Unable to drain water from blow down

gcp13

the vxt auto feeder may be leaking by, not from the bypass but the feeder itself ,they have a filter screen inside that should be checked.try to find the paperwork for it.
i would shut the feeder off completely from valve up stream of feeder and see if water level maintains after a week.
the condition of the sight glass water looks flooded and so dirty
you cannot assume the other controls work at all
clogged sightglass valves top/bottom or both can play games with you as to what is going on
boiler should be flushed, pigtail (pipe connecting pressuretrol)
cleaned out, LWCO probe cleaned sight glass and valves and safety on top (yellow tag) cleaned as well
trying to adjust pressure before anything is cleaned is a waste of time

Abracadabra

The boiler wasn't turning on because the pressuretrol had a couple of feet of water above it and it was registering at least 1.5PSI which was opening up the pressuretrol not allowing the boiler to turn on. Now that you have the water level correct, set the cut-in to .5 and the differential to 1 or lower if you think it'll go. Don't push either the main too low because the adjustment screw might disconnect.

Kingkissel

Here are the updates: The boiler is now shut down. I went down and examined the pressuretrol and pig tail. My first question is aside from some Teflon tape, is there anything else I would need when installing? There was some kind of putty used on the pressuretrol and pig tail threading.

I was able to locate the shut off valve. It's a round valve that I somehow never noticed. I checked it and as far as I can tell it's closed tight.

Here is a shot of the water level when I powered down the system. The amount of water shot up in a day. Once I get the boiler back up I am going to flush the rest of the sediment. It's at least looking much cleaner than it was for some reason.

For the pressuretrol, I was completely wrong about the setting. It is currently at cut in .1 / diff 2. I tried setting this to. 5 / 1 over the weekend but the burners never came on. Do I tweak the pressuretrol controls first or could this be related to the steam vents as mentioned in the book? I have two in the basement which were just replaced. I do notice that the vent closest to the boiler is always heard while the other I only hear occasionally.

Kingkissel

You read my mind, gcp. Don't mind my post asking that very question, I just saw it. I will take care of that stuff first.

Kingkissel

Abracadabra said:

The boiler wasn't turning on because the pressuretrol had a couple of feet of water above it and it was registering at least 1.5PSI which was opening up the pressuretrol not allowing the boiler to turn on.

When I adjusted the pressure though I had drained the extra water from the system. The sight glass was showing at about half full at the time.

gcp13

The water looks better already.
When The boiler is cool I usually take the valves out from the sight glass and use one of the brass pins on the side of the glass to push through into the boiler make sure the passages are clear top and bottom. As far as the pigtails concern Teflon is okay just not too much. The putty is actually pipe dope that is dried up from the steam over time. Try to run some wire through the pigtail and run it under the faucet make sure it's wide open and clear and then always pour water in it once it's set in place make sure that you have a water seal before you put the pressuretrol back on.
While you're at it it would be nice to put a 0 to 3 or at least a 0 to 5 pound pressure gauge on there instead of the 30 pound
You can pick one up at any plumbing supply house ask for a back mount quarter inch low pressure gauge
Keep in mind pressure gauges fail very quickly you cannot trust what you have and as well as the pressuretrol no matter what you set it at it's not gonna be accurate so you have to really see it with a new gauge to tell what pressure you're actually operating on
Good luck

Kingkissel

gcp13 said:

the vxt auto feeder may be leaking by, not from the bypass but the feeder itself ,they have a filter screen inside that should be checked.try to find the paperwork for it.

Unfortunately the boiler was installed before I came along and there was no paperwork for anything. I've been looking online and the documentation I found does not mention a filter. I took a picture of the inside though. Would the filter screen be related to the electronic valve on the back of the vxt Dave mentioned earlier? I'm assuming this is the pink box and the screen would be inside? What would be involved with removing and cleaning this? I'll keep looking in the meantime for the full manual.

gcp13 said:

i would shut the feeder off completely from valve up stream of feeder and see if water level maintains after a week.

I thought that this was how it is currently setup? I believe both valves are closed. Both the valve on the bypass and the shut off valve located further up are closed.

gcp13 said:

boiler should be flushed, pigtail (pipe connecting pressuretrol)
cleaned out, LWCO probe cleaned sight glass and valves and safety on top (yellow tag) cleaned as well
trying to adjust pressure before anything is cleaned is a waste of time

Would you mind providing a little more detail? As far as the lwco probe, what all is removed to clean? Just the wire itself or the nut as well? For the relief valve, do I just open this up? I know water shouldn't come out of this but I also don't see any way of flushing it.

Also a random question about the pipe dope. Is this recommended to use when putting the pressuretrol and pigtail on? Because it was used previously I feel like I may want to use it. I'm going to pick up supplies tomorrow and would like to know if this is necessary. Thanks, gcp!

Kingkissel

Forgot the pics. The first is the vxt. The second is the lwco probe closeup. The last one is the pressure relief.

Kingkissel

Now that I'm getting more ballsy with the shut off valve, I realize it's open. I didn't think that made sense for it to be closed. It's extremely tough to turn though, it feels like it could break so I don't want to mess with it too much. Should I try and close it up?

nicholas bonham-carter

Loosen the valve packing nut, under the handle a quarter turn, or so, and then the valve should turn more easily. If you see any water weeping from around the valve stem, then retighten it.--NBC

gcp13

The water feeder calls it a strainer.check the photo. Make sure the water line is off at the valve and unscrew the brass cover and pull the screen out and clean it if you can. keep in mind you do not need a feeder,you're better off keeping the feeder off completely and see how things run that way you know if you're losing water or not. The feeder is supposed to keep count of how many times it adds water but you don't know if it actually works anymore if its clogged up.

You can unscrew the packing nuts that sits behind the valve handles for the sightglass and open the valve all the way and completely remove it from the body and it will flush any blockage out. If it's bad you can try to stick a wire in the hole and try to get it into the boiler you should have water pouring out toward you into a bucket.then reassemble the valve tighten the packing nut and make sure the valve stays open,you should do the top valve as well

On the low-water cut off probe you need to unscrew the wing nut take the wire and the washer off and on the left and right side of the probe there's two Phillips screws you have to loosen those rotate the box and slide the box off the probe be very careful not to damage the probe itself,once the box is out of the way you have to put a crescent wrench on the probe its going to take a little bit but you have to unscrew that keep in mind water is behind it,you should drain the boiler below the level first.
After you clean it use pipe dope only on the threads before you screw it in,do not use any Teflon on the probe that's a must!

For everything else Teflon or pipe dope is ok. either one is okay to use.I usually start with a little Teflon and then wipe a little pipe dope on top of the Teflon,you just want to stay one thread behind with the Teflon you don't want it to rip off and get into the boiler

Fred

You need to turn the valve shut. Even when the boiler is shut down, if that water feeder is leaking, water will continue to feed the boiler and, if you forget to drain it for a day or two, water will flood the mains and eventually run out of the Main vents and up into the radiators and out of the radiator vents. Then you have a mess. Look for your House water meter. There is a shut-off valve there for the whole house. Don't shut it off, just make sure it can be turned if needed. Turn the shut-off on the auto feed for the boiler, loosen the stem nut as NBC suggested. It should turn. I would leave that auto feed turned off until you can afford to replace it. The strainer may be clogged and block water but it won't allow water to continue to feed. Either the valve solinoid has failed or the valve in the feeder has crud in it that prevents it from closing. Many of us don't use water feeders at all. We just check the boiler a couple times a week and if/when we need to add water, we open the valve manually and feed it then shut the valve back off.
At some point, when you feel you can afford it, you need more main venting. Those are Hoffman #75 's on your mains. I use those also but I have 4 of them on a 45 ft Main and 2 on a 15 ft Main. They are very reliable and I like them but they aren't the fastest venting.

Kingkissel

Thank you for your detailed posts, gcb and fred.
I picked up some pipe dope and Teflon tape and I'm planning to do this this weekend so I can take my time.
I currently have the water line to the boiler closed and I've only noticed a very slight increase between wedensday and thursday. I am anxious to see how it looks tonight. I'm hoping for no change! Regardless, I think I may start leaving the auto feed off because I typically check the water level regularly anyway.
I'm a little worried about any unforseen issues popping up. Is there anything that could potentially break that I'd want to have some replacement parts on hand for?
Removing the lwco box is a bit intimidating but with your instructions and the manual I think I should be OK.
Gcp, you mentioned before that I should change over to a 5 psi pressure gauge. Obviously you would know better, but can you tell me why I wouldn't want one that reads up to 10 or more? My thought is that I would want to know if my steam pressure were over 5 for some reason, right?
Fred, that is a lot of vents. That worries me even more now that of the two vents I have, only one is currently venting. No wonder it sounds like a whistling tea kettle sometimes. I am hoping I can get that return cleaned out and get that other vent working too. The return the non functioning vent is attached to has a spigot located at the very bottom where it returns to the boiler and a trap (I believe this is the correct term for it) before that. I can include some pics later. I'm curious if these would be helpful in clearing the return of debris.

KC_Jones

The problem with a gauge that reads higher is it won't really read lower accurately. These systems are supposed to run at very very low pressure. You really want a gauge that is more like 0-3 or even less if you have a really well tuned system. The error rate on gauges is a percentage of the highest reading on the gauge (this is typically an average) so the higher it reads the higher the amount of error. In addition typically gauges are not very accurate at the extreme of the scale (down low or up high). So with a 5 psi or higher gauge the error and inaccuracy of the gauge could cause it to read nothing ever at the low pressure these boilers run. I have 2 gauges on mine a 0-15 OUNCE gauge and a 0-30 PSI gauge. The 30 PSI never moves even when my lower gauge is approaching it's max which is close to 1 PSI.

Fred

Opening that spigot and draining it until the water runs clear (maybe a tea color) should be done at least once a year. That is near the Hartford Loop. Your system does not have any traps on it.
If that vent is not working, you can take it off and soak it in some vinegar water to see if you can free up the internal float. If you hold it upright, your should be able to blow air through it, turn it upside down and try blowing into it and it should be blocked and not allow you to blow through it. If you can't free the float up, you need to replace it.
What we recommended as far as venting, may seem like a lot but it is one of the best investments you can make relative to having good steam flow and an effecient running system.
As far as the gauge goes, most of us use a 0 to 3PSI gauge. The lower range actually allows you to see what you pressures are running. The larger the rage on the gauge, the less accurate they are at showing what is happening when the boiler is running and, at the lower ranges, the needle may not even move. If, for some reason, the pressures get out of control (above the 3PSI range) you will see that register on the 1 -30 PSI gauge that is already on the boiler (and required by most local codes) They are just useless for the fine tuning and actual day to day operation of the boiler. 0 - 5PSI gauge is ok but consider the 0 - 3PSI.

Kingkissel

Thanks guys, that answers my question. I was a bit confused at first though, I thought the recommendation was to replace the current gauge I have but it sounds like I would be adding an additional one to the mix. Where would I be placing the new gauge?
Fred, my original vents were just replaced about a month ago with brand new vents because the one was not venting. That's why I think the return may be gunked up.
Also, I forgot that I already took some pics of the return I was explaining so I attached those. The first shows the non functioning vent and then it follows the return down and the last pic shows where it attaches to the boiler.

Fred

You can puy a Tee on the same pigtail that the Pressuretrol is mounted to and add the new gauge there.
Do drain the return and see how much gunk comes out of it. Even though the vents are new, with all the water that flooded the boiler, it is quite possible those vents got gunk washed into them. Take the one that doesn't work off and at least try to wash it out. Probably not necessary to soak it in vinegar. You may even try to tap that vent before you take it off. It may just be that due to the higher pressure and the flooding that the float simply is stuck in the closed position and may drop open with a tap or two.

Kingkissel

Hi everyone,

For anyone that is still hanging in there with me, I was able to complete a few things last night. I drained the boiler from the return drain and removed some very dark nasty gunk. Who would have thought those old litter boxes would come in handy!
I also removed the valves from the sight glass and flushed and cleaned each one.
As of now, the water is running clear and looks very good in the sight glass. After replacing everything I noticed a slight slight leak around the bottom nut of the sight glass. I just tightened this a bit and the leak stopped. However, the boiler drain has now developed a very steady drip. I picked up a replacement at the hardware store today as well as a wrench to fit. I didn't do anything with this or the vent yesterday because neither of the two wrenches I bought fit. I am going to replace the drain and then remove the non-functioning vent on the right return to see if there is any debris causing venting issues. This is the thing I would like to focus on next as I'd like to get the steam moving as efficiently as I can. Before the pressure was raised by the heating guy a couple of months ago, the second floor was always much colder than the rest of the house. I realize my lack of vents is going to give me a problem regardless, but at the very least I would like to get these two vents doing there thing.
I looked into picking up a tee to mount a second steam gauge and while I really like this idea, I don't know if I'll be able to do this. From what I found, I will need to get a tee and then an adapter to go into the boiler and also attach to the gauges, which would be soldered together? While I've done some soldering before (electronics, shady shop work), I don't know if I have the skills to be making something that attaches to the boiler. I will continue to look into this as I would really like to get a more precise gauge.
Regarding the water, I saw no increase yesterday night since completely shutting off the water to the feeder last Wedensday. Once I get it back up and running I think I will keep this closed and continue to monitor the water level once a week.

Fred

You are making progress! You don't need or want to solder anything to add a Tee for your new Pressure gauge. Just take the gauge off of the Tee that is already there, put a 1 or 2 inch nipple on that Tee, add another Tee and put an elbow on each end of the new Tee and reinstall you old gauge on one end and your new gauge on the other end.
If you want to wait to repair/replace the boiler drain valve, you can buy a hose cap and screw it onto the valve. That will stop your dripping until you are ready to drain the boiler to replace the valve (or replace the washer inside the old valve). Clearly the auto water feder is not closing all the way and that is the source of the flooding problem. It may just need a cleaning or it may be defective but I would add any water you might need manually until you get everything else taken care of.

Steve_175

I think automatic water feeders are more trouble than they are worth. You are an active home owner and I bet you would check the boiler a couple of times a month even if there was no problems and thus negate a water feeder.
The problem with auto feeders is they keep adding fresh water which has oxygen which corrodes metal. If your system is working well it will only need a bit of water added every two-four weeks. After the first heat cycle the oxygen will be burned off and corrosion greatly reduced.
After my new boiler was installed 5 years ago I skimmed it and the water has been crystal clear ever since. You should have a skimming port installed after these other problems are resolved. It looks like it would go right where that cap is next to the sight glass.

Kingkissel

I feel like I'm making progress, Fred!! Thanks for explaining a little more about the tee and the actual setup. I wasn't looking in the right places and that was confusing me. All I was seeing was copper piping. I just did a more specific Google search and found myself some black cast iron tees.... With beautiful threads!! I'd have found them eventually considering I haven't exactly had any luck finding a 3 or 5 psi gauge either.
I successfully replaced the drain last night and so far, no wet spots!! I know this is nothing for you veterans, but I was so nervous to do something like this because I had no clue what to expect. I'm glad I did this because as clear as the water was the day before, removing the old drain released a ton more gunk from the system. And I found a screw inside the drain pipe!
Thanks for the hose cap tip too; That may really come in handy for me. It occurred to me yesterday that the drain near the return is the original cast iron, so should this ever need replaced it wouldn't be as easy.
At some point I am going to try cleaning the water feeder just so it's functioning properly. Regardless, I'm going to turn it off and continue to monitor it.
Tonight I am going to remove the vent since I didn't get to that. I am going to wait to remove the pigtail just until I get the new parts. I also completely forgot that I need to clean the lwco probe as well. This is another job that's intimidating me since I need to remove the actual box. After doing the vent and the lwco probe, would I be good to fire the boiler back up and see if there's improvement?? Or should I not do this until everything including the pigtail has been removed and cleaned?? I'm just getting impatient.

Fred

If you can take the Pressuretrol off of the top of the pigtail and blow into the pigtail, you should be able to clear it and put the Presssuretrol back on. Once that is clear, i think you can certainly fire the boiler back up. The vent should be cleaned if you think it is not closing but once you fire the boiler up, if it isn't closing completely once the main is hot to that point, tap the side of the vent and see if it will close. Here is a link to the 0-3PSI gauge most of us use: http://www.valworx.com/product/low-pressure-gauge-25-0-3-psi/low-pressure-gauges-25-lower-mount
This is where I ordered mine from.
I'm glad you are making the progress you are!

Kingkissel

I just went back to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything and of course, I was. you specifically stated that getting pigtail cleaned out was critical so I'm going to do that instead. The only slight concern I have is where the pigtail attaches to the boiler, that nut is right behind the boiler panel. Other than finding something that can fit the opening, I think I could possibly remove the top of the boiler and stick my hand in with a wrench to hold that nut in place while I remove the pigtail.

Fred

That nut won't turn out. Just put a small pipe wrench on the pigtail and turn it out. The nut will stay in place. it is actually a bushing to reduce the opening in the boiler block down for the 1/4 inch pigtail.

Kingkissel

Awesome, thank you! I just have one more question. I cant remove the pigtail with everything attached because the capped pipe blocks it's path.
I'm unable to remove pressuretrol from the tee first because the box will hit the boiler when I turn it.
On the bottom of the pressuretrol box there are 4 screws. If I remove these, would I be able to lift the box enough to disconnect the pressuretrol from the tee? I only need about a quarter of an inch.

nicholas bonham-carter

It would be better to unscrew the pressuretrol, after disconnecting the wiring. Just make notes on where the wires connect, with the boiler switched off.
When you put it back together, incorporating a union will make this annual job much easier.--NBC

Shalom

@Fred, if he's blowing out the pigtail, shouldn't he refill it with clean water before putting it back on? Or will the condensate do that for him?

nicholas bonham-carter

Yes fill it with water, although it doesn't take long for condensation to fill it if you don't.

Fred

I usually put water in mine but condensate will fill it in no time. Shoot, somebody put that Pressuretrol on there. Probably assembled the Pigtail, Pressuretrol and maybe the gauge and then mounted it before they put the skim port nipple and cap on. Poor planning as it relates to maintenance. Don't take those 4 screws out. There is a loose button between that round disc and the underside of the Pressuretrol that pushes the microswitch when the diaphram flexes. Lose that or not get it back in the right place and the Pressuretrol is worthless. You have 2 choices at this point:
1. Cut the pigtail off (leave yourself plenty room to turn the remaining stub out. Replace it with a new pigtail and add a nipple above the Tee to raise the Pressuretrol above the Boiler cabinet so that you can turn it off the next time you need to clean the Pigtail. OR
2. Probably the better choice, for the time being and until you feel more comfortable working on your boiler, take the Gauge off of the front of the Pigtail and blow into that opening in the Tee. That should clear any junk out of the Pigtail. If you can't blow into it, use a reasonable flexible wire and feed it into the loop of the Pigtail a few times and then blow into it to verify that you have it open.

Hap_Hazzard

Your water feeder needs to be replaced. The meter reading only tells how long the valve has been turned on electrically; it will not measure how much water has leaked through while the current to the solenoid was off. If you've checked the bypass and it's not leaking, then the Dema valve in the VXT itself is leaking.

These valves are held shut by a coil spring and opened by a solenoid. When the solenoid is de-energized the valve slams shut, trapping any dirt or scale that happens to be in its way. If a water-feeder is used frequently--which it never should be--the crud builds up and the valve begins to leak.

When I said it needs to be replaced, I don't necessarily mean with another water-feeder. You can replace it with a manual valve if you want. A boiler shouldn't need to be topped up more than once every week or two, unless it has a leak. If it has a leak, you need to fix it, not mask it with a water-feeder that's going to fail from overuse.

If you like the feeder you might try replacing just the valve instead of the whole unit. They're only about $25-30 and easy to change. The hardest part is finding the damn things. Give Dultmeier a try. I think the part number is DE443P- followed by the voltage--either 24 or 110, depending on your system. I'm guessing you have a 24-volt system. If it's 110 you'd better rewire that sucker.

Kingkissel

Hey guys, thank you very much for the posts.
So I ordered a 3 psi gauge today and will be ordering the other pieces soon; I need to measure for sizes tonight.
The nipple below the pressuretrol is a great suggestion Fred. I was looking for this today but I was having trouble finding a nipple that is threaded outside as well as inside. The nipple will screw into the tee and then the pressuretrol into the nipple, correct? I thought this would be a close nipple but the ones I found didn't appear to have threads inside. Am I wrong about this?
I am going to cut the pigtail and put a new one in. I am slowly feeling more confident so I think this is something I can handle. Because of this, I decided to just remove the pressure gauge tonight and clear the pigtail in the meantime. I blew into it first but it was completely clogged and looked extremely funky. I then worked a zip tie in there for a bit and I was able to clear it and open her up.
Now, I am going to take a small funnel and put some water into the pigtail before I put the gauge back on. Thank you for the suggestion on this, Nicholas and shalom.

Abracadabra

Kingkissel said:

Hey guys, thank you very much for the posts.

... I was looking for this today but I was having trouble finding a nipple that is threaded outside as well as inside.

Use a coupling on the nipple for the pressuretrol side.

nicholas bonham-carter

as you make the small repairs, you will soon gain confidence in your ability to make any bigger changes which become necessary.
finally, you will be offering advice here on the big stuff!--NBC

Fred

Kingkissel said:

Hey guys, thank you very much for the posts.

So I ordered a 3 psi gauge today and will be ordering the other pieces soon; I need to measure for sizes tonight.

The nipple below the pressuretrol is a great suggestion Fred. I was looking for this today but I was having trouble finding a nipple that is threaded outside as well as inside. The nipple will screw into the tee and then the pressuretrol into the nipple, correct? I thought this would be a close nipple but the ones I found didn't appear to have threads inside. Am I wrong about this?

I am going to cut the pigtail and put a new one in. I am slowly feeling more confident so I think this is something I can handle. Because of this, I decided to just remove the pressure gauge tonight and clear the pigtail in the meantime. I blew into it first but it was completely clogged and looked extremely funky. I then worked a zip tie in there for a bit and I was able to clear it and open her up.

Now, I am going to take a small funnel and put some water into the pigtail before I put the gauge back on. Thank you for the suggestion on this, Nicholas and shalom.

Kingkissel, all you need is a 2 inch nipple threaded on the outside of both ends. One end threads into the Tee that is there and the Pressuretrol threads over the other end (The hex on the bottom of the Pressuretrol is part of the Pressuretrol.)

Kingkissel

Steve said:

I think automatic water feeders are more trouble than they are worth. You are an active home owner and I bet you would check the boiler a couple of times a month even if there was no problems and thus negate a water feeder.
The problem with auto feeders is they keep adding fresh water which has oxygen which corrodes metal. If your system is working well it will only need a bit of water added every two-four weeks. After the first heat cycle the oxygen will be burned off and corrosion greatly reduced.
After my new boiler was installed 5 years ago I skimmed it and the water has been crystal clear ever since. You should have a skimming port installed after these other problems are resolved. It looks like it would go right where that cap is next to the sight glass.

Hi Steve. I don't know if you have been stopping by but I wanted to say thank you for your input.
Even when I was afraid of this beast and knew nothing about it, I knew enough that the sight glass should not be full. Fortunately for me its in an area that I pass regularly so I'm able to keep an eye on it. Now that I can actually maintain it, I'm probably going to be checking it way too often.
I knew nothing of a skim port so this is a great suggestion! I'm going to look into this once I've finished with maintenance. And you answered one of the burning questions I've had since buying this place.... "Why is this pipe sticking out of the side of the furnace!?"

Kingkissel

So the gauge went on with no problems. Tonight I am going to clean the lwco probe. From the tips gcb provided I think I will be good.
The last thing I would like to take care of is the vent on the return. This is the faulty vent. Aside from removing the vent and trying to blow any gunk loose in the return pipe, what else can I do to clear this out? Because this was just replaced and still not working, I assume this has to be the problem. Also, I've never been successful at getting steam up to the second floor so I'm thinking this could certainly be the culprit.

Kingkissel

Thank you, Abra! A coupling is exactly what I need!!

Fred

KingKissel, you don't want a coupling, you want a 2 inch nipple. That is a short nipple in the top of the Tee that you need to take out and put the 2" nipple on. If you use a coupling, you will need to buy another 1inch or 2 inch nipple to screw into that coupling so that your Pressuretrol will screw onto it. I'd just go with one 2 inch nipple and replace the one that is in the Tee now.

Kingkissel

nicholas bonham-carter said:

as you make the small repairs, you will soon gain confidence in your ability to make any bigger changes which become necessary.
finally, you will be offering advice here on the big stuff!--NBC

I am definitely starting to feel that way. Searching for materials for the new steam gauge setup I found a site discussing venting setups. I have no clue if I'll be able to include this in my setup, but regardless I'm extremely pumped for the next project!! Fred put me to shame with all those vents he's got, I need to keep up.
But offering advice with you guys around?? That's a looong ways away!

Fred

I am sure that Hoffman vent will work. It is probably just stuck shut from the flooding that occurred or the excess pressure due to the Pigtail being plugged but they are very resilient vents. Take it off and hold it upright and blow into it. If you can blow air into it, it is open. If you cannot blow air into it, tap it on a table a couple times and it should open up. Once you get it open, wash it out and shake the water out of it and put it back on. You will need more vents but you can add them after uyou get heat up to the second floor. With that vent stuck closed, the steam can't get down that main to those radiator runs.

You will get there and you will be offering advice before you know it, especially about flooded boilers, venting, pigtails and pressure management!