Main Vent

NRTDave

Hello, I am a new guy who has just recently discovered what I didn't know about "steam heat". And "everything" is the short answer.
My main has 1 vent only and that is a Vent-Rite #77. It must be real old. The piping [with asbestos] has probably been in place since the days of coal.
I was surprised to easily remove the locking nut by hand and remove the "bullet" part of the vent. It almost fell off. I guess the lower parts stayed in place.
Anyway I would like a new replacement that I can change out as easily as makes sense. I think it has a 3/4" thread.
Oh yes, I don't want cheap, I need good, if that helps.
Thanks for reading and educating me to this wonderful world.

Mike

Brad White

Time to do it right

If you have a single main as it seems (probably what now, 2-inch? As if I am a sage... post the length so that a proper venting arrangement can be made. A tree of smaller vents may get you faster venting and with less potential for damage. You probably will have to remove the remains of the vent base to get a new nipple in there.


Is the current vent held back from the end of the main at least a foot or foot and a half?

NRTDave

Time to do it Right

Hello Brad, I couldn't agree more. This is the "time to do it right". I'll have to get back to you with the length of the main tomorrow,as my son is living in the house in another city.
I did measure the near boiler riser piping on the relatively new Burnham, and it measured 2 1/2" OD. So if the main stays consistant, you are probably exactly right with 2" pipe.
As I said, I'll measure tomorrow. Should I measure the length of the lines that break off the main also? No vents on those though.
"Is the vent 12 to 18 inches" from the end of the main? It seems that the main goes directly to the end of the house and the riser goes up. Also at that point [probably with a tee or some other fitting] the main line also makes a 90 degree turn and goes another 12" or so only. That is where the vent is. Not exactly on the straight main, but a small distance 90 degrees to the right.
Also, the vent top is only a half inch or less from the floor boards above. I would have liked to see more room.

Brad, thanks for the response and I'll do more measuring tomorrow. Please let me know if there is anything else that would be meaningfull to you.

Mike

Brad White

A Venti Doppio Latte Please

Hi Mike- Having fun are we? Yep.

Where that "end of main vent" is, concerns me. Picture if you will on cold start-up. Some water beads up and collects in the invert (inside bottom) of the pipe.

Steam comes along, picks up that water and carries it at some velocity into the end of the main. That water will find that vent and likely damage it. By having the vent off the top and back from the main allows the steam and water to pass safely below it.

With what you have, I would at least put another nipple or two with an elbow on that vent and pull it back if you can so that the steam/water slug (if you ever have one) will have to really work to hit that vent. I would even split the last nipple with a tee and install the vents in the top like antlers. See the attached for a picture.

Don't worry about the branches to the radiators- those are the responsibility of the radiator vents to take care of.

NRTDave

Brad, I am having great difficulty in posting.
I'll try again tomorrow.
Mike

NRTDave

vent.pdf won't open

vent.pdf doesn't open for me. Would you please verify that the file is good and resend?

steam_in_my_house

download the file as is (it will save it to your computer called attachment.cfm) Then change the file extension to pdf and it will open.

NRTDave

PDF File Problem Fixed

Steam In My House, thanks. Problem solved, file downloaded and printed. Knowing what to do really helps. :-)

Thanks again.

Mike

Big Al

Mine is piped wrong

The main vent in my house is piped directly above the return drop, not 15" back, but about 10" up from the elbow. It never spits or hammers . . . just a gentle whoosh and then silence. For the sake of reliability, I just replaced an ancient looking Trane vent that was still working in that location.

I could re-pipe 15" back, but would need to deal with asbestos. I'd rather not.

Maybe the configuration of the main, pitch, size of the drop, etc. is more than adequate, so the vent never gets clobbered. If it seems to work so well, should I be concerned?

Thanks in advance,

Al

NRTDave

Took Measurements Earlier

Hello again. I took the following dimensions this AM and I hope they are of use.
That 2" main travels 28ft to make a right turn via a 90 deg elbow, then on 14" to a tee where the riser goes up. From the tee 9" more to another 90 deg elbow going up. Inside the 2" 90 deg elbow is a bushing that accepts 3/4 thread. The Vent-Rite #77 is screwed into the bushing.
Once in place there is less than a 1/4" between the top of the vent and the wooden floor boards above. It wouldn't surprise me if the vent didn't have to go in in two pieces.
That is what I found and I am at a loss as to how to deal with it correctly.
Thanks for reading and any comments that you might make.

Mike

Fred Harwood_2

test

With apologies for the test.

[Deleted User]

Main Vent

I asked for and received great advise from Ken at Gorton earlier today. Ken's customer service is outstanding. Others have said that, I can now confirm that myself.
I will branch 2 Gorton #1 vents for my main.
Then I'll tackle the rads.
Thanks everyone for your guidance.

Mike