Plug in steam main in basement. Replacing it with a vent

sjenkins318

Hello! I found this plug in my steam main. I have a hunch that there should be a main vent in this location. Currently my radiators hiss loudly, and I think they are having to do a lot of the hard work in terms of venting the air out. I am hoping adding a main vent here will solve this problem.

As you can see, the plugged hole actually consists of a bushing and a smaller plug inside the bushing. The bushing appears to be 3/4", and I'd like to remove that because I have a Gorton with 3/4" threads. Unfortunately, the bushing seems very stuck and I'm a bit scared to try and force it out. However, the smaller plug will screw out rather easily with a 12" wrench. (I am not sure what size the plug is, maybe someone has an idea.)

I'm kind of wondering, maybe I should leave the bushing in, and take the smaller plug out and work with that hole. If I do so, I have 2 options as I see it:
-1. Buy a different vent that has the same threads as the plug I am removing.
-2. Try to adapt the plugged hole to fit my 3/4" Gorton.

Or, I could go gung-ho in trying to remove the 3/4" bushing and go all in on my Gorton.

Thanks for any input!

ethicalpaul

Don't forget, your Gorton also has a 1/2" female thread inside.

If it were me, I'd get a bigger pipe wrench and show that bushing who's boss. But don't disturb whatever that insulation is.

sjenkins318

I put a deep well socket on it, with an 18" breaker bar, and it wouldn't budge. I thought about slipping a cheater pipe on the breaker bar, but I'm worried about breaking something. If that elbow cracks, I'm royally screwed...

neilc

can you get a pipe wrench on the elbow to back it up against your socket wrench and cheater?
and without disturbing the insulation?

sjenkins318

Not a bad idea.

EBEBRATT-Ed

Just take the 1/2" plug out put a long 1/2" nipple in there and go into the inside threads in the Gorton. If the gorton does not have internal threads put a 1/2" nipple in the bushing and a 3/4 x 1/2 reducing coupling on and put the Gorton on that.

That 1/2" bushing is not going to reduce the venting capacity of the Gorton.

If the bushing breaks off your going to wish you let it alone.

You have no vent now so and venting you get through the bushing will be an improvement.

sjenkins318

Yeah i think that is a better route to go.

sjenkins318

Hey, just wanted to thank you for the input. I ended up going through the plug and leaving the bushing be. And I actually had to bush-down to 3/8". But it's still a fairly large hole feeding the vent so I hope its still effective.

ethicalpaul

The small hole at the top of the vent is the bottleneck, that should be fine

Is your main now filling with steam faster at the start of a call for heat?

sjenkins318

Hard to say if any improvement has been made. I'm not sure, really.

Steamhead

What vent is on the end of the other steam main?