Asbestos

Ralph Blaine

I have a single pipe steam system in my house and there are no vents on the mains in the basement. The system works pretty well as is but I'm told it would be better if vents were added to the mains. The problem is that the mains are wrapped in corrugated asbestos and the elbows are mudded up with some kind of asbestos plaster-like stuff (some of which flakes off if touched). Is it worth disturbing these lines to put in main vents? If so what is the proper procedure?

lchmb

ok so?

If it's not broken why are you trying to change it? There need's to be more reason why you would suddenly want to change it? I personally would remove any and all asbestos but that's just me. If the asbestos is not breaking down then it is considered safe.

c-rex

adding a main vent/asbestos pipe cover

> I have a single pipe steam system in my house and

> there are no vents on the mains in the basement.

> The system works pretty well as is but I'm told

> it would be better if vents were added to the

> mains. The problem is that the mains are wrapped

> in corrugated asbestos and the elbows are mudded

> up with some kind of asbestos plaster-like stuff

> (some of which flakes off if touched). Is it

> worth disturbing these lines to put in main

> vents? If so what is the proper procedure?

Big Ed

King vent

The last radiator above the end of the main...Tee in a main vent between the riser and the radiator up in the room. It's a way to main vent and leaving that @$%# alone.......

Unknown

It's a good question

Trying to vent all the air out of just the radiator vents is not the best way to run steam system . Sure , it might seem to work fine , but think how much faster the rads could heat up if the air was pushed out of the mains much faster . And the radiator vents would not have to work overtime , maybe prolonging their usefulness .

About touching the asbestos to install the main vents - that's a tough call . Removing that and adding a properly sized opening into a steam main might be time consuming and costly if there no tapping to use already . The best bet is like Big Ed said , tee a main vent near a radiator .

Ralph Blaine

I like the idea of putting a vent up in the room before the rad as Big Ed suggests. I have two questions about it:

1. Could I put such a vent in the spot where the shut-off valve for the rad is now and simply sacrifice the valve (I never turn it off anyway)?

2. Could I drill and tap a hole into the pipe connecting the shut-off valve to the rad (looks to be a bit less than 1.5 inch outside diameter)?

Big Ed

King Vent

I feel the shut off is there more for safety then for control. The proper way to shut down the heat is to plug the vent tap.

I would perfer to use a tee but I have drilled and tapped in a fix .

Darin Cook_3

Keep in Mind

Not all the Dead Men were master craftman. Just because in this example no main vents were used does not mean they should not be there. The system would no doubt work better and come up to temp faster. There were plenty of hacks back in the old days too. I know because they still provide us with work, many years down the road.






Darin

Ken D.

Asbestos

If the Asbestos is in good shape,I.E.- not friable or flaking, I would leave it alone. If it is flaking, you should have a certified professional remove or encapsulate it. You have to be certified to handle it. If you are not and mishandle it you end up breaking about a dozen federal laws, not to mention putting everyone else at risk.