Main Vent Issue

Steamclueless

I am new to this forum and trying to get a grasp of everything from a DIY perspective. I have a one pipe system and had just moved into a 1930's Single family home, we have a 20 year old Weil-Mclein natural gas boiler. We had contractors renovate the house and I thought that I had solved the problem of the radiator leaking when I noticed that the leaks were the result of the contractor's hand tightening the Radiator to the shut off valve. Then there was leaking from the air vents which I replaced based on the size of the radiator, when I fixed one radiator from leaking it got pushed to another spot. All the radiators are pitched towards their respective connections. The Boiler is set to the lowest possible pressure setting, I just made sure all the pipes in the basement are insulated....Then I realized that the one vent I haven't changed is the main vent! When I tried to replace it a came into a problem. It is located between a door jamb and the pipe and I can't get the pipe that runs off the Main vent to budge either...Should I hire a professional to remove it? Is there a way around it? And will fixing the main vent have any effect on the radiator's leaking? ( For some reason this picture is facing horizontally and not Vertically)

nicholas bonham-carter

removing old vent

i would unscrew the nipple, and vent. that will give you enough room to turn the elbow towards a part of the ceiling with enough headroom to put on at least 1 gorton #2. do a search here for antler, and you will see our favorite methods for mounting main vents. the nipple can also be cut and then longitudinally cut just above the female threads, and finally collapsed, [may require an old-timer to help you!].

when you say that your pressure is turned down as far as it will go, you are hoping the pressuretrol is working properly. however until you have a gauge rated in ounces, you will never know for sure. leaking vents would indicate high pressure to me.--nbc

Rod

Main Vents

Hi- You may want to put some penetrating oil on the main vent's pipe fittings first before trying to remove them. I've had good luck using Kroil made by Kano Labs. (It's available either from Kano or Amazon.)  WD 40 doesn't work as it isn't a penetrating oil.  Since it looks like your main vent has been leaking you probably will want to replace it. You can route the piping to a more convenient location. The important thing is to install it so that any water the enters the vent will drain back to the main piping.



Echoing what NBC has said, If your new vents are leaking it may be a sign that your boiler pressure is too high.  Residential steam systems operate at a maximum pressure of 2 PSI and most operate at less than that. With steam heating, lower pressure equals better, more efficient operation.  It's really important to fix any steam leaks as this wastes fuel.

Be careful when checking for steam leaks as live steam can give you a BAD burn!  Don't use your bare hand to feel for steam leaks, use a strip of newspaper and watch for movement.

- Rod