Different type of vent for steam heat riser pipe?

After having some additional vents added to our single-pipe steam system last spring (to compensate for an oversized boiler installation several years ago), my building is upsizing some radiator vents to seek a bit more balance in the building. A top-floor neighbor asks about water that sometimes spits from the vent on their bathroom riser pipe (vent was added last April, so internal crud should not be the issue). A plumber (who is not himself a steam expert) suggested it was the wrong type of vent for a riser pipe. I believe the current vent is a Gorton C. Is it true that a different style of vent should be placed on a riser pipe like this? Is this the source of occasional water spitting, or is that a system balance issue?

katerina

in Plumbing 5 years and 6 months ago

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stevecym | 5 years and 6 months ago

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@MP: if that domain you are using with that website is newer and has not been in use (to develop a history with the search engines) and you have an old domain name, you can “point” the old one at the new site. even the 72fllc.com can be “pointed” in case someone looks for you there. one of the web host sites told me that the history from the old address will follow through to the new one it is pointed to.

in truth, i don’t know what i am talking about as this is what i have been told as i have been exploring changing hosts. somewhere down the road i will know if it works or not.

Master Plvmber | 5 years and 6 months ago

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I feel like we’re talking about me. I also feel like since I put up a new website and new email address I’ve been hearing more and more that I’m missing calls, but I’m going to fix that today. A good way to get me is here: john@72fLLC.com or through my website (I think) at www.72Fmechanical.com

stevecym | 5 years and 6 months ago

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ok, that person who commented said something to someone else in another thread that he is really busy now. although i have my differences with him on here, i know people who have used him and say he is worth waiting for. its that time of year and sometimes when contractors get hammered, they have to drop calls. i would make another call to him and tell him if he is not interested or too busy to please give you the courtesy of a call back.

katerina | 5 years and 6 months ago

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Thanks all for the advice, I wholeheartedly agree. As I mentioned in my other post, we were consulting with a steam expert who sadly hasn’t returned my calls since he last evaluated things in our building. Interestingly, he commented on both of these threads!

stevecym | 5 years and 6 months ago

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if this is a larger building, op should develop a relationship with a real professional, for the long haul. in any buildings i had worked in, in a professional capacity, we had on going relationships with plumbers – one outfit was servicing the building the day i arrived and the same outfit was still servicing the building the day i left – because it helped to have someone who really knew the system and its history and it helped to be able to let people we trusted have free reign of the building while we were busy with other things (we did not have to have someone follow them and babysit).

lkrshacmzcy | 5 years and 6 months ago

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Long story, short: call an Expert to evaluate it in person.

lkrshacmzcy | 5 years and 6 months ago

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Long story, short: call an Expert to evaluate it in person.

stevecym | 5 years and 6 months ago

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i just commented on your other post and now read this one. i thought you were working on your own house or a building you own. but now it seems this is a multi owner, multi family. MP is correct. it is one thing to try to balance the system in a small house you own, but with every change you make here, you will change something else and i think you are going to drive yourself and the neighbors crazy. when i did my small 6 radiator house, i was back and forth to the hardware store 4 times and if something did not come out the way i’d hoped, i had and have the luxury of walking away from it.

you have the additional issue of the cross section of people in that building. i have had to operate heating/cooling systems in commercial buildings and the idea of what is the “correct” or comfortable temperature to people working in the same office is so varied (almost as varied as the number of people in the room), that i cannot imagine trying to do this in a large, multi family. (i am lucky with my family, we like it cooler)

also, if you damage a radiator thread (or maybe some guy damaged it 25 years ago and with a bit of luck got the vent to hold) and one of these vents falls out (i saw a lot of this in an old commercial in down town manhattan; i think the threads were worn from age and improper fitting over time and continuous leaking; all the vent holes were enlarged) it will leak steam in someone’s apt. that could make for a headache. again in my own house, if i spotted a worn thread, i would turn the radiator off and leave it. but you will not have that luxury.

if your building hires someone to do this, you need someone who will also alert you if they see a damaged thread on something as opposed to walking away because they do not want to deal with it (or know how to deal with it) or because they themselves damaged it. none of the threads are perfect on this old stuff and you need someone ready to address that.

hire someone licensed and insured to do this for the protection of all. and green thinker mentioned the pressure troll. i have said this before as i don’t want people reading what i say on here and think it is ok for us homeowners to mess with the settings on the a boiler; i have operated steam heating systems in 3 buildings over a period of almost 10 years; i NEVER once touched a setting on a boiler or tampered with a steam regulator (in the case of purchased steam); we had licensed plumbers and boiler people and even high pressure steam people for that (maybe people touch these settings in their own house, i don’t; but as a professional if i touched something like that in a building where i was working, and something went wrong, there would be all sorts of really bad problems).

Master Plvmber | 5 years and 6 months ago

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You should really consult with a steam heating expert before making these changes.