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RADIATOR ISSUES

Frecconia
Frecconia Member Posts: 12
edited February 2019 in Strictly Steam
Hi All. Three days ago Home Serve installed a new, bigger boiler. Since then all the radiators have been banging SOOOO LOUD and one radiator bangs, hisses, and eventually spits out water through the valve but does not get hot (barely warm).

So three days without heat in my bedroom and a heating company (not the one that installed the boiler) comes out and refuses to do anything until Home Serve puts the correct pipe on the boiler. Prior to the boiler change my bedroom radiator was fine and the rest of the radiators work fine so I don’t think it’s the pipe.

Before I go calling another company can anyone tell me if they have any ideas why it’s happening?

Thanks in advance.

Comments

  • SeanBeans
    SeanBeans Member Posts: 520
    Send some pictures of of the boiler’s nameplate, as well as the boiler piping from several angles. And photo of the boiler’s pressuretrol
    CanuckerFrecconiadelta T
  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 23,162
    Why on earth did they put in a bigger boiler? Unless you have added radiators, that was not a good move.

    Chances are it is the piping around the boiler, plus most likely the pressure is too high, plus the boiler is oversized... all in all, a whole bunch of problems.
    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
    FrecconiaethicalpaulSuperTechdelta T
  • Frecconia
    Frecconia Member Posts: 12
    Jamie an extension was put on those since the original boiler was installed.
  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 23,162
    Frecconia said:

    Jamie an extension was put on those since the original boiler was installed.

    Fair enough -- but was the system working well with the old boiler? Did anyone actually measure the system to find out what EDR was actually required? I'd venture that if the system was working with the old boiler -- radiators getting hot and all that -- that the old boiler was big enough, even with the addition.
    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
  • Frecconia
    Frecconia Member Posts: 12
    Jamie the Home Serve guy based it on the number of radiators in the house.
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 16,796
    What model Burnham is that? Should be PIN-something.........
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
    Frecconia
  • Fred
    Fred Member Posts: 8,542
    edited February 2019
    I don't know if the header is large enough but all in all, the boiler installation looks pretty decent, certainly much better than most we see. The boiler probably just needs a good skimming, maybe several good skims. Burnhams seem especially sensitive to oils in the boiler water. I can see from the color of the water in the sight glass that it does need a skim and they even installed a skim port.
    Frecconiadelta T
  • Fred
    Fred Member Posts: 8,542
    edited February 2019
    I might add another comment. I see they installed a Cyclegard Low water cut-off on the boiler (probably came with the boiler package). Those LWCO's will shut the boiler down every few minutes to check the water level. It may be shutting the boiler down before steam can get the your bedroom radiator. Is your bedroom radiator at the end of one of those mains? Do you have good main vents on each of those mains? That could be an issue too. I don't know what contractor Home Service used but they seem to know steam better than most. Hopefully they put good main vents on the system, not that that would necessarily be part of a boiler replacement but well worth making sure you have them.

    I'm also a little concerned that it looks like they may have pulled the mains down a bit to tie into the risers out of the header. The mains, at least two of them seem to pitch down towards the header and one of them is even elbowed up to the main. I see no drips to the wet return. Do you get any water hammer? Maybe just the angle of your pictures (except for the main that is definitely elbowed up).
    Frecconia
  • Ironman
    Ironman Member Posts: 7,367
    edited February 2019
    It looks like there's no reduction in size of the equalizer. That can cause water to push up into the system.

    The header APPEARS to meet the MINIMUM requirements in the I/O instructions, but it would have been much better if they had done 2 risers off of the boiler and used a 3" header.

    As Fred said, better than most of the installs we see.


    Bob Boan
    You can choose to do what you want, but you cannot choose the consequences.
    Frecconia
  • Frecconia
    Frecconia Member Posts: 12
    Thanks guys for all the info.
  • Frecconia
    Frecconia Member Posts: 12
    Fred, what is water hammer.
  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 23,162
    I'm not at @Fred , but water hammer (in the contest of steam heat) is the banging noise one hears when a slug of water -- condensate -- in the pipe which is being pushed along by the steam hits a sharp turn, such as a T or an elbow. It can be remarkably loud. It can also be hard to find the exact location, since the pipes transmit the sound well.

    It can also be hard to distinguish from expansion noises sometimes. Expansion noises tend to have more of a ring to them, and also tend to be rather regular (though not always) while water hammer is usually louder and sounds -- as the name suggests -- more like someone hitting the pipe with a hammer.
    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
  • Frecconia
    Frecconia Member Posts: 12
    Thanks Jamie. The banging was very loud but not so much anymore. Home Serve came this morning and said they cannot do anything until I replace two valves.
  • JUGHNE
    JUGHNE Member Posts: 11,042
    Can you show us the valves.....or did they say vents.
    Frecconia
  • gfrbrookline
    gfrbrookline Member Posts: 753
    Are they telling you to replace floor valves or the silver vent on the other side of the radiator? They may be faulty but before you replace them make sure your pressuretrol is set correctly. The one on the right should be set to cut out at no more than 1.5psi. High pressure will cause banging, hissing and water spitting out of the vents.
    Frecconia
  • Frecconia
    Frecconia Member Posts: 12
    They want me to replace the air vents. What I don’t get is the vent was working fine with the old boiler but I have to do what they say.
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 16,796
    Frecconia said:

    Thanks Jamie. The banging was very loud but not so much anymore. Home Serve came this morning and said they cannot do anything until I replace two valves.

    Why can't they handle the replacement?
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
  • Frecconia
    Frecconia Member Posts: 12
    > @Steamhead said:
    > Thanks Jamie. The banging was very loud but not so much anymore. Home Serve came this morning and said they cannot do anything until I replace two valves.
    >
    > Why can't they handle the replacement?

    Because Home Serve is strictly for maintenace of furnaces and boilers.
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 16,796
    That's pretty lame. Find a real service organization. Where are you located?
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
    SuperTech
  • SuperTech
    SuperTech Member Posts: 2,139
    That's extremely lame. Any service I do on any boiler includes making sure the heat emitters function properly.
  • Frecconia
    Frecconia Member Posts: 12
    Home Serve is a service/maintenance company connected to National Grid which is our heating company. They only maintain furnaces and boilers.

    I’m so frustrated because last night my mother’s radiator stopped working as well. This is real nonsense.
    SuperTech
  • Fred
    Fred Member Posts: 8,542
    Frecconia said:

    Home Serve is a service/maintenance company connected to National Grid which is our heating company. They only maintain furnaces and boilers.



    I’m so frustrated because last night my mother’s radiator stopped working as well. This is real nonsense.

    The boiler needs a good skim.
    delta TSuperTech
  • JUGHNE
    JUGHNE Member Posts: 11,042
    Would they change the batteries in a T-stat for someone who is incapable of doing it themselves......not part of the boiler?
    Frecconia
  • SuperTech
    SuperTech Member Posts: 2,139
    > @Frecconia said:
    > Home Serve is a service/maintenance company connected to National Grid which is our heating company. They only maintain furnaces and boilers.
    >
    > I’m so frustrated because last night my mother’s radiator stopped working as well. This is real nonsense.

    Time to ditch Home Serve for a real boiler pro who won't put your family through such nonsense. Try the find a contractor tool available on the homepage. I'm sure you can find someone else who can assure you that the safety, reliability and efficiency of this equipment isn't an issue.
    Frecconia
  • Frecconia
    Frecconia Member Posts: 12
    > @Fred said:
    > Home Serve is a service/maintenance company connected to National Grid which is our heating company. They only maintain furnaces and boilers.
    >
    >
    >
    > I’m so frustrated because last night my mother’s radiator stopped working as well. This is real nonsense.
    >
    > The boiler needs a good skim.

    Brother-in-law’s friend came and saw oil so Home Serve is coming tomorrow to flush it out and look at a part. Hopefully this will all be reaolved tomorrow.

    Thanks.
  • Fred
    Fred Member Posts: 8,542
    Frecconia said:

    > @Fred said:

    > Home Serve is a service/maintenance company connected to National Grid which is our heating company. They only maintain furnaces and boilers.

    >

    >

    >

    > I’m so frustrated because last night my mother’s radiator stopped working as well. This is real nonsense.

    >

    > The boiler needs a good skim.



    Brother-in-law’s friend came and saw oil so Home Serve is coming tomorrow to flush it out and look at a part. Hopefully this will all be reaolved tomorrow.



    Thanks.

    It won't be resolved if they just flush the boiler. It must be Skimmed, very slowly. When a new boiler is drained, the oils that sit on top of the water and prevent steam bubbles from breaking through the surface of the water will just cling to the sides of the boiler. When you re-fill the boiler, the oils will float to the surface again and the problem will continue. Insist that they Skim the boiler and that they spend the time to do it correctly and that they show you how to do it yourself. It may take two or three skims to remove all the oils. It is simple but time consuming.
    Frecconia
  • dennis53
    dennis53 Member Posts: 58
    Are the 2 problem radiators on the same main?
    Dennis
  • Frecconia
    Frecconia Member Posts: 12
    Found out the other radiator won’t go on at 72.