Is this the correct vent for return (2 pipe steam)

heatseeker1

My return line was spitting water at the Gorton #2, so I removed it and placed a pipe plug in the opening. The picture in the message is of a Hoffman air vent that was on the return before the Gorton. Now that there is no vent on the return what can I expect? By the way a small airvent was put on a radiator but I now know that it is not the solution to how air should be removed from the return. Wouldn't a thermostatic trap be the better solution for venting the return line? Thanks.

heatseeker1

I may not have called it by its correct name; I meant to say F&T trap not thermostatic trap.

Jamie Hall

Is this a dry return, to which radiators are connected at their return ends -- usually through a trap? If so, it absolutely must have a vent. Otherwise, the air being pushed out of the radiators through the traps has no place to go.

Your pictures, though, appear to show the return end of a convector. Where does the condensate from that convector go?

Steamhead

Either the boiler is overfilled or the pressure is too high, or the return line is clogged. These are the only things that can cause water to back up into that vent.

heatseeker1

The condensate from that convector is exiting through the trap located below the right-hand end of the convector (not shown in the picture). Of the three theories suggested by Steamhead, the third may be at the heart of the issue. I guess I have no choice but to have the wet return removed to check for a clog. Thanks for taking the time to answer my question. Oh by the way, I'll be putting the vent back on the dry return.