Adjusting radiator vents

Jay_23

help!

Jay_23

adjusting radiator vents

I have a steam heat system. It's a one pipe system. The first of five radiators has a vent that is not adjustable but the others are adjustable. The adjustment on the vents are numbered 0 to 10. At what settings should I have these vents and should I replace the first vent with an adjustable one. Thanks in advance.

Bob W._3

Jim, what is the specific problem? Too hot, too cold, both? You can adjust those vents any way you want. Adjust them to the smaller numbers in the warm rooms and to the larger numbers in the cold rooms. Also, how old are the vents? Do they seem to work at all?

Jay_23

Most of the vents are new. (4) I thought maybe the farther away from the boiler, the higher the setting. No? The vent on the radiator closest to the boiler is not adjustable.
The rest of them are set where the closest to the boiler is set at 4, the next at 6, the next at 8 and the last at 10. They seem to vent OK, there just doesn't seem to be a lot of heat coming from the radiators.

Bob W._3

There are a lot of reasons why you may not be getting enough heat. Your system is one pipe. First measure the length and diameter of your main or mains (the pipes that go around the basement feeding the risers to the radiators). Post this info. Find the main vents, if any, and post the type and model number. The main vents should be at the end of the mains or where they drop down back to the boiler. After you post this info someone on this Board will help you.

thfurnitureguy_4

Jim here is how they work. the vent lets air out of a radiator and steam in. Steam and air are totally different gasses and they don't mix. Adjustable vents have a hole that can be made larger or smaller by the adjusting mech. The bigger the hole the faster it will fill with steam. The faster it fills, the longer the radiator is heating during a cycle. The heat of steam hitting the vent causes it to close. At this point the radiator is full of steam and heating to its maximum capacity. The vents with no adjustment have a set size hole and will only vent at one rate. They are fine if your system is balanced and your rooms are heating evenly.

Start with doing a room by room "feel check". decide which rooms are too cold or too warm. Next go to the basement and follow the pipes. Are the cold rooms at the end of the steam pipe run? (that would be the furthest away from the boiler along the main pipe.) If all of the cold rooms are at the end of the line you may want to check the main vents in the basement. The main vents allow the big supply pipe to be filled with steam very quickly. Since all of the risers come off the big supply pipe, the risers to the radiators will fill at the same time, thus heating the rooms at the same time. Over time these main vents plug up and can cause rooms to go cold. Thi main vents live at the end of the main pipe, just before it turns down and becomes a return. They should not leak steam and if removed you should be able to blow through them with little resistence. You can drive your self crazy by adjusting the radiator vents if you have bad or improper venting in your mains. Hope this helps

Tom_22

>Over time these main vents plug up

Does anyone ever bother to put a strainer before the main vents, or does everyone consider it not worth it?

Bob W._3

I installed Watts strainers below our main vents.

Tom_22

> I installed Watts strainers below our main vents.

Dave DeFord_3

Call Gorton..

It will cost about $100 plus the price of a main vent to get this right. Call Gorton (I believe it is www.gorton-valves.com) and talk to their tech guy there (I belive it is Keith or Kevin). He will want a drawing of your system with the size of the radiators and the piping and the square footage of the rooms they are heating. He will then set you straight on the valves that you need. This guy knows his stuff. Treat him right and hell treat you right.