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@@thepsychonaut8212It is difficult to over-vent a steam main. If this is the only main, I'd say go for it. If you have other mains, the ideal is to vent them in such a way as to have the steam reach the ends more or less at the same time.

@@gordonschweizer5154 i have 25 ft the other way, i was gonna do 3 #1's on that

@thepsychonaut8212 Sounds like a plan!

@@gordonschweizer5154 thx bro

@@mamin-br9gs Maybe. I'd reach out to the boiler's manufacture to check for sure. If the boiler is no longer made, then I'd say that's a red flag for sure.

Does the hammering occur soon after the boiler starts making steam? Does it occur about "mid cycle" ie just as your radiators start to get hot? Or does it occur at or just after boiler shut-down?

@ it happens when the oil burner is running … but I’ll have run a cycle tomorrow to see exactly when the hammering occurs. Thank you!

You're very kind to say so! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Here’s some added information. I have a new 1 pipe steam boiler. Pressure is set to 1.5 PSI. I have a Gorton number 1 on the main. On my 6 foot radiator located farthest distance in my house(first floor) I have a Hoffman adjustable and it’s fully opened. However my son’s room gets way too hot and I have a varivalve on his radiator. 2 out of the 6 radiators currently have Gortons. My thinking is to switch all the radiator vents to Gortons which could be why there is an in balance of heat but that’s just my thinking. But I really would like to know if the Gorton size D would be to big or go one size down. Thank you so much. I’m learning so much from your channel

Thank you for your kind words! First, I would consider replacing the Gorton #1 with a Gorton #2, if it fits. More venting of the main is almost always a worthwhile upgrade. Please also make sure your steam mains are insulated with proper steam pipe insulation. Next, I would swap out that varivalve in your son's overheating room with a Vent Rite #1 (please see my vid on that..) Overheating radiators mean less steam for the rest of the system! Maybe put that otherwise undesirable varivalve on your poorly heating LR rad if all else fails. See where you are after that. You've likely got a bit of tinkering ahead of you

@@gordonschweizer5154 thank you sir! I bought the vent rite 1 so the tinkering has begun. I have another question as well. I’ve seen so many different opinions on how often to skim the boiler during the heating season. I’ve been letting some water out of the boiler once a month until it runs clear again then add some water back in. I turn on the boiler immediately once I do this. Is doing this once a month okay? I’d love to hear your opinion on this.

@mulliganb09 You're welcome! As to skimming, what does the water look like in the sight glass? Is there stuff floating at the meniscus there?

@@gordonschweizer5154 mostly clear, some debris an inch or so on the bottom of the sight glass. Looks like it’s just gunk that stuck to the glass but clear the rest of the way through.

If steam enters the dry return from a failed open trap, and that steam arrives at or near another trap, and there is water/condensate present, and there is water hammer due to the steam/water meeting, the sudden pressure spike from the water hammer will likely destroy the good trap in short order. Often, many buildings, the steam pressure is cranked to absurd levels, and this tends to speed up the process. But, no, the mere presence of steam in the return is not a de@th sentence for the other traps right away if caught soon enough.

@gordonschweizer5154 Thank you for your thorough explanation!

You're welcome!

It's voluntary. I think you can click on "Thanks" and send an amount you wish.

You may have a defective vent from out of the box.

No more than usual. Often, during the coal/vapor/vacuum era (the 1920s-30s), the bottom radiator fitting was an eccentric bushing (1-1/2 male NPT x 1/2 female NPT for example).

You might want to reach out to Hydrolevel tech support.

Nah, there's just enough room on that bench to change your mind😂

It sounds like a malfunctioning auto feeder is the least of your concerns! Can you accurately read your water level in the sight glass? What is the pressure control set to? Did anyone check to see if your "pigtail" or steam syphon was not clogged? It may be your feeder might need to be rebuilt, not necessarily replaced.

Water can pass thru a nominally closed auto fill valve (the 101A is particularly egregious in this), but also a passing manual fill valve. Also, if the boiler is running hard due to a cold snap, the 101A will fill the boiler immediately upon a call from the #67 with NO delay. Once the boiler is off for awhile, sometimes the water that was held up in the system creeps back into the boiler and floods it. If you suspect this is the case, PLEASE consider replacing the crappy 101A with a Hydrolevel VXT automatic water feeder, because a feed delay can be programmed into the VXT of up to 5 min, giving a chance for the water to return before a feed cycle is started, thus keeping the boiler from being flooded.

Thank you for your kind words! I would check out other videos on how to work with boiler sight glasses and make sure you have the requisite tools (such as glass cutters) and parts (such as gaskets, 5/8 glass tubes, etc) before touching the sight glass. I am not sure what you have in front of you (a MM#67 perhaps), so it might be counter productive to give a tutorial for this over ytube.

You are too kind. It was just expedient to do it the way I showed without getting into moving the power switch, etc. as time was a factor. The homeowner was overjoyed to report to me that the hard work they put in to insulate the pipes bore fruit in that radiators that never got hot now are heating great. I don't think it would be beneficial to insulate the pigtail. It might be more beneficial to better insulate the whole boiler!

Excellent work and thank you for the report! We hope to get back and at some point move that switch box. There are a few other things on this system that are going to take priory, however, such as leaks on the wet return.

Not true in this case!

Thank you for your support!

I know nothing. I see nothing.

​@@gordonschweizer5154(Lol) The boiler did look odd.

I put in a Megasteam at my own house with a Carlin EZ Gas. The EZ Gas is UL listed as a conversion burner. Burnham will void the warranty on the boiler but if the boiler is installed properly and pressure tested beforehand, who cares?

The customer bought it at a company called DI (aka Distribution International).

I have done similar things to other MegaSteams in the past just as you suggest. The issues here were the time crunch, the clearance issues as shown, and the use by the installers of Permatex (a curse upon them). Also, the longer nipples allow for the greater collection of goo, just as they do in the Columbia boilers.

I did that years ago on my Peerless, using a ball valve top and bottom. I like that it gives more options on how you flush the sight glass, top or bottom.

A major consideration on the boilers chosen (properly sized, naturally) is by how well they fit in the space and access allowed (ie controls on the left side, or on the right side, etc) as well as the fuel used (oil or gas). Immodestly, I would say it is the installer that is more important than any particular (properly sized) boiler.

I would consider not using the Nest if you have a steam system, but if you are bound and determined to use it, make sure you have a third constant power wire. That goes for any internet capable t-stats, of course. I would consider Honeywell's line of t-stats for any legacy heating system. I am sorry, but I cannot speak as to how to change out the bezel as I only did it once and without much care because I knew I wasn't going to reuse this Nest.

Thank you for your support and kind words!

Not sure, but likely the gas control's internal pressure regulator locked full open? If so, the control valve has failed and needs replacement? What is the upstream pressure? Did you test the downstream pressure?

@ Didn’t test pressure yet I have to go back to also replace thermal couple. So possibly a bad gas valve. I’ve seen this before couldn’t figure it out an just throttled the gas cock half way closed

Also my pipes bang really loud

Do you have a steam system? With a tankless coil to provide domestic hot water? Oil fired? What is your water level as read by your sight glass?

@ it’s oil fired the sight glass is full of murky water

@ it’s cast iron steam radiators

@@Munchies860 If you can't see what your water level is, I would see if you can get it cleaned so you can & it's very likely the sight glass fittings are full of muck, also.

Is this a new problem? Do you know what your maximum pressure is set at?

Those weird drips on Broomell systems tie back into the dry return from the steam main, and the dry returns drip back into the boiler, usually at the equilizer line at the boiler

@gordonschweizer5154 hmm I would have loved to see that whole systems piping. I've got a friend who has one and he installed a vent rite 35 at the end the returns from the radiators. The system cranks. Just slowly and the boiler (oil) cycles often. This video is the closest I've found to examples of modernizing so far.

I would advise your friend to ditch that Vent Rite 35 and see if a Gorton #2 will fit. If not, gang up 4 Gorton #1s for the same venting as a #2. Make sure steam isn't blowing thru a radiator (or a drip) and going down the dry return and shutting off that vent. Once that vent sees steam and shuts, it will cause short cycling. There are other things that can cause short cycling, so that might not be the problem for your friend. The boiler might be over-fired or oversized. Broomells run at a ridiculously low pressure of 4oz/in2 max and it is easy to blow by and fill that dry return.

@gordonschweizer5154 thanks sounds like a good starting point

@@vonettas2735 Do you believe your steam mains in the basement are vented sufficiently?

@@vonettas2735 Setting the number lower will restrict the amount of air leaving the radiator & cause the radiator to heat less.

@@gordonschweizer5154 I will ask the boiler technician that services my heater about that. I have only seen one valve in the basement but on the pipe connecting the main to the return. I would have to look to see if I have any vents on the main as I think they would be higher up.

If the main vents on your system are not Gorton #2s, they are likely not big enough to vent your system properly. Venting your large steam mains as quickly as possible thru these large vents is key to even, efficient and quiet heat. Once this is done properly, the radiator vents can do their job better, which is to...vent the radiators. Asking a relatively small radiator vent to help vent the main as well as the runout pipe as well as venting the radiator is asking too much that vent.

@@josephb6450 I generally have success with 1/8" dia ptfe (or Teflon) packing.

I don't know your situation, but try the #5, and maybe also put a #4 on the unit closest to your t-stat.

@@gordonschweizer5154 Thanks so much. I know it's near impossible to diagnose a problem without seeing it, but I appreciate your suggestion. Will continue to experiment. The only issue with the radiator close to the t-stat is that it's actually at the end of a very long runout and, with the smaller vent, it would just stay ice cold because the vent had to clear the air out of the supply pipes as well, so I had to size that up more than I normally would. I'll keep experimenting.

@@AT-oj7of Thanks! I'd also make sure your steam mains are vented very well and insulated properly.

Thank you! I'd first check the settings on the thermostat. You may know the digital t-stats come from the factory set to run a heat pump, so you have to go into it's set-up menu to tell it it's running a steam system.

@ thermostat is old school Honeywell dial. I think its calling for heat too often.

@jakehits Ok, yeah. The old school heat anticipator on that t-stst went off, most likely Classic failure mode for that type.

@ Thank you! replace with same T-stat or do you recommend a modern version? Or if it’s fine adjust the anticipator to .05? Or whereabouts.

@@jakehits Try moving the anticipator first to see if that works in giving you longer cycles.

Try my firstnamelastnameATgmailDOTcom.

@@paulhutchings7527 Not sure what you mean. We only use 1/2" copper for domestic water supply line to boilers.

I think he means the risers, mains etc.

@@Ariccio123 😂 I don't thinks so They mostly seem to do battery operated?

@@Ariccio123 Yeah, that thing is a beast. It's like that meme of the increasing sizes of wrench until you get to "I WASN'T ASKING"

It worked for me 😀it's very cold here in chicago.i needed to get the heat back on.after I removed the leaking radiator valve.the old locking nut, didn't fit new valve 😞so I needed to get the old stem and locking nut off!! And came across this video... OMG 😁 thank 👍 you so much 💯 learning something new is like finding money 💰 thanks again 👏👏👏👏👏

You're most welcome! Please consider sending me a "Super Thanks"