Correct Venting for faster Radiator heat up??

Jamie Hall

As long as everything is sloped to drain…

edplu

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1817693#Comment_1817693

Looks like those 90's will be harazonal and not much slope…i don't think i have room for 45's..maybe I can bend the 1/2 pipe some??

bburd

You may not want to use a C on the attic radiator. The radiator takeoff and riser, at 3/4", are below the 1" minimum size for one pipe steam. If you vent that quickly, the steam and condensate may interfere with each other, causing gurgling and spitting from the air vent. Slower venting may be needed to prevent this.

I believe the attic radiator is not heating because of water trapped in the sagging pipe, not because of a venting issue.

edplu

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1817693#Comment_1817693

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1817726#Comment_1817726

OK … Im going to fix the slope on the attic pipe and use a 5 or 6 vent. I was thinking about pluging it off if it will speed up the cycle. A hour+ is really long to fill all the rada. Also I was thinking b 4 I spend 200 for a new #2 will that really make a big difference then the #75 ? I was hoping to cut the system cycle to 1/2 run time to fill all rads.

bburd

Do not worry so much about the length of time to fill all the radiators with steam. Most of the time a partial fill will satisfy the thermostat and avoid overheating the house. The important thing is that the system heat evenly most of the time, though this may vary in unusual weather conditions.

Regarding the Gorton #2 main vent, you have 90 feet of 2 inch main, right? @steamhead says that's what you need, and you will not find better advice on steam heat.

delcrossv

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1817711#Comment_1817711

You can take 45s and have tons of room if you take it to the right of the copper pipe (between the copper and the pvc drain)

Steamhead

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1817730#Comment_1817730

The #2 vents about four times as fast as the #75. It's a no-brainer.

109A_5

Hello edplu,

With boiler cold starts, the run time will always be extra long, and not typical of mid winter performance. Changing the venting won't make the water boil faster. I would base the venting / steam distribution performance by monitoring the time from when boiler's header gets hot (boiler actually steaming) to when the farthest radiator's inlet side gets hot.

With adjustable vents usually the top unscrews and the metering plate (holes or incline plane looking tapered slot) will lift off, make sure they are free of debris. They are usually indexed in some way and/or pick the hole size that meets your venting needs.

edplu

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1817742#Comment_1817742

Regarding the Gorton #2 main vent, you have 90 feet of 2 inch main, right? @steamhead says that's what you need, and you will not find better advice on steam heat.

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The piping is like a squre around the boiler, first 20' then 90, then 20' feeds first 2 rads 3in pipe, then 90 reduces to 2 in pipe for 25' feeding rad 3,4, then 90 for 15' fending the attic and rad 5, then 90 for 10' feeding rad 6 at the end b 4 it going sown into the boiler is the main vent ..

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1817742#Comment_1817742

I was thinking to the left .. cuz if I go to the right that puts the vent right over the boiler. Wouldnt the heat effect the #2 to close to soon ??

delcrossv

Wouldnt the heat effect the #2 to close to soon.

Nope.

I can guarantee the air above your boiler isn't 212 degrees.

edplu

I'm not done yet but I want to sincerly THANK everyone who responed to my thread !! I learned a hell of alot and can not Thank you enough !!! now if I can get the QB-180 down … I'm good … lol

edplu

I fired the heater up this morning..fix the attic pipe pitch and got heat in the attic. Took a little while...all the rads got hot but 5 was slow ...6 got hot b4 5 not sure why .. shouldn't 5 get hot 1st??? Maybe the old vents not working right??

109A_5

Try radiator 5 with the orifice plate removed from the vent, see if the steam gets to the radiator faster. If those holes are not lined up correctly with the port underneath or have debris in them it may not vent correctly.

edplu

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1818208#Comment_1818208

Thx … That vent is so OLD … I just order a #6 to replace. When I feel the pipe from the main its the last one that gets hot, rad 6 id hot b 4 rad 5 but it eventully gets hot. should Rad 5 should get hot b4 rad 6 ?? 6 is the last one on the main…

ethicalpaul

ideally, the order of the radiators on the main should not matter. This is because there should be enough main venting that the whole main fills up with steam before very much steam starts heading to any radiator

edplu

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1818230#Comment_1818230

It does but what confuses me is that the last radiator and pipe off the main gets hot b4 the one b4 it. which i think could b cuz of the vent on that radiiator not working correctly but it will eventully get hot. The vent is old and i order a #6. Hopefully this will speed it up. My whole goal is to get those radiators cooking ASAP (upgrade the main 75 to #2) to satisfy the Thermo setting for less load on the old QB-180.. lol …. thx

ethicalpaul

Yes, balance/timing problems are almost always due to the venting. That vent in the picture is certainly old.

There can be cases where bad pitch of pipes causes a water trap to form that partially or totally kills steam to the affected downstream radiators.