Spitting bathroom vent

jim_14

Problem: bathroom radiator was not working. Was able to remove vent and use shop vac to suck up whatever, replace vent and use a wedge to shim up the radiator a bit.

Now radiator works, but spits up all the time leaving a small puddle in the corner. Previous owner had bathroom redone years ago and removed original radiator and replaced with this smaller one as shown in the pictures. Im not sure why this vent is spitting, is it the pitch? is it the radiator type used for this one pipe system? is the air vent? (not much space for an air vent in here, compared to the size of the other vents on my original radiators.

Last pic is what the original bathroom radiator would have looked like

Thom Masse (a rookie)

pitch

Is it pitched properly? 1/4" per foot? Is the whole fixture MUCKED UP? May need a new one. "Be the steam!"

Thom (a rookie)

Unknown

read the paragraph at the end of \"one pipe steam\"

in this article. Actually, the whole piece is very good.

Noel

http://www.heatinghelp.com/newsletter.cfm?Id=54

Steamhead

Are the original convectors

connected one-pipe also? If so I'll bet theyre cast-iron on the inside, rather than fin-tube as that piece of bathroom baseboard is. If you're not sure, remove one of the covers, take a picture and post it- we can tell you for sure.

A piece of cast-iron baseboard will work much better with one-pipe steam, since it has more internal area. You can get this type of baseboard from Burnham, Slant/Fin and (I think) Weil-McLain.

If your original convectors are fin-tube, I'd repipe your fin-tube baseboard as a two-pipe unit. You want to match the type of original radiation (cast-iron or fin-tube) so they will heat up and cool down at a similar rate.

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Jason

i have the exact same problem

I'm a new lurker to this site since I've become the proud owner of a 120 year old 3 family house. And I'm a completely new to steam systems. I really enjoy reading the wall. I just got my copy of lost art and have started reading so I could understand how my heating system works but I can tell I have much to learn as I still can't follow 90% of the topics on the wall yet.

But I can comment on this one thread. I have the exact same problem with what looks like the exact same one pipe baseboard type radiator. I even have the exact same type of varivalve vent on mine. One difference I noticed is that my vent isn't the vertically oriented angle type. It comes straight off the end of the pipe and the vent opening was facing down. I thought this seemed like an incorrect installation of the vent and could cause the leaking. But it's not possible to mount an angle type due to the proximity to the wall. At least I don't know how to install it yet.

I don't really have any solution or advice for the original poster but I thought I'd introduce myself and let the original poster know that other people have the same problem and are interested in the resolution to their problem. I tried to figure out if my leak was caused by the (incorrect?) vent installation by putting another vent on that I could install even though the baseboard cover won't install properly. We'll see how that goes.

I guess I do have one small question (and remember I don't have much plumbing experience as a new first time homeowner). How difficult is it to remove the end cap where the vent in the post above is inserted? There's only a round end cap and round pipe to grab. And I imagine that old pipe and cap are probably stuck together as well. If I try to turn that end cap, will i break the pipe somewhere? Any advice on the best way to work on that type of radiator?

Anyway..... just wanted to let everyone know how much I enjoy the site and the discussions.

DanHolohan

I'd use

a float-type air vent on that radiator. The one you have is thermostatic and it's a nice vent, but it can't shut against water that suddenly surges toward it. Worth a try.

jim_14

can i get a float type

air vent thats small enough to fit in there? Come to think of it, my kitchen radiator was removed and replaced with the same one as my bathroom. That one was "turned off" aka air vent upside down, when I got tired of no heat in the kitchen, I right sided it to work. I then discovered why it was shut "off"- it hisses continuously until the heat demand has been met and the boiler has shut down. Pretty annoying

jim_14

Heres the pic with the cover off

jim_14

BTW, I went on an air vent replacement frenzy a few years ago after reading dans book, the lost art 1, and replaced all the vents (except bath/kitchen) with adjustable type valves until I had a quiet system. This one was set on maximum opening and was quiet until the end of last season. Now it hisses loudly most of the time. Im guessing its the vent? Its one of those home depot cheapo vents (hey I was experimenting so what the heck they were a cheap alternative to a possible costly experiment going with a hoffman). My house has no main vent, so Im guessing this one took the brunt of the steam rush? But I guess thats another topic??

jim_14

I thought about doing that, and sticking my shop vac in their to get all the muck out. I dont want to risk breaking the whole thing(at least not now, maybe after the winter). ANy advice from the pros on what NOT to do when attempting this??