This section is your comprehensive guide on steam heating systems with articles about proper steam piping, boilers, pressure, venting, radiators, water quality, and more. We'll also walk you through troubleshooting steam system problems like noisy pipes.
You'll sometimes see a thin, reflective insulation barrier between a radiator and the outside wall of a building. The Dead Men installed these to reflect the radiators' r...
Here’s how you’d pass a steam main over a steel beam: The pitch is in the direction of the flow. The steam goes over the beam through a pipe that’s the same size as the m...
Reinvent is the nickname of one of the members of The Wall. This is a time-lapse film that shows how steam is lighter than air and will go to the top of the radiator firs...
No. Hot water radiators operate within a “closed” system where there’s little or no corrosion taking place. Flushing these radiators will only cause you to add more water...
If it’s a one-pipe steam radiator, the vent belongs on the side of the radiator that’s opposite the pipe. Because the lighter-than-air steam will head first for the top o...
No, but it has to have something to keep the steam from entering the condensate return lines. That “something” may be an internal orifice, a tiny check valve you can’t se...
It’s the way the radiator sections go together. They may be nippled together at both the top and bottom, or just at the bottom. Older steam radiators have nipples across ...
Q: If I decide to move a cast-iron radiator, where should I reinstall it? A: Ideally, a cast-iron radiator should be under the window (that’s where the greatest heat loss...
First, take care with those old pipes. Make sure you’re using two wrenches when you’re loosening the union connections. Assume the position, and then turn one wrench whil...
Maybe. It all depends on how the long-gone manufacturer assembled the radiator. A cast-iron radiator goes together in sections, like a loaf of sliced bread.