Are these air vents working?

Johnny12

I have a hot water baseboard system that's always been a bit noiser than I would like, and I'm sure it's probably air in the system causing the noise. Unfortunately, the circulator is right at the return inlet of the boiler, and of course the expansion tank is on the supply side. I don't believe the expansion tank is a diaphrahm unit, either. There's an air vent at the top of the boiler that looks pretty crudded up, and there's another one underneath the expansion tank. I'm not sure how these vents work, and if they're doing their job properly. Should they be venting air by themselves, or do I need to do something with them?

Al Letellier_9

air vents

From the looks of it alone, that vent needs to go. Get a pro to change it and he can check the expansion tank and purge the system if necessary. Don't get too hung up about where the pump and expansion tanks are in your system. We talk a lot about pumping away and it's the right thing to do when installing a new system, but there are literally thousands of old systems out there, just like yours, that work quite well when properly maintained. It was the normal way to pipe a boiler years ago, and we all work on that kind of system every day.

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