Boiler air vent help

[Max W]

My 20 year old Utica boiler has 2 leaking air vents. The leaks are coming from the cap joint and Taco replacements are ordered. One vent caps a short pipe that exits directly from the top of the boiler. The second is threaded into a cast Taco air scoop that is high on the main hot line from the boiler. I don’t know much about boilers. We seldom use this one but it is nice to have the back up. I’m not sure just what lines I need to shut off and drain. The youtube videos I could find helped some but weren’t that clear to me. I guess I am cautious about doing something that leaves me trying to purge air from lines.

Any help will be appreciated.

 

[gthomas785]

Try to isolate the zones by closing any valves that look like they're outside (away from the boiler) of where you're working. Turn off the water feed and crack the drain just long enough to relieve the boiler pressure. Wrap a little Teflon tape (clockwise as you face the threaded end) around the threads on the new air vent, then just take the old vent off and thread the new one on as quick as possible. This should let minimal air into the system. Open the feeder and the air vents, then finally reopen the zone shutoffs.

 

[Max W]

Thank you gthomas! Boiler is up and working fine with no drips. I did get a tiny shower from the overhead vent, the first one done, when I hadn’t let quite enough water drain. There was a just in case sheet of plastic over the boiler / burner. Like many things the doing doesn’t warrant the hemming and hawing.