Best Radiator Vents

Daniel_3

After thorough study of venting capacity charts and multiple experiences with fine tuned balancing I have come to the conclusion that the cubic air to vent method works okay but combine this method with the geography method and you will find it is an excellent way to balance to the "t".

If I was to follow only the air to vent method I would have cold rads in some rooms. Granted I believe math does not lie but there are too many variables to take into account so mixing the two methods will work best as I'm sure many heating pros here have experienced as well.

Concerning the best valves I have had the best experience with the Vent-rite No.1's. They certainly have proved the test of time while the vari-valves have done just the opposite. For the price and quality go with the no.1's and use one or two vari-valves in hard to heat areas, maybe two on one rad as I have. All the rads heat at the same time and get fully charged on every firing cycle now. The venting of the mains is key =) I was told to use one Gorton no.1 on one main and a no.1 and a hoffman 45 on the other. I have three gorton no.1's on one main now and two on the other and get the steam to the end of both at about the same time give or take a few seconds and within 2 minutes. This greatly helped the balancing of all the rads. With this the vent-rites do their job with ease.

I got my No. 1's from New England Demo and Salvage by removing them from their abnormally large stash of cast iron radiators for a lowly 3 bucks a piece. Out of the 17 I grabbed, one was bad. Not too bad of a deal imho =) I kept the vari-valves just in case more venting was needed or the few I have installed on the tough to charge rads will fail over time.

Jay Zebryk

Best Radiator Vents

Who makes the best radiator vents?

I've a new gas boiler and will be installing Gorton #2's on my 2" mains. I have a total of 14 radiators with various stuck, leaking, and wrong sized vents. I figure on replacing all of them with fast venting types.

I bought some adjustable Durst A884's from Home Depot for $8 each. Made in China, one was stuck open, and another was stuck closed. Only one makes an audible "click" when opening or closing. Penny saved; pound foolish.

In comparision, I picked up an adjustable Vent-Rite #1 and fixed Maid-O-Mist #D to play with. Both seem very well made in comparision.

I did purchase "Balancing Steam Systems Using a Venting Capacity Chart.pdf", so am aware the various venting speed options and concepts.

I am thinking about using the Armstrong SV-12 which comes with (5) different orifices. I am also thinking about initially setting them all to maximum open, and then stopping down the ones that heat too fast/much. Is this a reasonable strategy?

Another way to go is with the adjustable #1 Vent-Rite or the faster Heat-Timer Varivalve.

Still another iteration is a combination of the above using either the fixed Gorton's or Maid-O-Mist units which appear to be identical in design. Their appeal is simplicity and hence reliability?

Although 14 x $20 is not a huge expense, I'd like to be done with musical vent adjustments before 2008.

Daniel_3

IMHO an adjustable vent is the best. I have had to make very fine tuned adjustments on some rads based on pipe size and length; not necessarily the location where th rad lies which Gorton uses for their venting recommendations. I use heat timer vari-valves and I am very happy with them since last heating season. I use two vent-rite adjustable vents for two rads very close to the boiler. This has worked extremely well to balance all the 15 rads close to perfect. I would use either all vari-valves or all vent-rites. Vent-rites are more expensive than the vari-valves. Vari-valves have a very fast vent rate in comparison to the vent-rites. You could also look into the Dole 1a's.

Glen_7

Jay,

I have over 30 radiators in my home and have experimented with many valves. I have Gorton#2's on my mains except one main that has a number one for slightly slower venting and better balance with the other longer mains.

As far as the rads, when I bought the house, and after reading Dan's books and lurking on this sight, I purchased mostly new Gorton's in various venting capacities. I have yet to have a failure. I also have some vari-valves which I like when I want to vent very quickly (my under floor rads). I found the weakness in the vari-valve is when you close it all the way, it still vents fairly well. My recent experience with the Vent-Rite #1 is very favorable. It closes completely if you want that, and is variable all the way to a pretty fast venting, and is quiet. I also have two of the Danfoss thermostatic vents which work great so far but run around 90 bucks if I remember right.

It took a while but I have things balanced fairly well. Since my new boiler install I have had better luck actually restricting the venting on some of the rads. This also reduced the noise as well as eliminated the "gurgling water" I used to hear in a few of them.

Ken Field

Vari-Valves Operation/Vent-Rite Distributor

What is the principal of operation behind Vari-Valves?

Who is a good source for Vent-Rite #1'?

Brad White

Vari-Valve Principles

Internally similar to other vents, the outlet of the vent has a cam-operated orifice which regulates the venting rate when the thermostatic bellows is open. There is a horizontal slide adjustment which depresses a stem into the venting hole.

Matt_56

vent spewing water

The vent was spewing water(lots of it) so we put on a new vent. We alos checked to be certain the radiator was tilted 1/4 in. toward the valve. The problem persists. Please help.

Glen_7

Jay,

I purchased my vent-rite #1 online at www.aubuchonhardware.com

I could not find one locally.

Chas_2

Vent-Rite Source

Aubuchon Hardware's price is $28.40 each.
For my 14 rads, that comes to $397.60.

I was looking for somebody like PexSupply, who does carry the Heat-Timer Varivalve.

A 10 pack plus 4 would cost $232.75 in comparison.

That said, I've no personal experience with the Varivalve, but the one Vent-Rite I have seems to be a real quality unit and has bee tested over time.

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

mike jones_2

vents for steam radiators

this thread raises an interesting question of whether gorton's venting strategy is oversimplified.

wouldn't it be logical to simply put the fastest venting valves in the coldest rooms, and thereby account for all the variables such as room size versus radiator size as well as pipe sizing and lenghts? this logic is probably wrong, but i would love to try and grasp why.

mike jones_2

faster venting in the coldest room

For the sake of faster venting in the coldest room, does it make any sence to run a T right before the radiator valve and bush it down to add an additional steam vent there. Alternitively, is there any extra tap we can do the radiator to add an extra vent or an over - sized vent.

We recently had new main vents installed in the cellar and no longer have easy access dew to new finish cealings in the cellar. We have 1 small line of radiators off a riser at the end of the longest run. The top floor there is the coldest room and really isnt getting as much heat as everywhere else. That room already has a large radiator with a large vent hole.

Daniel_3

What do you mean by "large vent hole"? Isn't the tapping for 1/8"?

You certainly can do the all out venting measure as described in the Library under "It's all in the Venting". You may just need the extra tapping though. Drill and tap another 1/8" port about 3 inches above the current and install another vent. This would be the easiest fix. If that doesn't work then you can try the tee bushed to accommodate the proper vent size needed to vent the air to charge that rad fully.

alang

vent rite

installed vent rire # 1's on the 16 radiators in my house - they all work really well; they offer a fairly wide range of adjustment, and have given me no troubles at all

Bruce Stevens_2

Tap a hole on the inlet side of the rad

that will help vent the line then close when steam makes it to the radiator and the original will still work as intended

Mark Z_2

best radiator vents

I'm in agreement w/ Daniel above, vent capacity AND geography. Recently expanded a 1-pipe system from '38 house by adding 30' of horz main line and an additional 6 rads making a total of 14. Main lines used Gorton #2s, getting the open port time and vent installed time to within 20sec of one another....this diff I can surely live with. Rads are using Maid-O-Mist and I'm very satisfied with rad heat up rate across the house. As far as geography, I've got a couple of Rads closer to the boiler that would dictate a real slow vent rate, but because of the EDR value or closeness to an area that could use a little more heat, I let them heat faster so they radiate longer for desired output. As for the Home-Depot vents....nice paperweights.

mike jones_2

\"It's all in the Venting\"

after reading "It's all in the Venting" the idea by bruce stephens below (to tap the valve side of the rad) sounds alot like the T concept before the valve.

by big hole i meant the c or d vent that allows a lot of air to leave the vent quickly thru the bigger hole at the top of the 1/8 tapped vents.

i wonder what you or bruce or anyone else thinks of the following suggestion from a valve tech guy-
he suggested putting a little street elbow in the 1/8 tap in the side of the rad and bushing it up to a larger gorton straight vent with a 3/4 base like you would do on a short main. This might help vent the riser and would let heat fly through this rad. waddyathink?

mike jones_2

\"It's all in the Venting\"

after reading "It's all in the Venting" the idea by bruce stephens below (to tap the valve side of the rad) sounds alot like the T concept before the valve.

by big hole i meant the c or d vent that allows a lot of air to leave the vent quickly thru the bigger hole at the top of the 1/8 tapped vents.

i wonder what you or bruce or anyone else thinks of the following suggestion from a valve tech guy-
he suggested putting a little street elbow in the 1/8 tap in the side of the rad and bushing it up to a larger gorton straight vent with a 3/4 base like you would do on a short main. This might help vent the riser and would let heat fly through this rad. waddyathink?

Daniel_3

The problem with that idea is that the high velocity steam would bring in much sediment to that elbow. The id of the 1/8" street ell is small and of course the malleable black iron will rust in no time plugging up the hole and limiting the flow of air bigtime. I have already tried this in the past with poor results including spitting. A vent opened to the inside chamber atmosphere directly yields the most efficient removal of air. The most workable and efficient solutions are to drill and tap on the supply side of the rad for another Gorton "D" or drill and tap above the current valve. I have had much success with the latter method especially for larger rads. If it is a small rad then the supply valve extra tapping will suffice. If it is a larger rad then the valve tapped on the far side will be best. It's easy to do. You just need a steady hand and make sure the drill is perpindicular to the rad in it's level state, not pitched.