Did i do this right ?

hvacfreak

I am getting my system ready for winter ,1 weekend at a time , today it was " balance time " . Ok , I'm clear on getting edr and cfm to be vented. I added the run out and riser to each radiator as well. I got a total of air to be vented , and something told me to divide it by 4 . Also , I have Hoffman 1-a vents , but I can find no ratings on this vent. I think I did find 1 rating at #6 being .4 cfm @2oz. I then figured ( guessed ) #1 setting to be like a #40 vent @.1 cfm.
This put most of my vent settings at 1 or 2 on the 1-A's. I fired the system and the supply piping got hot right away , burner shut down ( cut out ) at like 10 min of run time . Went up stairs , all was quiet , no heat but quiet.
Went back to basement , burner cuts in , go upstairs , rads getting hot , all at the same time. Did I guess the right ratings on the 1-a ? Did I do the right thing by dividing the total cfm of each radiator to be vented by 4 , and using that figure to select vents at 2 oz ? This info is not clearly spelled out in Lost Art. Thanks for help.

hvacfreak

One pipe balance

Maybe my post was a little unclear , I'll try again.

I have recently made an attempt to balance my 1 pipe steam system. I believe everything is now working like it is supposed to , but would like feedback on a couple of variables I was not clear on.

1) I figured air to be vented for each radiator and its respective piping.

2) I found a chart with some air vent ratings and saw that they used 2 oz as a standard rate. I also noticed that my numbers seemed high from my radiators when looking at this vent chart. I guessed that dividing my cf values by four would put me on the 2 oz scale ( 8oz cut in press). ( example , 1 radiator with edr of 66 , plus piping ends up with a 2 setting on 1-A vent ).

3) Can't seem to find the Hoffman 1-A ratings anywhere. I can find a Dole 1-A , it says .4 at a number 6 setting. Chart has a Hoffman 40 at .1 , so I'll " guess " .1 is a number 1 setting.

4) I did achieve a quiet , even system. Should I speed it up ? Did I figure anything wrong , seemed like I assumed alot ? Saw the water vanish from gauge glass , is this a prob with my venting or just dirty wet returns ? Thanks

Steamhead

Before I answer that

I have to ask, are your mains properly vented? How long is each one and what pipe size, and what vent is there now?

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hvacfreak

I just cleaned these main vents , Hoffman 75 at end of each main. Mains get hot right away , like I said. And they're on as tall a nipple as someone could get them , right on the subfloor , lol.

Pipes start at 2 in and graduate down to 1 1/4 on the 2 mains. Lets call them 40 ft .

Boiler is a fairly new Burnham v7 , firing at 1.65. I did not do the replacement , but someone kept the old near boiler piping ( less the second tapping though). The second tap is a plugged 90 looking right down at the Burnham " optional " second. Header offset is correct , and based on piping size and firing rate I'm on the line of not needing the second ( kinda too good to be true though with that 90 already there , I may get that online this year).

Any pipe I can see is getting or has gotten 1 inch fiberglass. Testing pvc jacket to see if I like it ,will go metal jacket if I don't.

Steamhead

OK, sounds like that will work

The trick to getting the right vent rates for radiators is to figure the cubic capacity divided by 7 or so. This lets the radiator fill over a period of 7 minutes or so, which avoids too-high steam velocities in the runouts and valves that can trap water and cause banging.

Main vents should vent fast enough to fill the mains with steam in about a minute, measured from the point at which the boiler starts producing steam. If your mains are taking much longer than this, double your main vent capacity by adding one more #75 to each main. This will reduce the burner run-time and save fuel.

I'd go ahead and add the second riser from the boiler to the header. The system will run much better when you cut the steam's exit velocity in half.

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