There is much the homeowner can do to ensure full value from each fuel dollar. Any heating system will lose as much as 20 per cent of its efficiency if it is forced to work below par. Rust, soot, lack of air and insufficient oil on moving parts will all contribute to a costly reduction in heat output. Maintenance may often be a task involving only a few moments' time. As simple a matter as vacuuming convectors and registers will step up efficiency immediately.

Radiators

With the coming of autumn and the starting up of the heating system, there are usually the problems of radiators which won't heat, radiators which knock and hammer, and radiator valves which spit and sputter steam. Fortunately, repairs are not difficult, nor are any special tools required - indeed, most of the repairs can be made without any tools at all. The skill involved consists almost entirely in knowing what to do.

For example, suppose you have a steam radiator that will not heat. Just in case you forgot, first make sure the radiator valve is turned on. If it is, the trouble is almost sure to be in the air valve. This valve does two things - it allows the cold air in the radiator to be pushed out by the steam coming up from the boiler; and when the steam hits the valve, the rise in temperature automatically closes the valve to keep steam from escaping into the room.

If the air valve is stuck because of rust, grit or corrosion, no air can escape, steam cannot enter and the radiator is air-bound. To remove rust and grit, first close the radiator shut-off valve; manually unscrew the air valve by turning it counterclockwise. Shake the valve vigorously - this may loosen rust - then try to blow through its threaded end. If air passes through, reinstall the valve; if not, boil it in a strong solution of washing soda and water for about 20 minutes. You can put the valve back on the same radiator to see if it works, but a much better test is to put the valve on a radiator that is heating well. If this radiator continues to heat, fine; if not, obviously the valve is defective and will have to be replaced.

You have, in the exchange, installed the good air valve in the radiator which formerly would not heat up. If this radiator still does not heat - and you know now that the air valve is all right - the radiator is probably waterbound. To remedy this, put small blocks of wood about an inch high under the radiator legs farthest away from the shut-off valve. With a level, make sure the radiator is at least level, and preferably tilted slightly toward the shut-off valve. This will not only allow the radiator to heat but will cure the hammering continues, put blocks under all four legs, but make sure the radiator is at least level.

Sometime an air valve will sputter steam and water. Once again, try it on another radiator. If the valve still allows water to escape, the thermostatic device inside the valve is broken and the valve will have to be replaced.

If a radiator heats slowly, or only after all other radiators are hot, the air valve has too small an opening for the escape of air. You can buy an air valve with an adjustable opening and set the opening wide enough so that the radiator heats along with the others. The greater the distance between radiator and boiler, the wider the opening will have to be. With several of these adjustable valves, the system can be "balanced" so that all radiators heat equally, or for that matter, some radiators can be regulated so as to heat before any others.

Do not try to balance a steam system by partly closing the radiator shut-off valves, as this is likely to cause hammering. Keep steam radiator valves completely open or completely shut. Loosening of parts in the shut-off valve will also prevent a radiator from heating properly. Shut off the furnace and let it cool before taking a shut-off valve apart to see if it works.

Radiator valves sometimes leak around the packing nut. Tighten the nut a couple of turns. If it still leaks, shut the valve off and allow it to cool. Unscrew the packing nut and slide it up on the valve shaft. Wind some valve packing, which you can buy in any hardware store, around the shaft under the nut. Be sure to wind the packing in the same direction (clockwise) in which you are going to turn the nut when it is tightened. Then tighten the nut and turn on the valve. Hot-water radiator valves also leak around the packing nut and the repair is the same as for a steam valve, except that the water in the hot-water system must be drained out until its level is below the valve you want to fix. Unlike steam valves, hot- water shut-off valves may be set partly open or closed and used as throttling valves to regulate the amount of heat to each radiator. The entire system should be balanced in this manner to favor those radiators that do not heat enough and to cut down on those that are too hot.

Hammering in steam pipes is caused by water trapped in pipes no longer having enough slant back toward the boiler. This happens most often in old houses because of settling of the floors, sagging beams or the rotting away of pipe hangers and supports. The cure is to locate the low section where water can collect, then raise the pipe just enough to restore proper pitch. Since only a little movement of the pipe is needed to make a water "trap", by the same token only a little movement is needed to correct it.

The Oil Burner

An oil burner is a carefully adjusted mechanism, and usually repairs must be made by a serviceman. However, there are a number of things a homeowner can do and should know about which might eliminate the necessity for calling in outside help. The photographs on pages 178 and 179 illustrate these.

A rumbling noise in the boiler itself, surging noises in the pipes or an unsteady water line in the glass are all signs that the boiler water is dirty. To drain the boiler, let the fire go out and the boiler cool so that rust and sediment in the water can settle to the bottom. Turn off the cold water feed valve to the boiler. If you're not sure which valve it is, find where the cold water pipe enters your home and trace it to the boiler. Probably you'll find a shut-off valve just where the cold water pipe is attached to the boiler. Next, with the water in the boiler cooled, attach a garden hose to the drain cock at the bottom of the boiler. Open this drain cock and let the water out. When you're sure there's none left, open the cold water feed valve slightly. Let the water flush through the boiler. When the water coming out of the hose looks clean, you can shut the drain cock. This will start the filling of the boiler. Keep one eye on the water gauge on the side of the boiler. There is one with all systems except a closed hot-water heating system using an expansion tank. When water in the glass gauge shows the boiler is half full, shut off the feed valve. If you have a hot-water heating system with an expansion tank, close the valve from the system to the tank. Then open the drain valve on the bottom of the tank and let the water out. Leave this drain valve open about an hour or two and then close the drain valve and reopen the valve connecting the system with the tank. Remember, open this valve when you're finished draining the tank; it must be open before you start the system working.

While draining a rust-filled boiler is always recommended, excessive draining and refilling is not always the wisest policy. Heating water liberates minerals which then cling to the inside of boiler and pipes, clogging them. Where the water is known to be heavily mineralized, it is better to avoid draining and refilling and to use a rust-inhibitor chemical in the boiler water instead. Chemical treatment of household well water will either coat the entire system with a protective coating on inside surfaces of boiler and pipes or eliminate mineral content entirely.

Automatic Burners

Automatic heating equipment, owing to its complexity and the need for expert adjustment, is better tended by a professional. A homeowner can prolong the life of his heating equipment by cleaning dust, dirt and lint from fans and motor housings, and oiling motors periodically with S.A.E. 30 oil. Oil burner nozzles should be replaced once a year as the passage of fuel at high pressure widens the small jet orifices and eventually delivers a greater quantity of oil than required. This results in fuel loss and, furthermore, produces a poor flame. A smoking chimney is a sign of this trouble if you have an oil burner.

Gas burners require little attention as a rule. Gas alone will not burn until air is present. The gas burner merely mixes air with gas in proper proportion and passes it to the igniter. Observe the flame now and then. If it burns blue with a small yellow tip, the burner is functioning correctly. If there is no yellow tip, there is not sufficient air mixed with the gas. On the other hand, too much yellow indicates too much air. Adjust the air intake shutter - a simple process - until the flame is satisfactory. One more spot to check in gas burners is the ceramic flame spreader which most gas furnaces use. Replacing a broken or crumbled spreader is important as soon as detected, as an uneven flame wastes fuel.

Shutdown for Summer

With a little care at the time you close down your heating system for the summer, the long life promised by the manufacturer when he built the equipment can be realized. The following applies to any centralized system, no matter whether gas, oil or coal is used as a fuel.

Not enough emphasis can be placed on the necessity for intensive cleaning. With a wire brush, scrape all heating surfaces exposed to the fire. They must be completely free of soot, ash, or residue. It is the combination of sulphur in soot and moisture in the air that seriously damages heating equipment during the shutdown period. Pick a time soon after a rain when the soot is still damp. Shut all the dampers and drafts to avoid a face full of soot. The dampers and drafts are marked on some heating units. Clean the chimney and the ash clean-out; then the smoke pipe. Before you begin to take apart the smoke pipe, mark the joint of one pipe on the other with a thin stripe of paint (automobile touch-up paint dries quickly). These stripes will be guide marks when the pipes are put together later. You might even number the sections if there are many elbows and varying lengths. Take the pipes out into the backyard on a windless day. Don't tap on them to free the soot; you might dent them. Use a stiff brush attached to a long handle and scrub them with soapy water or a detergent. This will prolong the life of the pipes, since removal of soot prevents damping during the summer, a process which quickly rusts holes from the inside out: Stand the pipes in the sun to dry. When they're reinstalled, open the stove damper to let the wind blow through to keep them dry, but only after soot has been removed from      the furnace.    

If your heating plant is made of steel instead of the more usual cast iron, coat the cleaned surfaces with lubricating oil. Make a thorough job of this, and don't skimp on oil.

Remove the grates from any coal-burning unit, Wire-brush carefully and store in a dry place. If you haven't a really dry spot for storage, oil them instead. The oil will burn off when the grates are restored to use. Thoroughly clean out the fire pit with a vacuum cleaner. Clean the inside with a wire brush, and then leave the ashpit door slightly open for ventilation.

It is always a good idea to have the oil tank refilled after the furnace has been closed down for the summer. This reduces to a minimum the exposed areas of the tank walls, preventing formation of rust scale due to condensation of air moisture on the cold metal. At the same time, protect the tank bottom (where such accumulated moisture invariably settles) against pinhole leaks by introduction of a cartridge or dust type of rust-inhibitor coating. Tanks buried in the ground outside the house should be treated in this manner and coated on the outer surface with bituminous coatings before burial. Indoor oil tanks may be painted as a protection against rust. Should a pinhole leak be discovered in an oil tank, a small patch of chewing gum will stay the leak and, when the gum has hardened, a patch of plastic metal can be applied over it as a permanent seal.

When daily heat is no longer needed, pick a mild day to get the boiler drained.

The hot-water system should be left filled with water right up to the expansion tank. If, for any reason, the system has been drained and refilled, the furnace should be fired long enough to raise the water temperature close to the boiling point (about 180° minimum) to eliminate gases found in fresh water. Such gases can start corrosive action very quickly. The steam boiler, which is usually filled with water only to the halfway mark on the gauge glass, should now be completely filled. Close all radiator valves and raise the water level to the very top of the system. Just be sure the water level is lowered in the fall when you fire up the boiler again! If you have a mixing valve to cool the very hot water you use at the faucet in the winter, see if it's still open. As your furnace will not be operating over extended periods of time for a while, you'll probably partially (or even completely) close this valve as warmer weather comes. Be sure to check this mixing valve or else you might have cool water instead of hot during the spring and summer.