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parkah
Citizen
Username: Parkah
Post Number: 44
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, January 31, 2004 - 3:08 pm: |     |
we have a heating problem like so many other's on this board. we have some rooms that heat well while others remain fridge cold. from what i've gathered, it seems this problem may be caused by a variety of boiler issues. but taking one step at a time to correct the problem, i first made sure that all radiator "shut-offs" were turned to the *on* position. and now i'm focused on how each radiator in the house is vented (if this is the wrong 2nd step, please let me know).
i've checked various radiators throughout my house to find that some valves are ancient and rusted while others appear to be newer (i assume the previous owner attempted this same step in trying to correct the problem?) maybe the older valves need to be replaced? maybe the newer ones aren't the right size for their placement in the entire system? i'm not sure. so i put together a chart for how i think every radiator in the house should be vented. the 1st column represents the size valve i think needs to be placed on the particular radiator, the 2nd & 3rd columns indicate where that radiator located in relationship to the boiler, the 4th shows (unscientifically) how warm the room is... and so on.
so i'm looking for all of you knowledgeable radiator diy's out there to comment and let me know how off i am in my thinking. and lastly... i assume replacing these valves is not a cheap job?
thanks for all comments / suggestions. chart follows:
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Davegateway
Citizen
Username: Davegateway
Post Number: 26
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, January 31, 2004 - 5:48 pm: | |
Looks pretty good to me. You can do this yourself if you want to save $$. Palmer plumbing supply will charge around $12-$15 per vent. Even if you're wrong on some of your calc's, you have a wide enough assortment there to mix & match later, or at least you'll have a good idea what to change. You may also want to check your end-of main vents (if you have them) and pick up a 1/8" tap for the old radiator threads. |
tjohn
Citizen
Username: Tjohn
Post Number: 2166
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, January 31, 2004 - 6:10 pm: | |
Parkah,
Do all of your radiators heat up?
Why not use Size D vents on the cold rooms?
Are there any rooms in the house such as the unfinished attic that you do not use? I would put small vents in those rooms unless there is some reason to heat them.
Also, you might want to get a couple of vari-vents as well for fine tuning.
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parkah
Citizen
Username: Parkah
Post Number: 47
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Monday, February 2, 2004 - 3:22 pm: | |
dave... thanks for the tip about palmer plumbing. and i actually mislabeled my chart... the basement radiators i referred too are really main vents. both have ancient-rusty valves on them that need to be replaced.
tjohn... all of our radiators seem to heat up... just some get hotter than others. the radiator in the breakfast room (which is about 4-5 feet long) does only heat part way. i'm not sure why this is.
as for size D vents... i thought those were only used if you wanted to vent lots of steam? i don't necessarily want to do this do i?
and the unfinished attic is the only room that is unused... i'm not sure what size vent it's fitted with right now.
thanks for the help. |
tjohn
Citizen
Username: Tjohn
Post Number: 2173
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Monday, February 2, 2004 - 5:48 pm: | |
Parkah,
Incomplete heating of a radiator might be caused by:
1. Radiator slopes away from shut-off valve leading to puddle of water in part of the radiator that condenses the steam and prevents the section away from the shut-off valve from heating.
2. Shut-off valve is partly closed so that returning water blocks inbound steam.
3. Feeder pipe is too small. For a radiator such as you describe, 1 1/4" should be right. 1" might be too small.
Regarding the D valves, my belief is that you can't get air out of the system too fast. I noticed that the Gorton textbook solution didn't have any D valves, but I don't totally agree with that.
If you have rooms that are cold or rooms you want to be hot (e.g. bathroom), using a D vent will get the steam to those rads faster.
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Richard O'Connor
Citizen
Username: Roconn
Post Number: 137
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 3, 2004 - 8:05 am: | |
From what I've read and know some of the current thinking from people in the know is that you should use the biggest size (Gorton D) on everything unless you are trying to balance the radiators with venting.
IE .. Use all one size
Main vents are a different matter, biggest key there is getting the air out of the mains fast so its rushing on its way up risers to radiators.
Other good thinking is that you should replace them all at the same time. 
I'd reccomend a book (20 bucks) called 'We Got Steam Heat' by Dan Holohan. Its written specifically for the homeowner. You can get it from www.heatinghelp.com .
Once you're getting all the radiators heating, you can swap out vents to slow down some rooms. (if you really want to do that). I did find that the sort of conventional wisdom of bigger vents farther away (from the boiler) and smaller vents closer didn't work well for me. I ended up with a VERY warm 2nd floor and a cool first floor. I switched most of the 1st floor radiators with faster vents and its still not perfect but much better. Physics gets involved and I'm sure the hot air is rising.
Richard (ROC)
--Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark; professionals built the Titanic.--
--AIM: ROConn |
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