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Correct size and location of main vent?

Steamhead (in transit)
Steamhead (in transit) Member Posts: 6,688
in THE MAIN WALL
get steam at about the same time? If so, the vent size should be OK. But I think I'd use a Gorton #2 on that main.

The vent location isn't the best, but as long as there is no banging in the system you should be OK. BTW, it looks like someone drilled and tapped that vent riser into the elbow. Imagine how uneven the system would have been with no main vent!

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Comments

  • Charles_8
    Charles_8 Member Posts: 74
    Pictures

    There is about 45 ft of insulated 2" main in this one-pipe steam system. The previous vent was corroded and leaking, so I replaced it with a Jacobus (Maid-O-Mist) #1. It's installed on the same 1/4" pipe nipple on the last elbow at the end of the main. See pics.

    The radiators vent quite audibly. Although the house heats quite well even on a -20F day, none of the radiators get hot all the way across, and I don't think the radiator vents ever close. The boiler doesn't have to run long enough to build measurable pressure (the vaporstat doesn't cut out) before the thermostat satifies anyway.

    Note that there is no Hartford loop, equalizer or check valve either... whoever installed the boiler must not have been a steam expert. But even at a maximum of 10 oz/sq.in pressure, the water could only rise back up the return about 14", far from the vent location.

    Do I need more venting? Is it in a good location?
    thanks
    Charles
  • Charles_8
    Charles_8 Member Posts: 74
    Radiators...

    ...upstairs are fed from the main close to the boiler. The living room rad, which is also where the thermostat is, connects to the main about halfway around the loop.

    It was always at least 5 degrees warmer upstairs,, maybe even more, with hotter radiators too, until I removed the orifice plug from the living room (Maid-o-Mist) rad vent entirely. Now the temps up and downstairs are nearly even.

    However, the venting noise from the now-large-diameter living room vent is still quite audible. Since this bigger opening helps equalize the heat in the other rads, that's why I was thinking that my mains needed more venting. Does this make sense to you?

    How much bigger is a Gorton #2 than a Jacobus #1 (.185 orifice)?
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