HEAT NOT EVEN

norb

I recently had a brand new Weil Mclain steam boiler installed. I have natural gas.
I have been getting some knocking in the pipes. On your site, it was told to me by
a few, that the oils have settled into the boiler and are the cause of this. Today
my plumber is to skim the boiler and such.
Lately some of my radiators are not getting as hot as they used to or not hot at all.
Would this be the reason, due to the oils? All my vents are the same , nothing different
except for the new boiler---which is equivalent to what I have had.
One more question: I have about three Gorton Number 2's and two other Gortons at the end
of my Main? is this too much to have? Can you have too many vents at the end of the main?
( is there a point where too many actually is detrimental? )

thanks

nicholas bonham-carter

You can never have too many vents; however there is a point where more venting is unneeded, but will not cause a problem.
I am sure that after a good skimm, which can take several hours, the boiling will be improved enough to get steam to all radiators. Oil really does have a retarding effect on steam production, (think "oil on troubled waters")-NBC

KC_Jones

You can't really vent the mains too fast. Too many vents just won't make it any better. Basically there is a max venting rate and going beyond that doesn't help, but shouldn't hurt anything. As far as your situation without the pipe size and length for the main it's hard to say if you have too much or not enough. I would wait until the boiler has been skimmed and see how it performs after that. The oils can cause all kinds of issues. If you are home for the skimming pay attention to what they do. If they are only there for a short period of time they didn't do it correctly. A proper skimming takes hours and doesn't use any magic chemicals, just a lot of time.

norb

THANKS FOR YOUR REPLIES--THAT IS WHAT I WAS HOPING TO HEAR

Fred

Also, be aware that the boiler may need additional skimming in a couple weeks as more oil returns to the boiler. Watch how they do it because this is something almost any homeowner can do for themselves when needed. Also, if the banging doesn't go away after the skim, look at those pipes in the area where the banging is coming from and make sure they have some pitch to them.

norb

thanks guys. The plumber only did one skimming and put a chemical into the boiler. so far no knocking, and the heat is going into the radiators now.....so far so good. Perhaps it will need another skimming. Thanks for your answers.