Steam Heat


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Old 01-21-08, 12:08 PM
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Steam Heat

I have steam heat in my house and have two questions:
1) I have an automatic shut off to the boiler if the water is low. Once this shuts off I refill the boiler myself. I want to install an automatic water feeder to the boiler. do i simply remvoe the shut off and repalce it with the aumatic feeder? I imagine I must connect it to the water line. ANy thoughts would be helpful.
2) I once saw on a do it yourself tv show, that you can replace a air vent on a steam radiator and replace it with a thermostatic control. This would allow each radiator to reach different temperatures and also allow heat/steam to travel through out the house quicker. Basically at night we are not on teh first floor and really need the heat on the 2nd floor, but dont want to add a second zone. Does this make sensE?
 
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Old 01-21-08, 02:57 PM
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You need to connect the auto feed to the LWCO. The LWCO is what activates the auto feeder. Remember the auto feed does not replace maintaining water level manually.

The valve/vents you are referring to do not change automatically. Once set they will stay the same unless you manually change them. Make sure you have good main line vents. This is the first thing I think of when a steam system heats slowly or out of balance.
 
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Old 01-21-08, 03:39 PM
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Depending on what brand / style of automatic feeder you install it may, or may not, be controlled by the existing low water cut off.

An air vent, by itself, cannot control the temperature of a steam radiator. Using adjustable orifice air vents instead of fixed orifice vents can change the time it takes for the radiator to reach temperature.

Although I am not aware of them, it is possible there are thermostatic steam radiator valves available for one-pipe steam systems.
 
 

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