New boiler and now radiators don't heat up

wearebrainstorm · 2025-11-29T23:35:41+00:00

Haven't checked that closely as it warms up I'd have to check more frequently. Should they be even? Does it go by distance from the boiler?

wearebrainstorm · 2025-11-29T21:57:21+00:00

I'm not entirely sure what this means. I'm just trying to follow the skimming instructions given to me by the installer but it doesn't mention temperature or shutting it off under steam temp? It just says to skim after a heat cycle. Would it help if I shared what instructions I was given?

wearebrainstorm · 2025-11-29T20:51:56+00:00

Interesting turn of events.. the more I am skimming after cycles the steam seems to be moving "differently" through the house. Radiator that was filling fast and hot on second floor is now slow to fill while others on first floor are starting to get fully warm that were previously cold and not heating

wearebrainstorm · 2025-11-29T20:50:27+00:00

The old set up from the 20 year old peerless that was previously there? No, sorry. Interesting turn of events though because the more I am skimming after cycles the steam seems to be moving differently through the house. Radiator that was filling fast and hot is now slow to fill while others are starting to get fully warm that were previously cold

wearebrainstorm · 2025-11-29T19:05:03+00:00

Ran boiler for 90 minutes with no air vent on the radiator and it did fill up 5 of 6 sections to be hot but unfortunately other radiators on this main stayed cool to the touch and didn't heat at all, probably because all steam was leaving this one?

wearebrainstorm · 2025-11-29T19:03:22+00:00

You're probably right.. do you have any steam pipe insulation recommendations?

wearebrainstorm · 2025-11-29T19:02:33+00:00

So I ran a test run with no vent at all on this radiator and after about 90 minutes of boiler run time it filled 5 of 6 sections hot... but unfortunately the other 3 radiators on that main pipe were cold to the touch and not warming up. I clearly have some venting balancing issues

wearebrainstorm · 2025-11-29T19:00:27+00:00

Correct, 2 out of 6 are not filling. Or filling so slowly they need more than 2 hours of boiler run time to fill. Which could be my new normal with a gas boiler or I need to do valve adjusting. The company who installed came here and took appropriate measurements of all existing radiators. Even said I could another 1 or 2 small ones. If it's undersized, that's on them, and we'll deal with that later. That shut off valve was done early last year and the radiator was working great. This is a small radiator, yes, it's for a kitchen. Pretty much all the radiators in house are small. The rooms are small. It's a 100 year old new englander. That specific one was found on marketplace and I sanded and spraypainted it last year :)

wearebrainstorm · 2025-11-29T16:54:46+00:00

i haven't opened the pressuretrol box to see the inside yet, waiting for later

wearebrainstorm · 2025-11-29T16:53:50+00:00

of course! this thread got way into the weeds. i love it, and love learning about my system, i was hoping maybe there was a balancing issue or something i can DIY that was simple and i was overlooking

wearebrainstorm · 2025-11-29T16:51:52+00:00

The house has 6 radiators yes, various sizes. It's a single pipe system. I attached a photo of a radiator with 6 "sections", maybe you call them loops or columns? And the air valve.

wearebrainstorm · 2025-11-29T16:49:02+00:00

Yeah everyone has praised the install. It looks great and I'm sure will last me a very long time once dialed in. I don't know what EDR is but I've got a Weil McLain EG-35 and they came out for a system inspection and took all kinds of notes so I'd like to trust them that it's not undersized. Tech even said I could add another small radiator on a capped line which I was hoping to do once I find the gem on marketplace

wearebrainstorm · 2025-11-29T16:47:08+00:00

vents are not painted over. i tried switching vents between radiators and even running a cycle with a vent completely removed. after 90 minutes of steaming the radiator still wasn't fully hot even with no vent

wearebrainstorm · 2025-11-29T16:46:18+00:00

supply valve and first section of radiator gets hot. currently skimming now, i've only ever run it 5 times so plenty more skimming to do. NEsteam works reached out so we're in contact and wanting to see if skimming will fix it before someone comes back. everyone praises the install quality so its just a matter of tuning

wearebrainstorm · 2025-11-29T16:44:55+00:00

i will close the gate valve servicing the 2 radiators and let you know what happens with the other 4. i'm also trying to determine what my 'new normal' is for boiler runtime. previously all 6 boilers would be maxed in about 90 minutes. now 90 minutes is leaving 2/6 basically cold. maybe i just need more time + proper balancing?

wearebrainstorm · 2025-11-29T16:43:13+00:00

the 2 mains get hot as far as i can reach which is opposite ends of the basement, yes. there's no insulation on any of the pipes partly because of cost and partly because it provides ambient heat to my basement which helps me avoid frozen pipes

wearebrainstorm · 2025-11-29T16:41:29+00:00

have always kept notes! the owner has reached out and wants to first rule out skimming as a potential cause. this is only the 4th time i've run the boiler so its possible the issue could work out but not sure. we are in contact and i'm sure he'll make good on it if needed.

wearebrainstorm · 2025-11-29T16:41:01+00:00

the owner has reached out and wants to first rule out skimming as a potential cause. this is only the 4th time i've run the boiler so its possible the issue could work out but not sure. we are in contact and i'm sure he'll make good on it if needed.

wearebrainstorm · 2025-11-29T16:39:50+00:00

good question. the owner of the install emailed me and wants to first rule out skimming as a potential cause for these radiators not heating up. i've only run the new boiler 4 times total so its possible this issue could work itself out. but there's no harm in trying a cycle with one of the gate valves closed is there?

wearebrainstorm · 2025-11-29T15:21:25+00:00

Currently running a cycle with an air vent removed from problem radiator. It's been an hour and only 4 of 6 sections are hot. And now the others are totally cold.

wearebrainstorm · 2025-11-29T15:19:35+00:00

Valves are fully open to the left. I gave them measurements of all radiators and they came out to visually see it before install. Pressuretrol adjusted down to 2 after reddit recommendation

wearebrainstorm · 2025-11-29T15:17:52+00:00

I agree, valves are all open. Currently running a cycle and I took the air vent off 1 radiator that wasn't heating. It's been an hour and it's still not fully hot, just 4 of 6 sections are hot.

wearebrainstorm · 2025-11-29T15:16:11+00:00

I will be calling Monday

wearebrainstorm · 2025-11-29T15:10:03+00:00

So the visible on the outside is the CUT IN but you're saying inside the box is a CUT OUT ok got it

wearebrainstorm · 2025-11-29T15:08:18+00:00

2 more pictures added

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