Residential Steam Heat Vent Spitting Water.

Corey104

The other day, i heard a strange noise where my vents on my residential steam system vents and noticed that one of the Vents (See red arrow) was spitting water out along with air. I don't think this is normal. Two things here. If I replace the vent will that stop the water from spitting out? Also is it really a vent and where can I purchase a replacement? As you may have guessed i am not have the greatest knowledge on steam heat.

Corey104

See attached for picture of where water is spitting out.

Jamie Hall

No, it is not normal. That said, before someone else chimes in, it looks as though that is -- or was -- intended to be a main vent, and it's poorly placed and even if it was working well, it's nowhere near big enough for a modern system. OK. That's off my mind.

To select a proper replacement, you -- or we -- need to know how many feet of pipe are between that vent and the boiler, and how big that pipe is. Actually getting the replacement won't be hard -- even Amazon has them, although for a variety of reasons I prefer Supply House.

However, if it is spitting water, you may have other -- seemingly unrelated -- problems: too much pressure, or not enough slope on that pipe. Since steam isn't your thing, perhaps you could post a picture of the front of the boiler, with the controls? And another, if you can identify it, with the pressure control in detail?