VariVent No. 1A Leaking Water

colonelcasey

I changed my pressuretrol setting yesterday to cut in at 0.5 psi and left the differential at 1 psi. It was originally set at 2 psi for the cut-in.

This morning, one of my radiators with a VariVent #1A started gurgling and bubbling up with some water during the morning heating cycle. It wasn't a lot of water but enough for some drips to end up on my floor. It never happened before when the pressuretrol was set on the old setting of 2 psi cut-in. None of my other radiator vents in the house were affected by the pressuretrol change and this is the only radiator with this type of vent. Why is this happening now that my cut-in pressure is lower? Does this mean this vent is going bad and needs to be replaced?

And how on earth do I set the VariVent to the setting I want? There's no indicator as to what setting it's on. Just the collar with numbers on it and a slit at the top with no apparent indication. Both the collar and the vent slit can rotate so I'm not sure how it should be set. This room tends to overheat so I would like to set it to the slowest vent position possible.

Abracadabra

Is the radiator pitched properly?

The Dole 1A have a small triangle pressed into them points to the setting you are at. In the picture you are at 10. Try venting it slower?

What's the water level look like during a cycle?

BobC

Thats a pretty old vent, it may have just become tired or there might be calcium deposits preventing it from closing all the way. Make sure the radiator and the pipe feeding the radiator are pitched so water can drain back to the boiler.

Bob

colonelcasey

Abracadabra said:

Is the radiator pitched properly?

The Dole 1A have a small triangle pressed into them points to the setting you are at. In the picture you are at 10. Try venting it slower?

What's the water level look like during a cycle?

I haven't taken a level to it but it doesn't have any shims or washers under the feet pitching it so I may need to do that. Problem is that the radiator seems to be stuck to the floor so that's another problem. Any suggestions on how to overcome that? I'll take some pictures of the feet later.

Where is this triangle that you're speaking of? I've looked all over the vent and can't seem to find a setting indicator.

It's set on 10 right now because I was fiddling with it this morning and didn't know how to set it right. Is the proper way to set this the following:

• Loosen the vent screw on top
  
• Rotate the indication collar so "Slow" is facing me while standing at the end of the radiator
  
• Tighten the vent screw back down
  

Edit: Forgot to mention that the water level was okay this morning. about 1/3 of the way up the sight glass mid-cycle. It used to move a lot before I moved the pressuretrol back down to 0.5 psi cut-in but I'll keep monitoring it in case I see more wild fluctuations. Don't really want to think of the prospect of skimming the system.

Fred

I can see the triangle in your picture of the vent. It is set at 10 in the picture. Your procedure above is correct.
I'm sure the radiator is just stuck to the floor as a result of sitting there its entire life. May take a little muscle to lift it but there are no mechanical fastners holding it to the floor.

colonelcasey

For this morning's heating cycle, it sounded like the vent was able to close properly (unlike the gurgling yesterday) after I set it on "1 Slow" but I still saw a couple drops of water in the bucket I put underneath it. Nowhere near as leaky as yesterday but still not happy with a vent that's now leaking when it wasn't before.

Am I right in assuming that when my boiler was set at 2 psi cut-in, the steam was able to rush up faster and seal the vent than at the current 0.5 psi cut-in?

In any case, since this vent may not be able to fully close in time with 0.5-1.5 psi steam before some water dribbles out, does this mean I need to replace the vent with a newer one?

Fred

colonelcasey said:

For this morning's heating cycle, it sounded like the vent was able to close properly (unlike the gurgling yesterday) after I set it on "1 Slow" but I still saw a couple drops of water in the bucket I put underneath it. Nowhere near as leaky as yesterday but still not happy with a vent that's now leaking when it wasn't before.

Am I right in assuming that when my boiler was set at 2 psi cut-in, the steam was able to rush up faster and seal the vent than at the current 0.5 psi cut-in?

In any case, since this vent may not be able to fully close in time with 0.5-1.5 psi steam before some water dribbles out, does this mean I need to replace the vent with a newer one?

Steam moves faster at lower pressure. Doesn't sound right but it is. Did you try taking that vent off and shaking the water out? It may be waterlogged. It is also possible that while the boiler was running at higer pressures, it toasted the vent. They have a max operating pressure of 3PSI. Try a new one.

colonelcasey

Thanks for the info. I didn't try shaking the water out of it so that will be my next step if it keeps appearing. I didn't see any drips from this afternoon's cycle so I'll continue monitoring it for now.

If it does continue, I may just end up getting a new vent, since this one does seem a tad old. Since this room gets hot fast, should I come back with another 1A or choose a different vent?

Fred

I wouldn't adjust the size of any raditor vents until you get the Mains vented the way you need. If you are forced to buy a new radiator vent, use one that is adjustable so that you can adjust it as needed after fixing the Main venting.