We recently moved in to a 1934 home with steam radiators.
Our upstairs bedrooms are cold compared to the first floor. A room adjacent to our kitchen is generally warmer than the rest of the house.
Can I adjust the radiators to try and correct this imbalance? It is possible the prior owners were ok with the bedrooms being cool because they were empty nesters. We are home all day due to covid and would like the rooms to be the same temperature.
I have attached a picture of a standard radiator in our house. Most of them had Hoffman adjustable valves. On the first floor the valves are set to 2 or 3 and upstairs they are 6/open.
I am confused if 6 translates to "hotter" than 2, if it's an inverse relationship or direct relationship.
I don't want to start fiddling if it will upset the apple Kart. Would anybody know if I should open the valves on the first floor and close them on the 2nd floor? I am assuming that opening or closing the input valve is wrong to moderate the heat and that the proper adjustment is through the air valve.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Best Answer
I've not lived with a steam system, though I have some understanding of them.
Air vents (and your picture) imply that you have a "one pipe" steam system, where the pipes are sloped to allow condensed water to flow back to the boiler while steam flows to the radiators above that. The air vent allows air out of the system and then closes when it heats up as steam gets to the radiator.
A search on Hoffman Adustable Valve comes up with
Adjustable port for true proportional venting v 6 port settings from slow (1) to fast (6)
Which appears to be "1 is less and 6 is more"
The supply valves (as you suspect) should be fully open (unless someplace is so overheated you don't want that radiator to heat at all.) Do check that the upstairs control valves (on the steam pipes) are fully open.
It is possible that (some of) your air valves may not be operating as they should, and need to be replaced with ones that do. You could certainly try moving some of the "too warm" rooms from
2 or 3to1 or 2. It might be worth trying turning the upstairs air valves down to1and then back up to6- but they might need to be replaced. You should hear air coming out of the vents when the boiler starts up.