Good Steam Heat Pros? Air-Vent Maintenance? 2nd Fl Cool

  Hi, Anyone have good experiences with professionals who really know single thermostat, one-pipe low-pressure steam radiator heating systems, and proper radiator/main air vents/valves settings to balance the home heating? Second of two floors has never really heated up to the satisfaction of the residents, unless the first floor is made too warm. And since our local plumbing/heating people have over the past couple of years replaced pretty much everything but the tank in the gas-furnace steam boiler (in part I think because they don’t know how to *fix* the old-style systems), I’m thinking the air vents in the radiators and/or the main lines might be the next step.  Don’t think any of the vents have been touched in 40+ years, but suppose it’s possible it might have been part of standard procedure when the furnace was installed 20 years back. Even though it’s apparently a simple matter of screw-off screw on, I’m dreading trying to replace them myself as everything in this old house is generally corroded and stuck to the point of breaking things to remove them.  And I wonder if just getting and replacing with the same size is best without knowing if they are currently correctly sized, etc. That’s why I’d be interested in pros who know what they’re doing… Thanks for any comments.

bklynbrickhouse

in Heating 13 years and 3 months ago

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biggles | 13 years and 3 months ago

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the vent threads are pretty much standard question here is what is the running pressure on the boiler when the stat runs it 5 PSI typical might need it adjusted up to get the steam up into the rads there.do you have boxed covers over them have they been painted over the years….is the back of the walls cold during the heating.make sure all the rads are tilted slightly towards the one pipe out of the floor…vents have to HISS so the steam pressure can enter the rad and heat cooling off and draining back do to the boiler….

deano | 13 years and 3 months ago

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MP certainly does know a guy.   for concerns about health of a steam system, i find MP’s “boilerside manner” most reassuring.

bklynbrickhouse | 13 years and 3 months ago

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Thanks very much for the comments. Had no heat for three nights last week and two days of work done on it (main burners just would not ignite). Might be a while to recover from that bill before going on to the next project.  But will seek more info from the kind offers from experts here.

brucef | 13 years and 3 months ago

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It is obvious that you have exhausted the diagnosis ability of your well meaning but challenged tradesmen. It is time to engage one of the more erudite professionals here who answer questions such as yours on this forum. It’s like the old joke, “But they knew where to kick it”.

Putnamdenizen | 13 years and 3 months ago

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Air vents are pretty easy to replace.  Just buy them and screw them on with plumbers tape to seal.

eman134 | 13 years and 3 months ago

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if you are interested in a free consultation, my contact information is in my profile

Master Plvmber | 13 years and 3 months ago

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I know a guy.