Welcome! Here are the website rules, as well as some tips for using this forum.
Need to contact us? Visit https://heatinghelp.com/contact-us/.
Click here to Find a Contractor in your area.

replacement vent

Hi all! I am new here! Have owned my ~100 yr old home with steam heat for three winters now. It's been a quirky experience, but there's really only one thing bothering me at the moment, which is the vent on the very small bathroom radiator. It releases a lot of steam, causing the tile glaze to peel above it. (It doesn't help that there's normally a towel hanging in front of it. But that's where the towel rack is.) A steamy bathroom isn't the end of the world, but we'd like to redo the tile glaze and not ruin the new job too.

At one point I managed to have a plumber look at it, and he said I should get a "#1 vent" to replace what's there. I guess that means the Vent-Rite (Emerson) #1. So... should I? Should I consider the Varivalve instead, which is a bit cheaper and smaller (really either one would stick out in an awkward way in that space). I am somewhat nervous I will snap something trying to take off the existing vent and things will be worse than before... Pics of the situation below. Thank you for any advice!



Comments

  • Fred
    Fred Member Posts: 8,542
    If that vent doesn't close when steam hits it, it needs to be replaced. You can try a Gorton #4 on there. It may look a little less obtrusive. Vent-Rite's are very good also. Stay away from the Varivalves. They vent too fast.
  • KC_Jones
    KC_Jones Member Posts: 5,722
    That's the location a bleeder for a hot water system would be. On those radiators the vent is supposed to be on the front in that boss about half way down the front.

    I'm guessing that was either a replacement or a change at some point.
    2014 Weil Mclain EG-40
    EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Boiler Control
    Boiler pictures updated 2/21/15
  • nicholas bonham-carter
    nicholas bonham-carter Member Posts: 8,576
    edited October 2018
    Check your pressure as well when you make this vent change, as I suspect it is too high.—NBC
  • steampowered
    steampowered Member Posts: 2
    OK, will try the Gorton #4 and will check the pressure! Thanks for your help!