Main vent problem

acl10

Since my basement is finished the only place I could tap for the main vent is at the end in the meter room see pictures. I tapped 2 pipes.



The problem is that when the condenisate comes back the Gorton 1 fills with water because its on the pipe and water leaks out. I put ventrite on one pipe and the hold. Would the Hoffman 75 be good. I need something that would close when water fills it up after the radiators are full and at the end of the cycle when all the condensate returns. I put on one now a Gorton and Gorton 6 and the seem to hold the water. Any ideas for main vents that will not let the water out appreciated. I cant change the place of the vents so I have to work with the pipes I tapped.

acl10

Hoffman 75 steam main vent, non-vacuum, float type, What does it mean by non vacum float type? Does float mean it will close when water gets in?

Jamie Hall

What pipes are those vents on, exactly? Steam mains? Dry returns? Drips? Wet returns? It's a little hard to tell.

Ideally, a main vent should be in a location where it will never see water, such as a dry return or a steam main or, if all else fails, a drip well above the boiler water line. Both the Gortons and the Hoffmans have a float which should close when water hits it -- if they are oriented vertical. Neither will close with water if they aren't quite close to vertical.

Fred

Looking at your third picture, it looks like the vent antler, piped out of the Return is pitched downward which will allow water to pool in that vent pipe. Also, what size tapping is that? It may be too small to let condensate drain back into the return during a heating cycle.

acl10

Those are the first pipes that come off the main in the front of the house. They are in the meter room in the front. They go upstairs to the first floor

Fred

If they are the first radiator run-outs, they are not venting the main. They will close as soon as steam leaves the boiler. Main vents need to be after the Last radiator run-out, preferably at the end of the main or before the return drops into a wet return. I know you said you are limited as to where you can put vents and that you already drilled this pipe but that doesn't make the vents work properly. They need to be located where they can do what they are suppose to do. The tapping has to be large enough to allow the water to drain, as steam holds the vent closed and they have to be pitched to allow gravity do it job.

acl10

The Horizontal pipe comes off the main and goes to the radiator in the front room. The vertical pipe comes off the main and goes up.

Fred

@acl10 reread my comments.

Jamie Hall

You mention a vertical pipe which comes off the main and goes up. Is there any more main beyond that vertical pipe? If not, and you can get at the upper end of that pipe, you could put a main vent (I'd suggest a Gorton #2) there.

I agree with @Fred -- to my eye, that arrangement that comes off what I take to be the side of a pipe looks like it angles down. That will hold condensate and the vent will vent poorly if at all, and may spit.

acl10

Here are pictures of my latest modification. I removed the Gorton 1 and replaced it with a C the other 2 are a C and a 6 on the vertical pipe. On the horizontal I have 2 Ventrites and 1 Gorton 1. The vents on these pipe actualy get the steam thru the main much faster then before I tapped them. You can see the main in the basement and how it relates to the pipes in the meter room.

acl10

tapped at 1/8 I didnt want to tap those pipes bigger. It is pitched a little wrong but I changed the pipe for a T now

acl10

This morning I checked and no water has leaked on the floor with the new setup