Steam rad vents

scott75

Sorry for the long thread. My vents last season would "pop off", pretty loud when they let air out. You could definately hear them open and close. This season, not the same. At best, you can just hear the air hiss out. No definitive open and close sound, much quieter. Which is the way it should be? I can't imagine they all went bad in one season, especially since I replace about half last season. Just to give some history since last season, I downsized the nozzle from 1.25-1.0, performed cumbustion test and adjusted accordingly, added boiler cleaner, cleaned out pressuretrol pigtail. Could any of these have changed how my air vents sound? Also, how would I determine what the propper approx. on/off cycle times should be? Thanks for any help

Thad English

sounds like you dropped the pressure

I am a homeowner, not a pro, but it sounds like last season you were running with very high pressure to make the vents hiss and pop-off so loudly. Steam systems are quiet when they run properly. By cleaning out the pigtail you may have inadvertently helped your steam system run at a lower pressure, which is good. Low pressure = fast moving steam = less fuel usage. As far as burn times go, I have read on this site that longer burns are more efficient. I imagine that long is a relative term, though. My big peerless goes for about 4 minutes and is off for about 40. I have read of some boilers that go for 10 minutes and are off for 50. Which is better? That is a question for someone like Steamhead or Dan H, hisself.

scott75

Thanks Thad, That's what I figured. My wife had steam heat growing up, and last season when our vents poped off so loud, she thought that was normal. Maybe her boiler was running too high a pressure her entire life.