hello everyone...we just purchased a new home, and this morning the house was 54 degrees...YIKES! checking the boiler in the basement, and the unit was on but all the radiators were cold to the touch?? the thermostate reads that the system is on and producing heat, but it isn't?? any idea's for when i get home this evening for fixing this?

BTW: (single pipe natural gas utica boiler, 2 story home.)

 

Single pipe as in steam?

 

yes, sorry about that- 1 pipe steam system

 

Is the boiler gas or oil fired? A model number of the boiler might help us find a manual for it.

 

natural gas boiler, i'm currently at work so i can't give more info about the unit...

i did however while looking at the device lastnight, which seemed to be working properly see that the PSI valve wasn't registering any pressure...i flicked it with my finger thinking that it was stuck but never changed / moved??

 

Being steam, it should have a glass tube, usually on the front, which shows water level in the boiler. Often there are lines on the boiler which show minimum & maximum water levels. The water level in the glass tube should be between the lines.

 

ok, it seems that i'm on the right track as i asked my wife this morning on the phone what that level was...she indicated that it seemed low but was unable to determine if it needed more water or had to much, is it possible that the auto fil valve is off? this house i purchased just under a month ago was vacant for awhile, and when the inspectors were there they didn't mention i needed to adjust anything, just the main switch???

just a thought.

 

I haven't read this book myself but I understand from others that it really is a goodun for homeowners... might be well worth picking up a copy to help you understand what you need to know !

We've Got Steam Heat!" a practical guide for homeowners

I just read the excerpt available on that website... great stuff ! I might just have to buy the book myself even if I never get near a steamer !

 

thanks for the heads up...just ordered!

 

It is possible the water to the feed valve is shut off. If you can, some pictures of the boiler & nearby piping would be helpful. You can post them on photobucket.com (free) & provide a link here.

 

ok guys this baby is producing heat again....

i have to give a warmy thanks to this forum and everybodys help on this!!!

what had happaned is "which is my fault being a house noob" the boiler was out of water...

after further inspection reading the forums i noticed that my utica boiler (roughly installed 1978) has a manual water feed from the hotwater tank. lastnight i (luckily i had all the documentation from the install - go figure) i was reading and figured out that the unit was near empty.

i ended up skimmimg (draining out a bucket full water as directed by the manual) and slowly refilled the boiler to the desired level...poped the switch and BINGO!!! 30 minutes later the rad were warming up!! woohoo!!!

the reason i think that the water level had gotten so low was because when we bought the house no all the rad were activated, or on and the rad in the downstairs bathroom had/has no valve...turning all the rad on, and letting the bathroom vavle release steam i believe caused this "outage"

am i on the right track?? being a house noob i might be talk talking out the other end, and completly off track???

i forgot to jot down the serial / model number of my boiler, but i did have a warrany cert stating that the unit was installed in 78!? old huh!! LOL

 

'78 OLD ? huh, you haven't seen MY warranty papers then!

Glad you got it running... when you get Dan's book, you will learn a heckuva lot more about your system I'm sure. I've got one on my list for the dude in the red suit.

Those vents on the rads release air from the pipes when you start making steam, and suck it back in when the steam goes away. (I learned that from reading the excerpt on Dan's website! )

Good on ya, stay warm!