Main vents - what are they and how do I adjust them?

John_76

Brad,
Thanks! I went to the Gorton website and will probably end up ordering a couple of their vents, which look a bit different than what's down there now, which look more like crappy Home Depot things. I really appreciate the info.
-- Leslie

John_76

main vents - what are they and how do I adjust them?

We have a one-pipe steam heating system - an old coal-turned-to-oil furnace in a 2-story house. Everything's working, nothing's clanking, but the heat differential is pretty huge - about a 10 degree difference in temp downstairs from one end of the house to the other and it's always colder upstairs as well. The hottest room is the room just above the furnace. It's quite toasty in there because the radiators are hot hot hot. But the further away you go, the less heat that seems to come out of any radiator. Again, they are all working. They are just not as hot. When I was down in the basement a while ago, checking things out, I noticed a vent coming off one of the pipes close to the furnace. The vent was not really even screwed on and a lot of steam was coming out. I thought for some reason it would be better to screw it on tight - I mean, it was just kind of sitting there, almost like someone had just set it down. So I screwed it on tight. Could that have anything to do with the heat differential? I am wondering if the former owners had it loose like that on purpose.
Thanks for any input!!

Brad White

Just Venting Here

Unless you have a specifically adjustable vent such as a Heat Timer Vari-Valve, most steam vents ("air valves" to some), are fixed devices and vent consistently at a given pressure.

The vent that is "just placed there" is doing harm, not only by humidifying but by causing more make-up water to be introduced. You did screw that one in at least for now and that is good.

If you call Ken Kunz at Gorton in NJ (sorry, do not have the number handy), he can help a lot. Check out their web site first. They have a diagram of a typical venting strategy for various radiators. As you can guess, vent the mains well and the furthest radiators vent more generously, the closer ones less generously. The idea is that they all heat about the same time.