Can a one-pipe steam system be separated in to zones?

Just wondering if an electric valve can be put in the pipes that go to the second floor to make it a separately controlled zone.

Thanks Dante

Reply to
Dante M. Catoni
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You probably have to run another pipe to break off of the first floor, otherwise the first floor would have to be calling for heat before the second floor would get any. Not a cheap job but they do make zone valves for steam systems

Reply to
RBM

The easiest thing to do is to add thermostatically controlled steam vents at each radiator you want to control individually.

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Make sure you get appropriate for your system as one-pipe and two-pipe systems operate differently, and make sure that you're getting the control that fit's into the 1/8" NPT steam vent, not the larger version which replaces the existing valve at the floor with the handle on top (much more work to swap out).

There are versions that have a remote thermostat that can be mounted on the wall, with the two parts connected by a short capillary tube (no electricity), which will allow you to put the thermostat in a better location if a direct vent replacement control would be problematic. Also, do not put a thermostatic control on the radiator in the room that has the existing wall thermostat - they end up fighting.

Honeywell makes a kit that has the vent, valve and thermostatic control. Some other manufacturers sell the parts separately. Figure $75 to $100 per radiator.

R
Reply to
RicodJour

Just curious, are you having a problem wth one particular floor getting too hot, or not getting enough heat? Where is the T-stat located now?

Reply to
Mike rock

Just curious, are you having a problem wth one particular floor getting too hot, or not getting enough heat? Where is the T-stat located now?

If that's his problem, it won't matter where the stat is located. The radiator sizing is incorrect and needs to be balanced

Reply to
RBM

Why do you want to zone, is heat uneven. I dont think its worth considering from a cost point, I use Danfoss thermostatic valves. Uneven heat is a Vent issue on radiators and the returns, Vents do go bad, I balanced everything with venting.

Reply to
ransley

Thermostat location affects the timing of heat delivery and a blanket statement about the location of the thermostat not mattering is misleading. You are not clear about what you mean by an incorrectly sized radiator. Steam radiators do not come tailor-made for a room and there is always adjustment necessary at the time of installation. Modifications to the house, such as adding insulation, will also require radiator adjustment. Most steam radiator problems can be compensated for by adjusting/replacing the existing steam vent (or adding another one), adding an air eliminator to the too-slow-to-heat main steam line on that side of the house, painting the radiator or building a radiator enclosure. All of the factors are interrelated.

R

PS Your newsreader is quoting in an odd way. The quoted part of the comments above shows your comment and Mike's as coming from the same post.

Reply to
RicodJour

Thermostat location affects the timing of heat delivery and a blanket statement about the location of the thermostat not mattering is misleading. You are not clear about what you mean by an incorrectly sized radiator. Steam radiators do not come tailor-made for a room and there is always adjustment necessary at the time of installation. Modifications to the house, such as adding insulation, will also require radiator adjustment. Most steam radiator problems can be compensated for by adjusting/replacing the existing steam vent (or adding another one), adding an air eliminator to the too-slow-to-heat main steam line on that side of the house, painting the radiator or building a radiator enclosure. All of the factors are interrelated.

R

PS Your newsreader is quoting in an odd way. The quoted part of the comments above shows your comment and Mike's as coming from the same post.

What you're saying is correct, and the point I'm attempting to make. If one area of a heating zone is hot, and another cold, relocating the thermostat to the location that's cold, does not solve the problem, adjustments to the heat output of the radiators does. I guess when you pay nothing for a news reader, this is the result.

Reply to
RBM

--------------------------------------- Remote sensing bulb thermostatic radiator valves! If the room that is cold does not have a sufficiently sized radiator [cold]. Is the radiator in the "cold" room not getting hot? Locating the t-stat in the "cold" room will just over heat the other rooms, right? Thermostatic valves will control the temp of every room and they make the system more economical too. Like those by Danfoss! They range from 100.00 to

200.00 ea.

------------------------------------- J.P. Avanti Services HVAC, Steam and closed loop Hydronic heating. In the service field for 25 years.

Reply to
avantiservices

As a professional you should be careful of the company you keep. The Homeowner's Hub web site has been implicated in the WikiLeaks thing. I'd sure hate to be investigated just because I was posting to Usenet through some scamming, spamming, intellectual property thieving web site. You can post to Usenet any number of ways, and many of them are totally free.

Another thing - you're responding to a 2 1/2 month old thread. There seems to be a lot of that from that posting site you used. Kind of makes your answer pointless as it's unlikely that the original poster is still monitoring Usenet for answers to that question.

R
Reply to
RicodJour

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