Replace missing radiator

kevingolde · December 12

I have a Cape Cod style house with a breezeway connecting the kitchen to the garage wall. The house is heated by a one-pipe steam heating system with cast iron radiators. The previous owners removed the kitchen wall to open it up to the breezeway. But they took out the radiator so that the kitchen has no heat. I am wondering if I can install a new radiator.

I looked at the pipes in the basement. The kitchen radiator had been connected back to the main supply pipe by a pipe travelling between floor joists. When they removed the kitchen radiator, they took out the pipe and capped it at the tee joint in the main pipe. I can see where they covered the hole in the kitchen floorboard. But with the remodeled kitchen, the hole shows that a replacement radiator would now sit in the middle of the kitchen.

I am wondering if I could install a new radiator in a new location. I drilled an exploratory hole and found a potential location in the corner of the kitchen. However, the pipe to the radiator in this new location would have to run between a different section of floor joists. From my limited understanding, the pipe should run from the radiator back to the main pipe with a downward slope. If this is true, then I cannot run a new pipe back to the capped tee without cutting through two floor joists, which I don't think is a good idea.

So the other possible option would be to run the pipe from the radiator back to the main pipe. But this would require cutting the main pipe and installing a new tee joint to supply the radiator with steam. Is this even do-able?

I have 2 pictures. One is looking back at the main supply pipe with the capped tee joint and a red line marking the location under a different set of floor joists where a new pipe might be run. The other shows the main pipe looking forward to where a new pipe might be run to a new radiator.

mattmia2 · December 12

The main could be cut and threaded and have a new tee installed. Given the way the main is gift wrapped I would be surprised if it isn't covered in asbestos so that would have to be abated before the new fitting could be added. The pipe can drop down and go back up but you would have to have a drip at a low point to allow the condensate to drain that would have to eventually find its way back to a return below the water line.

acwagner · December 12

Is the kitchen uncomfortable without a radiator? Daily use of the kitchen appliances might be enough to keep the room comfortable especially if the kitchen was insulated during the remodel.

There also might be enough vertical space to go from the existing take off (take the existing nipple out and use a street 45 or a regular 45 with shorter nipple), run toward the basement wall staying under the joists, then go parallel to the wall (still under the joists), then vertical up to into the joist bay with enough pitch. Recommended pitch is at least 1/2" per 10' if the radiator is on the first floor.

kevingolde · December 13

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1876940#Comment_1876940

I am sure that it has asbestos and that it would have to be abated. Thank you for the suggestion! It sounds like it is possible to do it and I can bring your idea to a contractor and see if it is worth doing.

kevingolde · December 13

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1876945#Comment_1876945

The kitchen is very cold and uncomfortable during the colder months. It's just my wife and I living here and we don't use the stovetop and oven enough to warm the kitchen. The walls of the breezeway are thinner and less insulated than the rest of the house and have doors and windows on both walls, and being a breezeway by design, it was not meant for the cold seasons. I could plug in a space heater, but electric heat is expensive. I figured restoring the missing radiator would be more economical and help the space be more comfortable.

Thank you for your plan and specs on running a new pipe. It gives me the confidence that I can go to a contractor for an estimate!

mattmia2 · December 13

Another option would be to run a hot water loop to the area off of the water in the bottom of the boiler.

RTW · December 14

Good advice in prior comments.

MY EXPERIENCE: Replacing the radiator is definitely doable, I added a needed cast iron radiator to my kitchen, but my project required adding tee connection into main. You, however , look to have an existing connection in photo that can be used to attach a horizontally pitched pipe to the Red Line area ( only a short distance) then plumbed into the kitchen' I relocated another radiator in that way that works excellent. Steam seems to work fine up, down and sideways with same efficiency - evidently compass direction doesnt matter much

Consult a carpenter on floor joist concerns is my advice. Use a plumber with experience in pipe fitting

A refurbished cast iron radiator is available from Radical Radiator north of Boston, tested, primed and top coated with warranty

All the best

Regards,

RTW

bburd · December 14

The new radiator will need to be larger than the original to heat both the kitchen and the enclosed breezeway. A heat loss calculation would tell you what capacity you need. This also affects the size of the radiator runout pipe from the main.

Replace missing radiator

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