one pipe 7' radiator

Fred

I would put a Gorton #2 (or a Barnes and Jones Big Mouth) vent on each of those mains. The Big Mouth is probablky over kill, from a venting perspective but it costs the same as the Gorton #2, has twice the venting capacity and is built to last. Even if you put a Gorton #1 on each main, that will be a huge improvement. The fact that you only have that small vent one one main and the other has done is, in all probability a major factopr for the issues you are seeing at the radiators and you really can't balance radiators until the mains are properly vented.
On a different note, that gray box that says "Honeywell" on it is your Pressuretrol. It looks like the Cut-in is set correctly. Take the one screw out of the front bottom of that box and lift the top off. There is a white wheel inside that should be set at "1" with the "1" facing out the front of the unit. It does look like that pigtail (looped pipe) that the Pressuretrol is mounted on hasn't been off in a long time. The Pressuretrol should be taken off and that pigtail taken off and cleaned out. They get clogged and prevent the Pressuretrol from managing the pressure.
Is your gauge stuck at 5 PSI or is the boiler running? The fact that it is even at 5 PSI (stuck or otherwise) suggests that maybe the pigtail may be clogged. It must have been at 5 PSI at some time.

cscaretaker

the boiler was running at the time I took the pic. It goes down when the boiler is off

Fred

cscaretaker said:

the boiler was running at the time I took the pic. It goes down when the boiler is off

That pressure is way too high. Clean out the pigtail. Pressure that high will ruin all of your vents.

cscaretaker

Fred said:

cscaretaker said:

the boiler was running at the time I took the pic. It goes down when the boiler is off

That pressure is way too high. Clean out the pigtail. Pressure that high will ruin all of your vents.

Obviously the boiler needs to be off. Do I need anything special to clean it out? do I run water through it? teflon tape when done? what should my pressure be at once the pigtail is cleaned out?

Fred

Yes, make sure the power to the boiler is off. Once you take the Pressuretrol off, using the hex fitting that mounts it to the pigtail. Do not take the four screws out of the bottom of the Pressuretrol. Take the pigtail off and try to run water through it. If it is clogged, use a wire to open it up and clean all the gunk out of it and wash it out. Reinstall it on the boiler, fill the loop with clean water. Check the little orifice in the hex fitting of the Pressuretrol and make sure it is clean and not plugged and remount the Pressuretrol. teflon Tape is fine.
The Cut-in scale on the front of the Pressuretrol should be set at .5 PSI and the white wheel inside the Pressuretrol should be set to "1".

cscaretaker

Last night I adjusted the boiler to .5 and made sure inside the pressuretol (?) was set to 1. I wasn't able to dissemble the pig nose yet. I'm finding now that a few of my radiators are getting hot on top but are cold at the bottom. my kitchen radiator is hot from top to bottom. what did I do wrong?

ratio

Heading in the right direction. The kitchen radiator has received more steam than the others; it's fully hot.

Note that the radiators not being fully hot is not necessarily a sign of the system underperforming—if the rooms are at setpoint there's no reason to keep adding heat to the room.

cscaretaker

ratio said:

Heading in the right direction. The kitchen radiator has received more steam than the others; it's fully hot.

Note that the radiators not being fully hot is not necessarily a sign of the system underperforming—if the rooms are at setpoint there's no reason to keep adding heat to the room.

Thanks! I have to say this is both confusing and intriguing... I really appreciate all the help, insight and knowledge that you've all been willing to share with me. Up until last night everything heated up and the house was nice & toasty. This morning I asked my wife when we got up if the heat was on because it wasn't as hot as it usually is (which isn't a bad thing because it can dry out my sinuses).

That being said I updated my chart with a before and after of the heat coming out of the radiators along with room names and thermostat placement.

I did some research on the way into work this morning and read everything from gunk being trapped, to air pockets preventing flow. Ultimately I just want my house to be safe and run as efficiently as possible.

Fred

When a radiator gets hot across the top or bottom only, that's an indication that the vent on that radiator is too large, allowing the steam to race across the radiator to the vent and closing it before all the air can be evacuated from the radiator. Slow the venting down.
A normal situation where the radiator doesn't fully heat, because the thermostat has been satisfied would be from side to side. The radiator may get hot only part way across but typically the entire section will be hot from top to bottom. Other sections, further away from the supply pipe will only be warm or cool.

cscaretaker

Fred said:

When a radiator gets hot across the top or bottom only, that's an indication that the vent on that radiator is too large, allowing the steam to race across the radiator to the vent and closing it before all the air can be evacuated from the radiator. Slow the venting down.
A normal situation where the radiator doesn't fully heat, because the thermostat has been satisfied would be from side to side. The radiator may get hot only part way across but typically the entire section will be hot from top to bottom. Other sections, further away from the supply pipe will only be warm or cool.

I get what you're saying but in an instance like my master bedroom I put on the thermostatic valve because that was waaaay too hot when we first bought the house. I usually kept the setting at halfway to 1 and that was hot. after the adjustment last night it's only hot on top.

Going to stop by the hardware store on the way home and invest in some smaller sizes. fingers crossed!!!

Fred

Even with the TRV on there, when the room temp is cool and the trv is open, it is open for whatever valve you have mounted on it. If it's too large, it will do exactly what you are seeing.

cscaretaker

Fred said:

Even with the TRV on there, when the room temp is cool and the trv is open, it is open for whatever valve you have mounted on it. If it's too large, it will do exactly what you are seeing.

I stopped by a HD in NYC the other night because I figured all the apartment buildings they'd have a better selection of vents which to an extent they did. I couldn't find a vent for the main with a bigger opening like you suggested Fred so I guess I'm going to have to bite the bullet and go for one of the pricier ones online. I picked up a #5 & #6 vent based on the charts on the package diagram and replaced the entrance way radiator vent from the "C" to either the 5 or 6 (I can't recall at the moment and I'm at work but went by the package chart). My master bedroom last night when I got home was hot from top to bottom as it's always been. The second bedroom still felt cold at the bottom but I didn't get a chance to take the cover off an feel it.

The entrance way got hot all the way through but even with the smaller hole vent it was sputtering some water out the top.

Any ideas?

On a side note: The HD in the city had the bullet shaped vents but sticking out of the 1/8" thread was an extra piece of metal that I've never seen before. What is it? Does it do anything special?

Fred

That piece is called a tongue. It is designed to allow any condensate that gets into the vent to drip back into the radiator. I have seen some long enough that when you screw the vent into the radiator, that tongue actually binds against the back wall of the radiator. Also, don't buy a vent from HD or any other big box store that is made in China. They are cheap and don't work. If they do, it's for a very short period of time.
If you have a rad that is still cold along the top or bottom, you need to step the vent down a little more. The "guides" are just that. They are a suggestion of what should work but each system.radiator/piping configuration is different. The rad that is still spitting, make sure there is enough pitch on that rad, make sure your pressure is actually low and what you think it is.
Do buy quality main vents too.

cscaretaker

Fred said:

That piece is called a tongue. It is designed to allow any condensate that gets into the vent to drip back into the radiator. I have seen some long enough that when you screw the vent into the radiator, that tongue actually binds against the back wall of the radiator. Also, don't buy a vent from HD or any other big box store that is made in China. They are cheap and don't work. If they do, it's for a very short period of time.
If you have a rad that is still cold along the top or bottom, you need to step the vent down a little more. The "guides" are just that. They are a suggestion of what should work but each system.radiator/piping configuration is different. The rad that is still spitting, make sure there is enough pitch on that rad, make sure your pressure is actually low and what you think it is.
Do buy quality main vents too.

Thanks Fred! What would you consider the better (best) brands to invest in? Any websites you could recommend? I thought my pitch was good but I will def. re-check.

I wish you all lived in NYC, I feel like I owe you all dinner and drinks.

Fred

The ventrite #1 or the Hoffman 1A are both very good adjustable vents. They allow you to adjust the venting rate up or down based on the specific needs of each radiator. You don't have to keep buying vents of different sizes to get the venting rate you need.
This sitehttp://www.hvacrsupplynow.com/VENT-RITE-1-STEAM-AIR-VALVES-ADJUSTABLE_p_1787.html carries the Vent-rite at a really great price but their web page now says the site is under construction "Please Come Back Soon" so I'm not sure how you can get in touch with them.
Just google Hoffman 1A and Vent-rite #1 and shop for the best pricing

Mike Cascio

Like the others said.
The main vent is junk, it has less venting capacity than some of your radiator vents. You need at least one gorton #2 or a big mouth. The pressure at 5lbs is not helping, like the others said the pigtail is likely clogged. Clean out the pigtail and make sure the cut in is bottomed out. It looks slightly over .5 and the wheel is set to 1 inside. The radiator vents need to be slower, the biggest vent you should be using is a gorton 6. This should be resrved for a big radiator. Too big of a vent will introduce too much condensate at the valve and steam can start bypassing radiators for the path of least resistance. You want to use dole 1a, ventrite 1 or 11, hoffman 40 or a gorton 5 for most radiators. The ventrite 1 or dole 1a has the advantage of being adjustable. Stay away from the HD vents.
Best of luck from a one pipe steam system owner in North jersey. Mike

mikeg2015

Vent the main fast and radiator slow does work. As I slowed the radiators they heated more fully and more balanced and my pressures dropped.... a lot! Yes slow venting reduced pressure. It’s now 0oz on a 8oz gauge. Why? If the radiators heat evenly and heat each section fully, the radiator is hotter and radiates more heat. That in turn comdenses more steam. When you condense more steam, pressues drop because when steam condenses it collapses in volume 1700 times. Think of it like a balloon popping.

Won’t work on every system. It was counter intuitive for me at first. I’m using either Ventrites a 1A set below 3 or Maid o mist 4 or Gorton #4s. One Hoffman 40.

My results are more dramatic because vapor occupies more space as it’s less dense and velocities are a little higher.

So venting only needs to vent the net balance of steam that is NOT condensing. So venting rate is at a peak just after the main vents close. If boiler is sized exact to radiator and piping losses venting would stop with the vents only briefly closing. You could use vaporstat only for a high safety limit and cycle the boiler never turns off.