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Air vents

pryan
pryan Member Posts: 3
in Strictly Steam

I I have a 100-year-old single pipe steam system. I find myself having to change out the air vents every two years or so because the radiators won't get hot. So I have two questions. what would be causing these vents to stop functioning? And is there one type or brand of air vent that is better than the other? Thanks in advance for any input

Comments

  • ethicalpaul
    ethicalpaul Member Posts: 6,666
    edited December 5

    What brands/types are you using?

    The biggest damager of vents I have seen is "surging" or when boiler water is thrown up into the mains and actually into the boilers. I believe this puts a lot of rust chunks from the boiler pipes and radiators into the vents.

    But admittedly it's hard to tell exactly because we can't see what's happening in there usually.

    I like Maid O Mist

    NJ Steam Homeowner.
    Free NJ and remote steam advice: https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/new-jersey-steam-help/
    See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el

  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 24,856

    The other vent killer is excess pressure — what is the cutout pressure of your system? Anything over 2 psig is too much.

    Make of vent? Gorton, MaidOMist

    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
  • Mad Dog_2
    Mad Dog_2 Member Posts: 7,518

    Gortons & Hoffmans -The Best…Mad Dog

    Consulting by Mad Dog & Matt Jr.
    Long Beach Ed
  • Long Beach Ed
    Long Beach Ed Member Posts: 1,320
    edited December 5

    Unless you are using some kind of Chinasium vent, something isn't right with your system. Quality domestic vents like Gorton and Hoffman should last for many decades.

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