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Radiators fill with water

I just moved into a house that has steam heat, single pipe.

House has three levels, when the heat is on, radiators on the first floor, at least 3 out of 4 fill with water, in one I can hear water splashing inside, in another big one water starts coming out from the vent on the side, when I shut off that radiator, let it cool and opened the valve in between cycle, I hear water rushing back tot the boiler.

I tilted all radiators in a right way, changed all the side vents, but no improvement. It also needs water added to the boiler almost every day on a cold day.

I cant figure out what is the problem.

Comments

  • Sloshing disappearing water

    If you turn off the boiler, will all the water return, and restore the waterline in an hour or so?

    What pressure is the system running at? Over-pressure will force the water out of the boiler, and starve it, but after a period of inactivity, all the water will come back.

    If it doesn't, then the next thing is to check for a leak, by waiting for the boiler to be cool, and over-filling the system. Let it stand, and see if there are signs of water on the floor, or in the firebox.

    Some leaks can be seen as white steam coming out of the chimney.

    If the boiler needs replacement, the radiators MUST be measured to determine the size of the new boiler. Do not assume that the old one was correctly chosen, or installed, especially if this house was "flipped".--NBC
  • BobC
    BobC Member Posts: 5,476
    What kind of vents

    After you have followed the path Nicholas laid out for you to find out where that water is going, tell us what kind of vents you have on those radiators and on your steam main. If your pressure is to high and you have Heat Timer Varivents, the combination is known to squirt water if the vent rate is set too high.



    Bob
    Smith G8-3 with EZ Gas @ 90,000 BTU, Single pipe steam
    Vaporstat with a 12oz cut-out and 4oz cut-in
    3PSI gauge
  • kotlevich
    kotlevich Member Posts: 19
    follow up

    thank you.

    i will follow the instructions and get back to you.

    radiator side vents are mist-o-maid

    boiler is 20 yrs old

    veint mains look like corodded and never replaced. I saw 2 of them in the basement, they seem to be 1/2" in size. I was thinking of replacing them next, but was not sure what kind and size to get



    how do i change pressure in the boiler, there is the presurre regulator with the pigs tail tubing, I just manually change the setting?

    In terms of the leak, I will work on that, as you said, but even say if there is a leak, it should not cause water leaking out of the radiator, before I shut off the biggest radiator in the living room I collected close to a quart of water that came out of the side vent in a steady stream.

    When I increased the side vent size from 4 to all the way to d, the water kept coming out just without the same pressure.



    In terms of location, this radiator is probably closest to the boiler in location.
  • Dave in QCA
    Dave in QCA Member Posts: 1,785
    Radiator inlet valves

    Are the radiator inlet valve all the way open? On a one pipe system, they must be. If they are partially closed the system will behave exactly as you are describing. Of course, if they are open, there must be another problem.
    Dave in Quad Cities, America
    Weil-McLain 680 with Riello 2-stage burner, December 2012. Firing rate=375MBH Low, 690MBH Hi.
    System = Early Dunham 2-pipe Vacuo-Vapor (inlet and outlet both at bottom of radiators) Traps are Dunham #2 rebuilt w. Barnes-Jones Cage Units, Dunham-Bush 1E, Mepco 1E, and Armstrong TS-2. All valves haveTunstall orifices sized at 8 oz.
    Current connected load EDR= 1,259 sq ft, Original system EDR = 2,100 sq ft Vaporstat, 13 oz cutout, 4 oz cutin - Temp. control Tekmar 279.
    http://grandviewdavenport.com
  • kotlevich
    kotlevich Member Posts: 19
    re: inlet valves

    inlet valves open all the way, this problem does not occur on the second or third floor
  • Dave in QCA
    Dave in QCA Member Posts: 1,785
    does water return

    When the boiler is off, the pressure is 0. Does the water in the radiators drain back at the point? Can you see the water line in you glass gauge on the boiler?



    Is this a new boiler?
    Dave in Quad Cities, America
    Weil-McLain 680 with Riello 2-stage burner, December 2012. Firing rate=375MBH Low, 690MBH Hi.
    System = Early Dunham 2-pipe Vacuo-Vapor (inlet and outlet both at bottom of radiators) Traps are Dunham #2 rebuilt w. Barnes-Jones Cage Units, Dunham-Bush 1E, Mepco 1E, and Armstrong TS-2. All valves haveTunstall orifices sized at 8 oz.
    Current connected load EDR= 1,259 sq ft, Original system EDR = 2,100 sq ft Vaporstat, 13 oz cutout, 4 oz cutin - Temp. control Tekmar 279.
    http://grandviewdavenport.com
  • BobC
    BobC Member Posts: 5,476
    Adjust pressure

    There are screws on the top surface of the pressuretrol that you can adjust, set the main at 2 or lower and the differential to one. The differential may be a white wheel behind the front cover.



    Bob
    Smith G8-3 with EZ Gas @ 90,000 BTU, Single pipe steam
    Vaporstat with a 12oz cut-out and 4oz cut-in
    3PSI gauge
  • RJ_4
    RJ_4 Member Posts: 484
    valves

    As Dave said radiator shut off valves need to be open,  I have found several times where the disc ( the part of the valve that closes against the valve seat ) is deteriorated or broken, allowing steam in when valve is shut but not allowing condensate to drain back.   The radiator needs to be disconnected from the valve than you can look inside valve outlet for seat damage.   recommend someone with boiler exp. doing this
    RJ
  • kotlevich
    kotlevich Member Posts: 19
    Radiators fill with water

    thank you everyone for your help.

    bob, so i adjusted pressure on the pressutetrol  to around 2 with 1 differential, it did not make a difference in terms of water coming out of the radiator.

    what else could it be?

    main vents are gordon 1, i took them off and checked them, i can easily blow air through them
  • mcsteamy
    mcsteamy Member Posts: 77
    Post pictures...

    of the piping around the boiler and the radiators in question.  



    At what pressure does the boiler shut down now?  Keep cranking down the Pressuretrol until the boiler cuts out at around a pound and a half or less, if you can get it that low.
  • kotlevich
    kotlevich Member Posts: 19
    Valves

    Valves are new, they were replaced within 5 yrs. if they were the issue the water will not return once radiator cools down. In my case if I shut off the valve because it sprinkles water, let it cool and reopen, i hear gushing down the pipe back to the boiler.



    I will work on posting pictures



    In terms of pressure, the dial on the boiler itself does not work, so I do not know what is the true pressure achieved



    I also thought of changing the side vent to the float type, I read somewhere thst the float type will close if there is water and wont let it sprinkle
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