URGENT! RADIATOR HELP!

[GeneralElectric]

So my house sucks. Its drafty, its got thin walls, and everything is about as new as the Johnson administration.

We have a natural gas water boiler without an autofill.

I noticed around 11pm that I no longer had any heat. Great. Boiler is clogged. Again. (It needs to be drained once a week and refilled)

So eventually my process of emptying it and refilling it worked to unclog it. My girlfriend turned the heat up to 80 on the thermostat (mind you the downstairs is a lot draftier than the upstairs and its much colder down there) in the living room. Apparently under the guise of heating the house up faster.

Well my bedroom has always been insufferably hot compared to the other rooms since its the only thing that isn't drafty. I fixed that last winter.

Previously (as in about 3 weeks ago) she said she thought she saw steam coming out of my crappy old radiator. I didn't think she did as when I looked nothing was coming out and I didn't feel anything.

Now the little tiny silver bell thing on the side of my radiator has a giant crack in it. I dunno how it got there or if its always been there and cranking the heat exacerbated the problem. Regardless its shooting out steam at an alarming rate.

How do I turn off my radiator without burning the crap out of myself? (I already have got a giant welt going from my thumb up half my forearm from tossing a t-shirt on it so I could clear stuff away from the radiator.

Now I don't know much about plumbing or radiators, and I don't claim to. I can fix simple stuff like sinks and toilets but I've never worked on a radiator. I just want my radiator to stop being so loud and damnit, work like its supposed to.

[Baryonyx]

Invest in a better central heating system.

[T-Bird]

Hi.

As a quick fix, just turn the shut-offs to the closed position. That is only valid if they still move, obviously.

If the low cost living is Your thing, you have to either be a junkyard rat or know a good one. I should know, I am one .

+1 on investing in better system, it sounds like a major disaster is brewing in there.

While DIY plumbing isn't as dangerous as playing DIY electrician, that too can hurt You or your posessions in a really, really bad way.

Regards
Sam

[Relic]

a radiator obviously has a line in, and a line out, just follow the line in to the shut off and turn the sucker. It may be right next to the radiator, it may be on a floor below but it has to be there somewhere. Sometimes they get frozen over time and you really need to work it.
Once you get that shut off, you can asses the damage to see what you're working with. Sometimes that sort of thing can be temporarily patched (key word - "temporarily") buying you some time to figure out how to permanantly fix it yourself or get someone in who can do it for you.
Of course teh best option is to just get a new system but that 'aint exactly cheap..

[GeneralElectric]

Just got out of the ER awhile ago. Turns out I burnt my hand pretty bad. I also got no insurance.

It turns out that the normal shut off valve was broken and was just a piece of stripped metal. I ended up just super gluing heavy duty sand paper to it and then using it to twist.

[Thunderscreech]

Since it seems like you're using on the steam heat and not hot water systems, count yourself lucky. Water at 240 is a lot less fun then steam at 240.

The "silver bell", then, If I'm correct in this assumption, is the regulator for the radiator. They still make them (I think), so you might get lukcy and be able to find one. Try building supply comaines like McMaster-Carr, or your local plumbing shop. The repair itself shouldn't be too bad, just reattaching the new one.

Please note that all this info is an assumption.

[excane]

[Stumbo]

Wear some warmer clothes around the house. Keeps the thermostat down and saves some $$.

[Chunk-O-Funk]

You mentioned you have a boiler? It is a steam system, right?
If it's a steam system you will only have one pipe feeding the radiator. If it's a hot water system you will have one pipe going in and one going out. (to the best of my knowledge)


I've had a natural gas powered steam system for quite a while and replaced the boiler some ten or so years ago. The bell thing you are looking at is a vent valve. Like Thunderscreech mentioned they regulate the steam that escapes from the radiator. You can pick these up at Home depot or just about any plumbing shop for about $10.00. They're really easy to replace. I usually replace them every other season as they get clogged up with minerals. Once they're clogged up the radiator will not vent and doesn't get as hot as it should.

Of course, just turn down the heat and let the radiator cool down before you replace them. The steam is under pressure and much hotter than the boiling point. It could melt your face off. You can usually unscrew them with your hands. If it's stuck and won't budge use a pair of water pump pliers to loosen it up. Just be careful not to break the thread off inside the radiator. Put some teflon tape/paste on the threads of the new one and then hand tighten it back on the radiator.

Also, get the adjustable ones. It will help a little with evening out the different room temperatures you have. When the valve is set to "open" or on it's highest number it will vent more steam and the radiator will get hotter. In the room where it's too hot put the valve on the lowest setting/number. It's effect is subtle but should help.



Sound like already you found out, but I wouldn't try and turn off the radiator when the system is running. The steam at the valve and in the radiator will make some loud banging noise as you try to cut off it's path. The steam in the radiator will eventually turn to water and not be able to drain back into the boiler.


Auto-fill. When I got my new system I opted out on this. I asked if it ever malfunctions could it overfill my boiler and the answer was "it's a possibility".


If you have any leaky radiators used ones pop up on Craigslist from time to time.



EDIT:
You mentioned your systems gets clogged and you have to drain it. Do you get it flushed before the season?
Part of a seasonal tuneup includes flushing the boiler. I've done it myself by draining it completely and then running the water (with the drain valve still open) until the water runs clear (clean). Now I'm on a service plan that includes a tune up. I know first hand if something on the heating system ups and dies on ya emergency repair is very, very, expensive.

[GeneralElectric]

Its a natural gas boiler and its a steam system. According to the manual it came with I'm supposed to drain it out every week which is a real pain. I think its a retarded set up.

The first time the heat went out, I ended up calling a plumber who just poured in some cleaner. He said it was a good thing that my boiler didn't have autofill else it would have been destroyed.


When you drain it till it runs clear, I'm assuming you do it every 3-4 months (seasonal right?) Do I turn off the boiler when I do it, or it doesn't matter? Currently whenever I open it its brownish dirt water.

[Chunk-O-Funk]

Originally Posted by GeneralElectric

Its a natural gas boiler and its a steam system. According to the manual it came with I'm supposed to drain it out every week which is a real pain. I think its a retarded set up.

The first time the heat went out, I ended up calling a plumber who just poured in some cleaner. He said it was a good thing that my boiler didn't have autofill else it would have been destroyed.


When you drain it till it runs clear, I'm assuming you do it every 3-4 months (seasonal right?) Do I turn off the boiler when I do it, or it doesn't matter? Currently whenever I open it its brownish dirt water.

I guess we may just have two totally different systems. I only flush it once before the winter hits. During the winter if I get a semi-warm day I will drain some of the rusty water and then fill it back to the correct level. The boiler I have. I've never really noticed anywhere on it where you could pour in cleaner. As far as I know it's a sealed system.

When I flush the boiler I shut it off. Actually, it's already off because I do it before it gets cold outside. Also, when I'm draining it and as the water gets below a certain level the boiler will shut itself off as a safety feature. But, yeah. I always shut it off or turn down the heat way down and let the boiler cool down if I want to drain some water.

[GeneralElectric]

Mine doesn't have a pipe to pour cleaner down. The plumber unscrewed one of the pipes coming down off the top and just poured it in.

[GeneralElectric]

Thanks Chunk-o-Funk though, this has been a great help. Now I have a project to do tomorrow.