3/8" radiator vents?

ChrisJ

EBEBRATT-Ed said:

Interesting discussion

If I am not mistaken they used to have vacuum air vents for one pipe steam which in my understanding could only be used for coal (continuous) firing, and that they had to be removed when firing gas or oil and standard air vents which will break a vacuum had to be installed

I don't entirely believe those stories either, but in that case I believe it was due to balancing issues, not condensate.

KC_Jones

ChrisJ said:

EBEBRATT-Ed said:

Interesting discussion

If I am not mistaken they used to have vacuum air vents for one pipe steam which in my understanding could only be used for coal (continuous) firing, and that they had to be removed when firing gas or oil and standard air vents which will break a vacuum had to be installed

I don't entirely believe those stories either, but in that case I believe it was due to balancing issues, not condensate.

Cost too. You can look at Hoffman main vents, the Vacuum version is $150.00, the non vacuum is $90.00. That's a 66% price increase, if that was the case for all the radiator vents it starts adding up pretty quick.

gfrbrookline

Since the honeywell vent body closes the air vent off completely when it hits the set point it does not let the vent to allow air in so a vacuum is created as the steam condenses. A vacuum sucks everything it can back into the space, IE a Ball Jar forms a sealed dimple when you make jam. The Honeywell TRV body creates the same effect, from my experience once the ambient temp drops the vacuum is broken you can actually hear the water drain out of the radiator. The first time I heard it I thought I had a burst pipe in a wall with no water pipes because you literally hear a flush of water similar to a toilet flushing.

gfrbrookline

@ChrisJ if I remember correctly you run a complex vacuum system with pumps that works great for you. You are trying to compare this simple system to how your system operates. You cant make a Chevy work like a Mercedes, two different worlds.

ChrisJ

gfrbrookline said:

@ChrisJ if I remember correctly you run a complex vacuum system with pumps that works great for you. You are trying to compare this simple system to how your system operates. You cant make a Chevy work like a Mercedes, two different worlds.

I run a simple single pipe system.
No pumps.
No vacuum vents, just Gorton's.