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Steam Heat Baseboard Radiator Spewing Steam
I did a quick search and didn't see anything directly on point -- forgive me if I missed it. The few posts that seemed relevant were over my head! Bottom line: When the heat came on this AM, there was steam coming out of both ends of this vent (see pic), which has holes on both sides. It was like a humidifier in the bathroom. That's not supposed to happen is it? Should I just replace the piece? What's it called?
Relevant history: You can see that dirty water has also spilled out of this. I had a neighbor putting water in the boiler while I was on vacation. He put too much (because the water guage wasn't working proporlty). Perhaps that has gunked up the works.
Any advice much appreciated. In case you can't tell, I'm no pro! Just a homeowner.
Thanks so much.
Dave
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Comments
And you have to continually add water you might have a leak somewhere.
You need a steam pro to check out your entire system.
How about pictures of your boiler and piping near it?
Where are you located?
Maybe a Hoffman # 41 part number 401455.
It is described as a convector vent, non adjustable port 1/8" bottom connection. This is a straight vent, not the 90 ell design that is most common. It might be too tall for your cover.
Someone here may have a better suggestion.
If you are into DIY steam maintenance then there are some good homeowner books available. "We Got Steam Heat!" is a good starter. Then "The Lost Art of Steam Heating".
Both are a great read.
And: If it were up to me, I wouldn't really be in to DIY...but the price of professional help (however fair!) is inspiring. DIY is actually fun when you figure it out...ONCE you figure it out.
I believe that was a water or steam air vent that closed by hydroscopic means when wet/damp. They may not have been long lived for either purpose.
Someone come up with a small steam air vent to replace it with if something like the Hoffman would not fit.
The books mentioned, are themselves inspiring and would make DIY fun and interesting.
More pics below. I can now confirm that the place that steam is coming from is the end of the single pipe, not where the pipe comes up through the floor, which is on the opposite end. You'll now see in one of the pics below. I also took one pic -- a little hard to see behind the cover -- of the other end, in case useful. In the close up of the piece I initially wrote about, you can see a small hole...that is where the steam is coming from. And there is a small hold on the other side, too, where steam also comes out (180 degrees from each other).
My central questions: Should steam be coming out of there? I know for a normal radiator the answer is no, so I'm assuming no. If not, then, should I just replace that end piece? Then, if the answer to that is yes, what is the piece? THANK YOU!
That fitting looks like an air bleeder for hot water. That pipe looks large enough for gravity water, hard to tell and steam pros will chime in.
If the other radiators on that line are supposed to be steam, then replace the bleeder with a slow air vent if you want heat out of that unit. If it is a water, the bleeder needs to be closed. Use gas leak detector or soapy water to figure out if the bleeder or the bushings are leaking and tighten the loose fitting.
Steam and water should never leave a properly working system. You should never have to fill the system.
The elbow at the end may have to be replaced with a reducer with the correct sized tapping for a real steam vent, So the cover will clear it.—NBC
"Steam BB vent maint help"
This is discussed.....Hoffman #500 or #508.....MOM??
"72°F Mechanical, LLC"
Or email John at [email protected]
John is a professional Master Plumber, licensed by The Department of Buildings of The City of New York, and works extensively in NYC while consulting for clients in and out of state.
Thanks all. Much appreciated. Over and out.