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Spitting big mouth
jlo1029
Member Posts: 33
Still a fairly clueless HO here but doing my best!
Anyone have an idea why a big mouth would spit excessive water vapor and water while a ventrite 33 did not? (A little sure but not enough to saturate the ceiling the way the big mouth did!)
36 feet of 2 inch main, 1 main vent on the dry return. No water hammer. 0-30 gauge only but I have the pressuretrol bottomed out.
Reason for vent change was hope of improving efficiency / lower gas bill.
Anyone have an idea why a big mouth would spit excessive water vapor and water while a ventrite 33 did not? (A little sure but not enough to saturate the ceiling the way the big mouth did!)
36 feet of 2 inch main, 1 main vent on the dry return. No water hammer. 0-30 gauge only but I have the pressuretrol bottomed out.
Reason for vent change was hope of improving efficiency / lower gas bill.
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Comments
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PS... That "other" main vent you see on the left is for my 1 2-piped radiator. It's not what I'm worried about. All the other 6 radiators are on the same main.0
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Can't really see the vents from that picture but since you said the big mouth is on the 2" pipe, that return is pitched down so the Big Mouth would be also pitched. It needs to be level. Put a couple 45's on the nipple (use a shorter nipple if you need to) and mount the Big Mouth so that it is level and can drain properly.0
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Keep in mind that the Big Mouth only closes on steam -- it won't close on water. In an application of the dry return, it won't (or certainly shouldn't) be seeing steam, so it should be wide open. I suspect that the escaping air is moving fast enough to carry condensate from the dry return up to the vent and on out. Try @Fred 's suggestion; that may at least reduce the amount of condensate which reached it.Br. Jamie, osb
Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England0 -
Thanks! So I guess my next question is...anyone want to buy a gently used big mouth? Things aren't cheap!0
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You don't need to replace the Big Mouth. You have it on the Single pipe Main which becomes essentially a Dry Return after the last radiator run-out. That pipe will get steam all the way down to that vent and close it.jlo1029 said:Thanks! So I guess my next question is...anyone want to buy a gently used big mouth? Things aren't cheap!
@Jamie Hall 's comment was basically about a 2 pipe system, with a separate Dry Return where steam won't enter the dry return because traps protect it from steam.
Do as I suggested and I'm pretty sure it will be fine.0 -
Get the nipple the big mouth is on off the main and install a short tipple, a elbow, a 12-18" nipple, another elbow, a nipple that gets you up as far as you need, and the bigmouth. Make sure the horizontal nipple is pitched so condensate will drain out.
That should wring out the water.
BobSmith G8-3 with EZ Gas @ 90,000 BTU, Single pipe steam
Vaporstat with a 12oz cut-out and 4oz cut-in
3PSI gauge0 -
The vent on the right is the only vent I see, just barely. Doesn't look like a big mouth from where I sit.Miss Hall's School service mechanic, greenhouse manager,teacher and dog walker0
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> @BobC said:
> Get the nipple the big mouth is on off the main and install a short tipple, a elbow, a 12-18" nipple, another elbow, a nipple that gets you up as far as you need, and the bigmouth. Make sure the horizontal nipple is pitched so condensate will drain out.
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> That should wring out the water.
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> Bob
I bet that would work, but unfortunately there isn't much clearance space above the vent. I could go horizonally though, would that help?0 -
If you got horizontal that will help a lot -- but make sure the horizontal pipe isn't quite horizontal, but slopes back to the main so it can drain. And the longer -- within reason! -- the better.Br. Jamie, osb
Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England0 -
What @Jamie Hall said is right, if you go over and then up as high as is pactical that should wring a lot water out. Just mind the slope allows water to drain out.
BobSmith G8-3 with EZ Gas @ 90,000 BTU, Single pipe steam
Vaporstat with a 12oz cut-out and 4oz cut-in
3PSI gauge0 -
Ok, so I went 18 inches over. Still spits steam and water... No improvement at all. Am I possibly doing something else wrong?0
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Did you buy the Barnes and Jones Big Mouth vent or did you purchase their steam trap? If it is a Big Mouth, it must be defective. Where did you buy it? Return it and get a replacement.0
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can we see another picture of the boiler and near pipe?
floor to ceiling?
what pressure are you running at?known to beat dead horses0 -
It sure looks like the vent version. If it's really spitting steam, and not just hot water, yeah -- try another one.Fred said:Did you buy the Barnes and Jones Big Mouth vent or did you purchase their steam trap? If it is a Big Mouth, it must be defective. Where did you buy it? Return it and get a replacement.
That's a nice looking installation, though.Br. Jamie, osb
Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England1 -
Yeah it came labeled vent and looks just like the ones in other people's pictures. Guess I gotta try to return it. Thanks SO much for all the help, y'all!0
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In case anyone was curious... New big mouth vent was delivered today and works fine. I'm guessing those extra nipples were not needed, but I'm keeping them!0
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