Main Vent Replacement Advice

DannyO

Hi All, just got a house and I'm getting obsessed with the steam system. Everything I've read is telling me if I need advice to post here.

This is the thing that stuck out to me most when evaluating system - for my main vents I have two Vent Rite #33s on mains that are both about 60' long of 2inch pipe. From the way they're mounted it seems like these were a cheapo / quick fix option and I want to replace them.

People suggest Gorton #2s here, but my issue is that I am working with a 1/8" hole and not much headroom - so I think to install those I'd need to use a 1/8" inch nipple into a 1/2" reducing coupling on the background main, and a 1/4" to 1/2" similar on the foreground one, assuming I cant budge that existing coupling. Its odd to me, looks like they went from 1/8 -> 1/4 -> 1/8 again. I am pretty confident I could do this myself if everything goes smoothly.

Overall my system is working pretty good. I notice some sputtering and hissing from the radiators which is a little annoying at night and I want to do what I can to fix what's gotta be an issue on the mains before I replace the radiator vents.

Is this a sensible approach? My main concerns aside from my own incompetence is whether there's enough room for the Gorton to be properly distanced from the pipe, and whether it's bad for the vent to be mounted on an 1/8" hole when the aperture on the vent is 1/2" - makes me worry about velocity hitting the vent being bad for it.

Bonus pic of the boiler as well.. thanks for reading and/or for any advice !

ethicalpaul

I would try this less expensive option and see how it works. Buy a couple Gorton #1 main vents and put one on each return. They have a 1/2" female thread you can utilize after a 1/8 to 1/2 adapter. They are definitely less capacity than the #2 but they provide a lot of venting.

DannyO

Thank you - I can see it would be easier to fit those into the space and they're about $100 cheaper each !

ethicalpaul

Build a thing similar to this, then you can add more venting if you find it necessary

https://heatinghelp.com/assets/article-images/gorton-vents__FitWyI2NDAiLCIyNDAiXQ.JPG

neilc

can we talk about the Ptrol and pigtail ?

too high an operating pressure can also add to your hissing noises,

post a closer picture of the Ptrol,
and has the pigtail been serviced ?
is it free breathing back into the boiler?

What pressure do you see when the boiler is firing for a while?

Big Ed_4

Same lengths mains , you can't go too big....

dabrakeman

What does it look like out at the ends of your mains?

Steamhead

First time I've ever seen a heel tee with a less-than-1/2"-diameter "heel". Looks like there might be a flush bushing screwed into that opening- if so, that can be drilled out and the hole re-tapped.

SteamingatMohawk

From your photo, it looks like the two returns connect just below the vents and above the waterline. Since you say they are the same length it should be fine.

However, in my system the front main is 46 feet round trip and the rear main is 26 feet. I had the same arrangement as you and was having a terrible time balancing the system. I solved that problem by rearranging both returns to individually connect to the Hartford loop below. None of the books or diagrams I ever saw showed two separate mains, so it took a while for me to diagnose the problem

The HHers agreed I had to do it.

So, why do I bother you with this? If you ever have some difficulty with balancing, keep this in mind. I can explain in gory detail how I figured it out.

EBEBRATT-Ed

Those two returns should be connected together below the water line. If steam reaches the tee a bove the water line first it will shut down both vents before the second main is vented

SteamingatMohawk

@EBEBRATT-Ed I am curious as to why it would have been done originally not connecting below the waterline. Cost, time to do the work...??

DannyO

Thanks all - sorry for lateness in replies. Re: pressuretrol, it's set to 1.5 main / 1 diff. I have not unscrewed the pigtail yet, and the pressure gauge is reading zero, either not working or not sensitive enough to pick up on <2psi

Interesting point about the connection above the waterline.. i assume because the steam will hit the T and then go back around and up to the second vent . Weird.

Another odd thing - it looks like the equalizer is on the wrong side - the takeoff from the boiler goes up into the header and the steam mains are to the left and equalizer to the right. Not like that in any diagrams I see which makes me think "Bad".

I think next year I'll have someone come do a little work. Another thing I want is a cleanout added to the hartford loop.

I will say the system is working decently.. I am really just thinking in terms of optimization, savings, and getting rid of as much noise as possible, and it's annoying knowing the vents on the main arent even designed for that purpose.

gfrbrookline

Where are you located?