Vent excessive hissing

MaxGNaidu

So I have a single pipe steam system,

Recently one of the Rads vent started excessively venting. I have 6 rads total, all on the same floor. but only this particular rad is venting loudly and excessively. it does stop though after hissing for 5 or 10 mins. what might be the issue here ? I changed the vent and it didnt help. what might be the root cause ?

Mad Dog_2

You're main vents in basement might be undersized or non-existent.  Good Gorton or Hoffman Main vents purge the air from the mains quickly.  Without them, you may be relying on the tiny radiator vents to vent ALL that air. Mad 🐕 Dog

gfrbrookline

If it was quiet before and it suddenly started making noise and you changed it out and the new vent also makes noise I am going to guess you may have a clogged main vent in the basement.

ethicalpaul

Is it hissing during the heating cycle, or does it start after the boiler turns off?

What is the setting on your pressure control?

MaxGNaidu

yes it hisses only during the heating cycle. its hot air thats venting when I put my finger to check... and the pressure is set at 2 PSI and I have a big hunch that it might be the main vent as I have never heard it or felt it vent. its a old vent that came with the house. but if I change the main vent and the problem doesnt go away what else should i check ?

Jamie Hall

If there is a main vent in the basement, it's not doing its job. If there isn't there really should be -- probably a Gorton #1 on a system that size.

What pressure does the pressure gauge read while the vent is hissing? What happens to the pressure when it stops/ If this is the usual grey box pressuretrol -- just one scale on the front -- the 2 psi setting is about 1.4 psi too high. Try dialing the indicator on the front down to just above (not past!) the lowest scale marking, which should be just over 0.5 psi.

MaxGNaidu

Okay the main vent is changed and the vent is still making that Noise. but its better now. its only hissing for like 1 or 2 minutes. is this normal or something else is wrong ?

ethicalpaul

If your boiler is sized correctly and/or your pressure is nice and low (like unreadably low), then it shouldn't hiss.

But some vents make some noise, so I'd have to hear it to give an opinion.

Do you feel your new main vent venting during the start of a heating cycle? During that time, no radiator should be hissing. After that main vent closes, you might be able to hear some, and it shouldn't be loud or seem like it's under high pressure.

MaxGNaidu

Update guys, changing the main vent helped, but didnt eliminate the issue. the RAD vent still hissed but for shorter durations of time. mind you this rad vent was bought from local home depot. I finally broke down and called a local HVAC guy.. great people... they changed it to groton RAD vent not sure the size. but the issue is gone... this just shows how great quality these vents are.

dabrakeman

If the radiator is venting fast it can hiss even at low pressure particularly if you have a big oversized boiler producing lots of steam. If there is a long takeoff from the main to that radiator then that might be a reason one would be venting it faster in the first place since there would be more air required to eliminate after the main vent closed. Question for the OP was the Gorton vent that was put on a slower vent than what was trialed beforehand?