Vent Confusion

Susan_6

I'm confused (which is nothing new for me!).

Dan's We Got Steam Heat book, talks about the importance of main vents. My one pipe counter flow system does not have any main vents. Dan's book goes on to mention (p. 43) that venting radiators close to the boiler may be useful if there are no main vents (I'm paraphrasing) and that size matters.

Help me out here. I don't really want to install main vents if I don't need them because it would probably be expensive and may distrub a system that has been working since 1923. Can I fix this problem with proper radiator valves and when discussing size what is meant? Where do I buy the best quality (meaning well made and correct for the job) best priced (meaning well made and correct for the job) steam raditor valves?

Steamhead

You could get away without main vents

during the Coal Era because the coal fire burned all day. Once the air was out, it stayed out- so what if it took an hour for all the air to vent?

But oil and gas boilers don't work that way. They come on at full force and shut off. So the air must vent quickly each cycle.

I can tell you for sure that if you have main vents added, your system will respond much more quickly and evenly. This will result in fuel savings.

Try the Find a Professional page of this site to locate a steam man near you. If you're in the Baltimore area, e-mail me!

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