Gates Reno
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February 6, 2007
Radiator Sickness
I love our steam radiators. When they don't sound like a basement gnome is attacking them with a sledgehammer.
I asked Mr. Contractor if his guys could come take a look at the system. Luckily we hadn't needed to turn the heat on much before Christmas, but when we did, the noise was deafening. We would heat the place up five or six degrees hotter than necessary in the evening so that we could turn the heat off altogether for the night. Otherwise, we would get woken up every time the heat cycled on. And, some of the radiators were spewing water out of the little valves that are supposed to release air. Let me tell you, one thing you don't want happening around small children is for your heating system to turn into a boiling geyser at random times.
The plumbers said that the gauge that regulates the amount of steam in the system was busted, and that there were several leaks in the system. They fixed these problems, and then went around to check on each radiator. This is when the fun really started.
First, they discovered a leak in the parlor floor entranceway radiator. They thought that perhaps it wasn't tilted correctly and water was condensing and running back out onto the floor (hence the level), but that wasn't it. The problem was that the place where the pipe screws in to the radiator was completely stripped, and whatever they did they couldn't get it to stop leaking.
They said that the radiators are about 100 years old, so I guess things like this are bound to happen. I'm in awe that they work at all.
Luckily, we had removed a radiator from the office/guest room, which for some strange reason had two. So we had an extra one that they could replace the broken one with. It worked out great.
Then, when they went to check on the radiator in the back parlor room behind the stairs, they found that not only was it leaking, but it had been leaking for so long that it was in danger of falling right through the now-rotten floor. So they unhooked it. We don't need to heat that room right now, so we'll worry about it later. The two back parlor rooms are being combined into one anyway, so maybe one radiator will suffice.
This is where the radiator used to be. Good thing nobody uses the disgusting bathroom below this room. The radiator could have landed on someone's head.
The plumbers stayed long enough that we were all satisfied the banging had stopped. But at about two in the morning, it started again. Not quite as loud as before, but still too loud to sleep through. So, they checked the system again and ran some kind of cleaner through it. So far so good, noise-wise. But now there's this weird smell on the top floor that smells a bit like cat-pee. I'm guessing it's from the cleaner and hopefully it will fade.
No matter what, this is the best part of having radiators:
Comments
hey is that thing the gloves are on part of the radiator or some kind of decorative radiator hat? that's pretty cool. can you tell us which plumbers you're using? i need to remove an old radiator too.
Posted by: Jimmy Legs at February 7, 2007 9:30 AM
They're not attached to the radiators. They sit on top and look pretty. About half of the radiators in the house have them. Eventually I'd love to find them for the other, hat-less radiators.
The contractor sent the plumbers. I'm not sure if they work only for him or not. I'll ask my contractor today and get back to you.
Posted by: Amy at February 7, 2007 10:28 AM
I don't know if the smell is from the stuff they put in your boiler. Maybe it is the extra radiator you hooked up. It is very important to have the radiator tilt back toward the riser and keep the steam at the lowest pressure possible. That prevents banging. I had one tilted too much and it started to bang.
Posted by: tom at February 7, 2007 6:04 PM
Kudos for working with your radiators and not replacing them with 'scorched air.'
Posted by: Yeshwant at February 9, 2007 11:14 AM
Welcome to the world of century-old steam heat! We have had basement-gnome hammering outbursts for years, usually means the system has to be "bled" of excess water and the pitch (tilt) of all the radiators made just right and the system "balanced." The steam heat system is like a cardiovascular system, complete with venous/arterial circulation (along the same pathways, however) and the possibility of both clotting and bleed-outs (of water!) The best radiator guys are good "doctors" who can sort of mystically diagnose what's wrong in the entire system. I could tell you the name of my plumber, but he's not taking on any new residential customers--he keeps us on only out of residual loyalty from our decades-long adventures together in radiator-wrangling. You've already grappled with one of the worst-case scenarios--the stripped-thread joint pipe, which requires a whole new joint. Oh, and as for floor damage from leaks? EVERY ONE of our old steam radiators had leaked for so long that the floor under each one had to be chunked out and completely replaced!! Several were sinking majestically to the floor below!
Hey, I love that design--with a little platform at the bottom up on legs!!!
Posted by: Brenda from Flatbush at February 9, 2007 1:49 PM
Thanks Brenda, makes me grateful that we only had one collapsing floor. I guess is could have been much worse!
I love the cardiovascular system analogy. Sometimes I feel like I'm dealing with a living, breathing entity (an old one, that doesn't like change) instead of bricks and wood.
Posted by: Amy at February 9, 2007 4:25 PM
Welcome back by the way. Even as your sister I lost faith!!! So basically your radiators have some congenital heart murmurs, some mitral valve prolapse perhaps. Sorry, too much Grey's Anatomy!!
Posted by: Sista at March 1, 2007 12:47 PM
We live in an old building. We will now speak to the landlord about these valves... Good info
Posted by: Bill at March 6, 2007 7:12 PM
Amy, we had our radiators and boiler overhauled by Gateway Plumbing. The owner is often on this site giving advice, and the company is no joke. They got our system working flawlessly. They have a banner ad somewhere on brownstoner. I highly recommend them.
Posted by: Drew Kilgore at March 8, 2007 6:55 PM
The decorative toppers are beautiful. I've seen a couple for sale on ebay but it seems they need to be made for the radiator on which they sit.
Posted by: Patricia W. at April 5, 2007 4:08 PM
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