Looking for a steam heating specialist to inspect and balance my house
I’ll add a homeowner’s perspective. First, not a knock on steam man (who I only know electronically here), but you really can’t go wrong following MP’s advice. Second, following our whole house reno, we noticed that the rooms in the ground floor rental extension and top floor (all areas exposed on three sides) heated up more slowly and cooled more slowly. The answers were multifaceted — weatherproofing to reduce heat loss in the room (check windows, electrical sockets for drafts and check exterior walls to see if they are cold to the touch — if so they are underinsulated). We increased radiator size where our plumber (Hlad) said they were undersized. And Hlad gave me advice on balancing the vents to bring more heat sooner into the rooms that were not heating up as fast. Bigger vents bring heat faster. So you woul dbe looking at smaller vents (Gorton 4 or 5) downstairs and bigger ones (Gorton C or D) on the upper floors. Your goal is to have the rooms heat up together. If that happens and then they fall independently — i.e. the top floor cools a lot faster — then that is a heat loss issue. If you decide to change vents yourself, always make sure the heat is off and the radiators cool, and make sure you use teflon tape. But I do recommend a consultation first, whoever you use.
slopefarm
in Boiler Repair 12 years and 6 months ago
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4 replies
npapadakis | 12 years and 6 months ago
Would someone please recommend a seasoned professional of residential steam heating to inspect and balance my 4-story brownstone. My system is: two year old boiler (but new to me as the new owner), single-thermostat, one-pipe, low-pressure, gas-fired.
Symptoms: the third and fourth floor rooms heat up/cool down too much and too quickly while the parlor floor (where the thermostat is) never warms enough. the garden level is always too hot. All rooms have at least one, but sometimes two original exposed cast iron sectional radiators however, two rooms appear to have been modified with in-wall, finned-tube baseboard radiators. I would like expert advice on whether or not I need to do any of the following (or something else I may have overlooked): replace the finned radiators, insulate the exposed risers, re-locate the thermostat or add thermostatic valves.
eman134 | 12 years and 6 months ago
I would be glad to offer a free consultation…send me an email at my contct listed in my profile. My problem with your situation is your initial description “2 year old boiler” that allows the 3rd and 4th floors to heat up and cool down too quickly.It sounds like an oversized boilr that is short cycling, so while I may be able to offer some remediation in balancing the system, you may have a systemic problem from having a schlub replace the old boiler with an oversized unit
Master Plvmber | 12 years and 6 months ago
What you need to know about residential steam heating systems is that most were retrofitted to existing buildings and were designed by people who were very well qualified to size each and every pipe diameter, radiator output and boiler size to deliver the right amount of steam to provide quiet, efficient and balanced operation for the entire building. It was considered a very technical job at the time. Altering that design with things like “finned-tube radiators” (NEVER good with 1-pipe steam), changes in pressure settings, boiler outputs, changing vents and valves, etc. seriously derails the intended functions of the system. With steam, small changes often have big effiects and undoing them takes a significant understanding of how steam heating works and what prevents it from working. I don’t go to people’s houses and tell them what’s wrong for free because I believe there is value to the service(s) I provide (not a dig at eman, he does his thing, I do mine) and I’ve worked my whole life to gather the knowledge I carry when I walk through a client’s door. What I do is charge an evaluation fee and give half of it back to you if you hire my firm to do any of the upgrades I list in the personalized written report I send to you. It takes about an hour or so at the property to document all the parts, design and layout of the system; list the problems as described by the residents; then spend a couple hours in office confirming all the components’ compatiblity and creating a comprehensive report to email to the client. That’s my story. Sticking to it.
steam_man | 12 years and 6 months ago
Without being long winded (we’ve had enough wind in this city recently) I’ll simply say that I second, MasterPlvmber on charging for evaluations and I use the same price structure. Most of the time I get calls to fix a problem it’s because the original installer was the cheapest guy out there. “Insanity is repeating the same action and expecting different results.” -Steam Man