Steam vent on radiator kees leaking even after replacement

Wes2

Hi ... I have a problem with a leaking steam vent (see picture).  It is attached about midway up on a 7-fin steam radiator.  Water spurts in small amounts from the hole on the top of it when the furnace has been running for a while.  When the furnace has been on for a while this spurting is enough to cause a small puddle on the floor.  This particular radiator is the farthest in my house from the furnace and it has always been slow to heat.



I had a steam system person come out to take a look at it and he concluded that the steam vent simply needed to be replaced.  He replaced it.  However, the new vent that he put in ALSO spurts water from the hole in its top.  I find it nearly impossible to believe that he installed a defective steam vent, or installed it incorrectly, though I suppose I can't rule that out.



When he installed the replacement steam valve, the numbered steam vent dial seen in the photo was turned so that the vent was open and would function.  Subsequently, when it became apparent to me that the replacement valve was also leaking, I turned the dial on the steam vent and CLOSED it, but that did not make any difference.  I had to turn off the radiator at its base to stop the leaking.



Does anyone have any ideas why this steam valve may still be leaking even after replacement?  Is it possible that water is simply building up in the radiator to the level of the steam vent?  Is it possible to simply take off the steam vent and install a non-functional cap or plug?  I'm sure that steam not venting due to the absence of a steam vent would affect the radiator's performance but I think poor performance is preferable to a puddle on the floor.

BobC

Leaker

Put a level on that radiator and make sure it has some pitch back to the supply valve so water can drain out of it. You can shim the vent end up to get pitch if you have to.



Then go downstairs and make sure the radiator pipe is also pitched so water can find it's way back to the boiler. Don't trust your eye, use a level.



Bob

Wes2

response to BobC

The radiator has correct pitch.  It is very noticeably slanted such that water will flow back to the supply valve at its base.  It has a wooden block under the end farthest from the supply valve to give it this pitch.



As for the pipe that connects this radiator to the furnace/boiler in the basement, it does NOT have the right pitch, in the sense that it slopes slightly downward as it goes from the furnace to the radiator in question.  However, I don't have the funds to correct this pipe's slant, and I am wondering whether anything ELSE can be done to fix the fact that water keeps leaking from the steam vent.

JStar

Vent

What pressure is the boiler running?



There is no alternative solution to fixing a poorly pitched pipe. It will always cause the same problem.

ChrisJ

pitch

If the pipe simply comes over to the radiator and goes straight up through the floor a temporary fix that may work is to put the entire radiator up on blocks.  This will raise the pipe as well.



I did this with one of my radiators until I could fix it, but you need to be careful and make sure the pipe isn't going to bind or hit anything else on its way up.  You're also dealing with a very heavy item, the radiator so you will need help.

Wes2

RE

It seems to get as high as 3 psi, but no higher.  Is that too much pressure?

BobC

Wet steam?

2PSi is the maximum you should run a normal single pipe system at and you would be better off with less, turn the pressuretrol down if you can. What kinds of main vents do you have on the system and is this radiator near the end of the steam main?



Post some pictures of the boiler, the pressuretrol, the piping around the boiler, and the pipe that feds this recalcitrant radiator. I suspect your system may be producing wet steam and that can lead to excess condensate and depending on the system layout it might lead to this behavior. Also your pressure gauge might not be telling the truth, the pressure might be higher than we think.



Bob

Wes2

response to BobC

Thanks, everyone, for the input.



@BobC:



Attached are pictures of the furnace/boiler (which is a Weil McClain Gold model) and the piping around it and the pressuretrol (which is set to cut in at 2 PSI).  I am also attaching a picture of the radiator.  I can't show a picture of the piping that feeds this problematic radiator as it runs underneath that wing of the house (i.e., between the ground and the floor I walk on), but I have noted that at the point where it goes into the wall in the basement it slopes DOWNWARD as it moves away from the furnace/boiler, which doesn't seem like a good thing.



I don't know what what the main vent is -- is it the one down by the boiler?



This radiator is the FARTHEST from the furnace/boiler of all the radiators in the house. 



Is the pressuretrol set right?  Could it simply be a matter of the system having pressure that is too high?

BobC

Interesting piping

If you remove the front cover of the pressuretrol the white dial inside should be set to one, the tab on the front should be set to 0.5 PSI (it is adjusted with the screw on top of the pressuretrol.



The pipe that feeds the radiator has to be sloped so water can find it's way back to the steam main and boiler. There is a lot of pipe in that photo and some of it looks a bit inventive. The steam main looks like it starts high above the boiler and probably slopes down as it goes along,  after the last radiator takeoff a smaller pipe would carry the condensate back to the boiler return.



The key would be to see how any water from that radiator would flow back to the boiler.



Bob

JStar

Steam

Aside from lowering the pressure, that piping isn't exactly right and may be causing wet, inefficient steam. The returns also join up high above the water line, allowing steam to disrupt proper balance and distribution. Wet steam will cause your problem, even a lower pressures. It will also make you waste a lot of fuel.