Posted by jtown on November 10, 2001 at 12:31:45:
In Reply to: just wondering... posted by Hillary Svengalis on November 10, 2001 at 00:03:29:
You had it right the first time - the water boils in the boiler and comes up to your radiator, pushing air out of the vent on your one-pipe radiator, or out the outlet trap and pipe if you have two-pipe radiators. When the air vent or trap gets hot it shuts. and steam condenses to water, dropping the pressure and letting more steam in to continue heating until the thermostat is satisfied. If you have one-pipe steam (one pipe hooked to radiator) you need to leave the valve wide open so the water can drain back okay. It is much harder to control. You can put thermostatic air vents on them or radiator covers. If you have an air vent whistling after uit gets hot,it probably needs replacing or cleaning. Make sure the boiler pressure is turned down the minimum. Other than nuisance noise, there is nothing to fear from your radiator.