removed main vent- no noticable difference!

Joe_39

using a 1/8' tap and 1/8 long nipple and bringing it up using a 1/8 to 1/2" coupling for a gorton #2 and this is what I got.

All results are with Boiler cold start (off a few hours), did this each morning over last 3 days

With #2: took 9:30 for steam to arrive at the tapping ,but it seemed to hit a wall at the coupling and it took 16:15 for the #2 to get hot and close!

Removed the #2 and went with a Gorton D vent and it took exactly 9:50 secs for the steam to get into the D vent and close it.. Much better results with the D, almost 6 minutes better

Removed the D vent and closed it with a plug and it took 10:20 secs for steam to hit the pipe where I tapped. 30 second difference from D to no vent

So bottom line is, there isnt much of a difference with the main vent removed...

Any thoughts on why this could be? Dans books stress the importance of main venting... I figure I'll leave the D vent in since I already tapped this pipe, cant hurt.. But a little disappointed, was hoping for a better result.

Bob W._3

Jack, thats why I believe a 3/8 - 1/2" tapping is a minimum for a Gorton No. 2, no matter what the numbers show for a 1/8".

Howie

Yes I believe the 1/8 tapping is too small

> Jack, thats why I believe a 3/8 - 1/2" tapping is

> a minimum for a Gorton No. 2, no matter what the

> numbers show for a 1/8".

Howie

Jack, I believe the 1/8 tapping is too small

but I am at loss the explain why there is no noticable difference between the Gorton D and and a pipe plug...

9 minutes doesnt seem to be that long of time for steam to hit the end of your main, are you sure their isnt a main vent somewhere else, maybe that you cant see?

John S.

Is this one-pipe or two?

If it's one-pipe, maybe your radiators vents are venting too fast? What tipe of vents are on the rads?

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soot_seeker_2

The Air...

... is leaving through your radiators whn the main vent is plugged.

That's fine and in some systems that will work. But in others, good main vents are necessary to insure that the entire main fills with steam so the radiators will all begin filling at the same time.

If some radiators begin getting hot before others, and this is causing some rooms to be cold, you may wish to lower the venting rate on some radiators. This will force air through the mains first and permit the mains to fill first.

Long Beach Ed

Joe_39

its a 1 pipe system

with adjustable vents on the rads

Joe_39

well all the radiators get hot at the same time

so that really isnt a problem..

Joe_39

one more test I will run..

I am going to leave the 1/8" tap open with no plug and no vent..

That hole should be big enough to mimic what a #2 would do..

I will measure the time it takes for the steam to hit that hole and post the results tomorrow.

Tony Conner_2

If You...

... do everything right, with steam, it will always work properly. Every time. However, you can usually do at least one or two things wrong, and get away with it, for a variety of reasons that may or may not be readily apparent. I've looked at steam systems that just should NOT have been working, and yet were. What tends to happen, is that guys who come after you will add or modify something else on the system, unaware of what you've done. This is usually where the wheels come off. Something that isn't the way it's supposed to be is hidden, or forgotten crosses paths with some new thing that probably isn't done the right way either...and now things don't work, and it's an Easter egg hunt to find out why.

Bob W._3

Jack, you could also consider another 2-3 1/8" tappings with Gorton D's in them, if more feasible. Let all know how the open 1/8" test goes.

Joe_39

test results with just the 1/8\" opening

came in at a surprisingly 14mins 15 secs!

Thats just behind the results of 16:15 with gorton #2

It seems with the #2 and just the hole the steam took longer then with the D or just the plug!!

It does not make any sense...

Only thing I can think of is the tstat was turned low all day there was no call for heat due to the mild 50 degree weather, pipe unusally cold for a longer period??

All my other tests have been with pipes cold, maybe some warmth in the header, but not hot..

Cannot make any sense of this.. will retest tomorrow AM!!

jerry scharf_3

I'm not a steam guy

Jack,

Dan has a saying that when you are looking for a steam problem, look elsewhere than where it shows up. Can you post some pictures of the near boiler piping (don't forger to resize them down.) Also, you didn't mention whether the mains are insulated or not. The open pipe was the right test, remove all the variables.

jerry

Boilerpro_3

Cold pipes make a HUGE difference

It takes an enormous amount of BTU's to heat up piping, so steam will get to the end of the mains much slower in cooler pipes than hotter. If you want to test venting capacity, do the tests succesively with hot piping, allowing little cooling in between.

Boilerpro