Main Line Vents... Y-separators? Dirt Separators?

TomC_Chicago

Hi fine folks! First timer posting here. I have questions about Y-separators and Dirt Separators, but I'll give you the whole story just so you can see what I'm doing (or hoping to do). I searched for awhile on the wall, but no posts seem to wrap it all up in a way I can act on.

     I have a 90 year-old, three-story, 6-unit apartment building here in Chicago. It's heated by a professionally installed 15 year-old Weil-McLain LGB-6 atmospheric boiler on a single-pipe steam system (51 radiators total). After learning what I can absorb on this site, and picking up the amazing and mildly entertaining reference materials available here, I'm working on tweaking the system myself for best performance and longevity.

     I have had the system working at as low a pressure as I can get from the Pressuretrol, but to get lower operating pressures I am installing a Vaporstat w/ 0-3psi gauge in series ahead of the Pressuretrol w/ the mandatory 0-30psi gauge. I figured the Vaporstat was needed to get my operating pressure down to the levels that seem to work best for Gorton No. 2 main line vents. I'm adding those on antlers for each of the two steam loops. I have Y-strainers (to be oriented to drop out any sediment) to go in the riser ahead of the antlers. To monitor the air flow through the Y-strainers I'll tap into the pipe before and after the Y-strainers and add Dwyer differential pressure gauges rated at 0-4" (about 0-2 oz./sq.in.) water column. That will let me see if the strainers are getting crudded up without having to open them up.

     By the way, I determined my main line vent requirements by adding up all of the pipe capacity in each steam loop to determine the total volume of steam to vent out of the system fast. Of course my source of info for doing that was the amazing .pdf offered here, Balancing Steam Systems Using a Vent Capacity Chart.

     After that long introduction...I'm wondering (1) if I'm on the right track for those upgrades, and (2) if I should maybe be more aggressive about grabbing crud that is floating around in the system. Should I be considering a Spirotrap dirt separator instead of, or in addition to, the y-strainers? (I already own the y-strainers and differential gauges, but haven't installed them. I got them almost free.) If a Spirotrap is recommended, I presume it would go on the horizontal piping at the end of the return line. My return is 2", and I'm wondering if it would be OK to use a pair or 2" to 1-1/2" reducers in order to tie into a 1/2" brass Spirotrap?? I could justify that expense, as opposed to paying 4x-5x that amount for a dirt trap that fits 2" pipe.

     Of course, everything I just talked about is the easy stuff. The major part of the job will be re-balancing the system radiator-by-radiator, and upgrading the pipe insulation in the basement.

     I'll appreciate hearing back from anyone who has managed to read all of this and who has comments or criticism to help me out.

     You are all amazing. Thanks for the generous contributions you all make to the ongoing art of steam and hydronic heating.

-tom-