Steam coming from the main vent
Comments
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I was going to use 2 90's .i think they a 3/4 ?. will that be good ??
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Hence my recommendation to use 2 45s.
;)
Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.
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Can I get away with just putting on a 6-8 in riser ??
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thats a lot better than what's there now .
Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.
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That church has proved once again that you can't fix stupid.
All Steamed Up, Inc.
Towson, MD, USA
Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
Oil & Gas Burner Service
Consulting
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@delcrossv is saying that using 45° Street elbow at the bottom and a 45° at the top may be better, that way you can have a longer path for any debris or water to travel before it destroys the vent, and any condensate will drain faster.
Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
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IS there a way to test the pressurtrol after I clean the pigtail ?? thx
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Easiest is to reinstall it, set the thermostat to 85 and see if the boiler shuts down before the thermostat is satisfied. (Should)
If you have a ounce or 0-3 psi pressure gauge on the boiler you can read it directly.
Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.1 -
Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.0
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Thx … looks like i have a tight fit to remove the Radiator vent. Is there any trick to removing it and which vents are good ones ???
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Picture? Tight location or it's on tightly?
Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.0 -
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This is blowing steam and moisture out after the rad fills up ??
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This is blowing steam and moisture out after the rad fills up ??
Are you asking us or telling us? 😉
Sometimes you (or your friendly plumber) might have to disconnect the radiator from its valve and swing it away from the wall in order to access the vent. I can't quite tell from the photo but it seems like that radiator is actually kind of connected to the finish wall/trim?
I use Maid O Mist
NJ Steam Homeowner.
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Telling .. looks like when the steam reaches the vent it blows out with moister.. does that mean the vent is bad and not closing ?? thx Paul
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Yes that's typically what it means. But sometimes some condensate can collect in the vent and affect the vent closing.
But if while the radiator fills with steam you can feel or hear plain air escaping from the vent, then when the radiator is fully hot as you seem to be saying, moisture and/or steam is escaping from the vent then I would suspect the vent.
Is the vent "steam hot" (too hot to hold onto) while it's emitting this moisture?
Usually it's easy to swap it out to test but in your case it obviously isn't so easy, but I think that is still a good thing to try.
You or your plumber can get some 1/8" brass fittings to move the vent away from its current location for easier removal in the future. I have done this on many of my vents and will look for a picture for you
NJ Steam Homeowner.
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See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el0 -
I found one. I have happened to move the vent closer to my wall, but you get the idea of what is possible.
Note that I sloped the 1/8" pipe and fittings so that condensation drains back to the radiator. You don't want it to collect in the vent or the fittings.
Do you have control over this boiler, or are you in a rental unit for example?
NJ Steam Homeowner.
Free NJ and remote steam advice: https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/new-jersey-steam-help/
See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el0 -
Yep, like above. (don't need the valve) 1/8 brass street ell out of the rad, piece of brass pipe and a brass ell to the vent. All sloped to the radiator.
From your picture, it does look like you'll have to undo the union on the supply side and slide the radiator out to remove this.
I've had good luck with Maid-O-Mist as well.
Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.0 -
Yes it is my boiler but i'm not there all the time .. I think if I get those round style I should be fine. Again I can not thank you enough for all you help…ur AWESOME !! when i add pipe to the main vent do us teflon tape or pipe dope ?? Also i was thinking that that radiator may not be sloped …could that cuz the steam isssue ??
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Teflon Tape. Make sure you don't get it over the port.
If it were spitting water, then maybe slope. Try a new vent first and then see if it needs a couple of shims on the vent side.
Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.1 -
It's possible the radiator pitch or slope could be involved, but I doubt it. My radiators are all pitched and yet they hold a decent amount of water in them at all times. I'm of the opinion that radiator pitch is not as important as some people think it is. The radiator would have to be pretty dramatically pitched in the wrong direction for it to be an issue. And if your radiator performs well during the heating of the radiator and only has this problem when the steam reaches the vent, I would suspect the vent.
You can see my blue teflon tape, that's how I do it. Since the fittings are brass you really don't need tape I think because the brass deforms on tightening, but I always use it.
The reason I asked if it was your boiler is: You shouldn't really be having that many times when the radiator is full of steam and yet the boiler is still running. Are you recovering temperature from many degrees below the thermostat set point when this occurs? At this time of year a "call for heat" shouldn't last that long if you are maintaining a temperature (and your steam system just runs better when you run it like this).
If you're in the US I highly recommend supplyhouse.com
NJ Steam Homeowner.
Free NJ and remote steam advice: https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/new-jersey-steam-help/
See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el1 -
ok…going to work on it today .. move Main vent, clean pigetail .. do u have a link to buy the rad veats ? does the number meain anything??
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Here is a link to them. Supplyhouse has all the major vent makers which you can look at because someone will no doubt chime in to say Maid O Mist are junk (they are not).
Yes the number matters, that is the size of the orifice (hole) that lets the air out. The smallest is 4 and it's very small. The middle one is 5 and it's bigger. The next one is 6 and it's even bigger. There are two more even bigger, C and D but they are really too big for almost all radiator uses.
If in doubt, get a 5.
Maid O Mist is nice because you can swap out the "orifice" to make any of their vents any size. On amazon you can find one they sell that comes with all the orifice sizes included so you can experiment.
NJ Steam Homeowner.
Free NJ and remote steam advice: https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/new-jersey-steam-help/
See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el0 -
ok .. so how do you determine which number goes in which raditor ?? guess rad 1 shold be smaller, rad 2 a bit bigger, rad 3 bigger … so on ??
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Trial and error. Small rads get 4's or if you want to slow down how fast they heat. With proper mains venting, distance from the boiler shouldn't be a criterion for picking rad vent sizes. So mostly 4's and some 5's. 5 isn't a bad first pick. At worst it'll get hot faster than you'd like
You can order your new main vent from supplyhouse as well.
Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.1 -
guess rad 1 shold be smaller, rad 2 a bit bigger, rad 3 bigger … so on ??
No, they are not plumbed in series, they all have the steam main directly available to them. The steam will go first where it's easiest to go, as determined by the size of the vents. The distance from the boiler is another variable. There are lots of variables which is why trial and error is the best way.
Get the book "We Got Steam Heat" available here on this web site, it will answer so many questions
NJ Steam Homeowner.
Free NJ and remote steam advice: https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/new-jersey-steam-help/
See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el2 -
So ..I repipe
d the main vent with a 6in riser...I didn't have room to do a 10in with 45's...I can do it that way but will only be able to use a 8in pipe...vent will hit the subfloor .I pulled off the pigtail and sure enough..really clogged up..cleaned it out and reinstalled. Going to fire it up in the morning..pretty nice today here in South Jersey..going to see how the rad vent is now...thx
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Good job.
Same main vent? You may need to replace that. If it passes air but not steam, you're good.
Pressuretrol should be set to 1.5 cutout (screw on top that moves indicator on front), differential 1 (wheel inside).
Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.0 -
To clarify, .5psi on the front indicator is what you want (just about bottomed out, but not further than bottom)
NJ Steam Homeowner.
Free NJ and remote steam advice: https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/new-jersey-steam-help/
See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el1 -
Ok...I'll adj it...wheel is at 1 ...ty so much.. hopefully I'm good on the boiler side...now to the burner maintenance...are u familiar with the QB-180 burner?...O and do you think I should flush the system with that X stuff???
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X stuff?
Do NOT mess with an oil burner unless:
- You know exactly what you are doing.
- You have all the instruments to make sure it's set up correctly.
Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.0 -
no one here will teach you to tune an oil burner I think. Find an oil burner tech
You mean Surge-X? I’m not a fan. Don’t rush into water treatment, there’s plenty of time for that. If you change too much at once, you won’t know what caused the explosion (that’s a joke)
NJ Steam Homeowner.
Free NJ and remote steam advice: https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/new-jersey-steam-help/
See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el2 -
Yea..that's it surge x...I worked on becket burners ...but this on is a little different..just thought you may be familiar with it..thx
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8 way is much better than Surge X. But I agree with @ethicalpaul . Get it running well, then worry about water treatments.
Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.1 -
Yes I'm familiar with Surge-X, see my video about it here
NJ Steam Homeowner.
Free NJ and remote steam advice: https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/new-jersey-steam-help/
See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el1 -
Want to paint rusty pipes..what do I use ??
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you could put rust converter on them and then paint them I guess
NJ Steam Homeowner.
Free NJ and remote steam advice: https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/new-jersey-steam-help/
See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el0 -
Silver (aluminum) paint is standard around here. Cuts emission by about 20%.
Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.0
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