Loud click/pinging sound from new radiator vent when heating up/cooling down?

emaydeoh

Just installed a new Hoffman No.40 Air Vent on one of my steam radiators, and for some reason every time it starts to warm up, and cool down, there is a very loud click/pinging metallic sound, like someone shooting a bb gun at a metal can. It will do this a few times per heating/cooling cycle. It is not the normal radiator banging sounds I am used to, it is a little more high-pitched. The radiator seems to be working well now, but any idea what the sound is?
Also the boiler pressure is higher than normal (3PSI ish, 2008 Dunkirk, 1 story house). Could adding new vents to all of the radiators help lower the pressure, or how does one lower the pressure?

Admittedly the system has a lot of issues and we are just trying to limp through a few more years before I move and the house is demolished. One of the boiler to radiator pipes sprung a small leak a few months ago and is now patched for the time being. Various parts have been replaced on the boiler (including the left pressure pump). If you've seen my other posts you have seen what a mess the heating in my 123yo house has been and I am just the tenant trying to fix as much as I can with the help of some great people on this forum, as a family member owns this house and is letting me live here so I am just trying to get through a little bit longer.

neilc

at the boiler you have a grey box, Pressuretrol, or a plastic faced box, Vaporstat, or something with a scaled adjustment face on it, with adjusting screw on top, adjust the mainscale down,

but first, post pictures of this and the other controls there,
and someone here will give you more to run with,

like "better check your pigtail " for free and clear breathing all the way back into the boiler,
pigtail is the looped pipe under you Ptrol,
what pressure do you see on your gage? and does it return to zero when burner is off a while?

post the pictures and you'll get lots of advise,
more pictures, more better

emaydeoh

@neilc thank you! Yes the pressure returns to zero when the boiler is off. The gauge shows 3 PSI when it is on. I will take some pictures ASAP!

emaydeoh

Both of the Pressuretrol gray plastic boxes show the lowest setting 0.5 PSI (the gray metal dial at the bottom option)

neilc

and the white/grey wheel inside is set to 1 (?)

neilc

you should probably post another picture or 2 showing the complete boiler, floor to ceiling, so we can see the pipes above,
get one from each side best you can

neilc

looks like there may be room to adjust the scale down lower yet,
don't unscrew past resistance or internals will come apart,
also, boiler could fail to fire at very bottom, just turn the scale back up a turn or 2

but I'm also thinking you need to check that pigtail,
remove the right Ptrol and blow in that nipple,
you should have some slight resistance as you blow clear the trapped water in the pigtail loop, then it should blow fairly free, if it does, then add a once or 2 of water back into the loop to prime it and reassemble,
if you're not blowing freely,
then you need to disassemble back to the loop, and remove it from the sightglass tee,
then poke, clean, and clear the loop, or replace,
if that's steel, a brass loop is less prone to clogging,
I would also open the plug at the end of the sightglass tee, and poke thru into the boiler with a
screwdriver, or use the sightglass protection rod(s),

neilc

reading back to the original post,
that vent might be more noisy than other options,
but getting that pressure from 3, to lower than 2, would also be desirable, and may make a difference at the vent.

emaydeoh

@neilc ohhh I forgot about the white knob inside the pressuretrol, our handyman accidentally turned it and may be why the pressure is so high. I will check when I get home. 

Could I have the outside metal pressure switch set to .5PSI, and the spinning knob inside at 1PSI?
Do I do these settings for both the right and left pressure controls? 

That would give me boiler pressure if 1.5PSI correct? (Trying to do the math) I live in a 1 story house, 1200sf with the furthest radiator about 30ft from the boiler (4 radiators total)

Will report back with their settings when im
home! 

neilc

the lower you can get that pressure, the better,

that sliding scale, and Ptrols in general, can be "inaccurate",
try as I said above,
dial the scale to the bottom, turn the adjustment screw counterclockwise(loosen) to where you first feel a slight resistance on the adjustment screw,
don't force past that first resistance or parts can disconnect inside,
if the boiler fails to fire due to the Ptrol being set too low and not making it's switch (the inaccurancy),
add a clockwise turn(tighten) or more back into the adjustment screw,
try with the new looking one on the left, the one on the right can be a backup set to a slightly higher pressure for now, it's kinda redundant,

what about that pigtail,
if it's clogged then neither Ptrol can "see" the boiler pressure

emaydeoh

@neilc I loosened the screw and confirmed the internal spinner control was at 1 for both pressure controls. 

The control on the right was replaced 9/10/2020 and the other I don’t think has ever been replaced. I’ll attach some photos. 

I haven’t checked the pigtail yet as I’m not sure how to do so, not super boiler savvy yet so will have to watch some tutorials. 

Do you think I should buy a new pressure control perhaps. 

neilc

see in the picture where you're showing the wheel at 1,

see the adjusting screw, and how its head is raised of that perch, just tighten down 1 turn so the screw head maintains contact with that bracket, this should keep the boiler firing, so the switch there makes and breaks,

I do not think you need another Ptrol, at least not before checking the pigtail,

about that pigtail,

are you handy?

I wrote above,

remove the right Ptrol and blow in that nipple,
you should have some slight resistance as you blow clear the trapped water in the pigtail loop, then it should blow fairly free, if it does, then add a once or 2 of water back into the loop to prime it and reassemble,
if you're not blowing freely,
then you need to disassemble back to the loop, and remove it from the sightglass tee,
then poke, clean, and clear the loop, or replace,
if that's steel, a brass loop is less prone to clogging,
I would also open the plug at the end of the sightglass tee, and poke thru into the boiler with a
screwdriver, or use the sightglass protection rod(s),

this could be a bit of wrenching,

you up to it ?

emaydeoh

@neilc Ohh okay thank you, so it seems the screw is too loose now? I can tighten it to make contact with the bracket better. The boiler has still been at around 3PSI even after I loosened it but will see if tightening it can help it stay on longer.

I am not super handy, but I am going to try what you explained for removing the ptrol and clearing out the pigtail. By right Ptrol, do you mean the one on the left side if I am facing the boiler (the one right above the loop without the date on it?) Can I remove it without disconnecting all of the wirings? I am assuming I should turn off the circuit breaker or at least turn off the boiler power so I don't get shocked?

neilc

in the picture,

the Ptrol to the right, is set off the side of that tee, and gives you a little more room to work,

and will be a little easier to get your lips down onto that nipple,

yup, you're gonna blow into that nipple,

the one to the left shoots straight up from the pigtail,

if it doesn't blow easy after initially clearing the trap of the pigtail,

then you're dissasembling further,

you DO want to shut the boiler off, breaker or service switch,

then you disconnect the wires from the Ptrol,

unscrew the Ptrol from the nipple, (and reassemble), with a wrench on the flats under the case,

don't twist it off, or back on, by the box,

emaydeoh

@neilc thanks for that step by step!
do I need to drain any water out of the boiler before disassembling anything or will it be okay? Just don't want water to spill out.

neilc

No need to drain unless your water line is above the top of your sightglass,

that's where your Pigtail is piped to, the top of your sightglass