, basically, since things do heat and all the radiators get hot.  There really are two halves to any steam system -- the distribution and radiation, on the one hand, and the steam generator (boiler and near boiler piping) on the other.  The fact that your steam generator section appears to be somewhat odd, at best, does not mean that the rest of the system is -- in fact, the distribution and radiation are probably pretty good, although they may need a little TLC.



The boiler and near boiler piping, however.  Now that's a different story.  But even there, it may not be as bad as it seems.  For instance: how badly undersized is the boiler?  In one place you said all the radiators get hot (although in another you said they didn't?), it may not be that bad.  It is quite possible that making sure everything is insulated may be all that is needed to match the size; possibly a higher firing rate might be needed, but still within the capacity of the boiler.  The near boiler piping, though, should be corrected.  That's where your wet steam is coming from, and the wet steam is hurting things all down the line -- it could be the problem with radiators not heating, for instance.



Fortunately, replacing near boiler piping is quite doable, and usually worth the expense.



One does want to take things a step at a time -- and in this situation, I'd suggest that step one would be do redo that near boiler piping (assuming, that is, that the boiler really isn't that badly undersized -- do you have available the EDR for the radiation and the current and maximum ratings for the boiler?  Then we can comment on them?).  Then figure where, and how much venting you need.



If you are an A&P, you should be able to do a lot of the work yourself, although you will have to buy some tools (48" pipe wrenches aren't much use on an airplane, and I never saw much need for pipe threaders and the like in that trade, either!).  It isn't really hard, although it can be time consuming (like: do it in the summer!).



As to how far can a system be knuckleheaded and brought back to life?  In my humble opinion, if most of the distribution system is intact (although, possibly, badly hung and uninsulated) and the radiation is still there, it can be brought back to something like its original glory.



So I would say to you -- don't despair and don't let your frustration last overnight, if you can help it.  Keep reading, keep asking questions, and you'll get there!  (I don't know what kind of birds you work on, but I've seen some awfully tacky looking Cessnas and Pipers come back out of a decent shop looking -- and flying -- better than new!).

It is almost alwys worth the effort

One of the earliest systems I worked on was a Moline system in a big old two story 1880's 4500 sq ft home that looked like it was out of Gone With The Wind.

This system had been added on to, the boiler was piped incorrectly and oversized, a condensate pump and numerous traps had been added and the fuel bills were enormous.

The boiler did the owner a favor and developed a big hole, so they were forced to do a replacement,  With the help of information from this site and its proprietor and some thinking, we were able to intgrate the addition, eliminate the pump and all the traps, put in a boiler that was techinucally undersized ( but fits the system very well) and cut the fuel usage by about 75%.  They were heating this leaky frame home with almost no insulation or storm windows on the massive windows, 12 foot ceilings on the first floor and 10 on the second for only 350.00 during the worst month in Northern Illinois.   Oh and the second floor heated properly for the first time in at least 50 years.

Steam and vapor are hands down some of the best systems to heat any structure......when they are not knuckleheaded.



As to the "undersizing" of the boiler, that may not be a problem at all if the system is properly tuned. Look in the hot tech topics for an article I wrote on the subject.

keep at it!

You already know the terminology and have a grasp for steam, its a huge help that you are a mechanically inclined person.  If you can tackle a chinook, you can handle some iron pipe no prob.  What area are you in?  and if you can post some pics of the problem child and area maybe we can help.  I will give you a little suggestion.  I fixed a few rads that were cold for years by simply wet/vac sucking the valve with the rad removed.  So much crud built up the steam could get there but no water out. BE CAREFUL if you do while boiler is still carrying steam, itll do a number on the vac and hose will shrink/melt after a min or so.  I did a few and some more than once, the heat coming back in loosened up the cruddy rust and eventually with a little more pitch and vent play rads usually heat.  I have also removed the floor valve and flushed/snaked the lines solving a dud rad.  U gotta get creative sometimes..........

Shop vac works good

I have used the shop vac on cold radiators, a couple times, with good success both times.  I don't take the radiator off the shut-off valve, although that sounds like a good idea for a tough clog.

Just remove the radiator vent, and vacuum the vent hole.  Here is another example of it working.  This guy, from Calgary, Alberta took it 1 step further and built a rig to connect to the air-vent hole.  I suggested he try the vacuum on January 20, and havn't heard a peep out of him since.  http://www.heatinghelp.com/forum-thread/134542/Steam-close-to-radiator-but-leaves-me-cold#p1217744  It sounds a little ridicules but it works.

off again-on again

could steam in the returns from another bad trap be closing that rad trap down, and preventing it from doing its job?--nbc