Why Hoffman 1A?

ChrisJ

I have 1As installed on all of my radiators and only just recently did I have the pleasure of hearing what they sound like when they snap shut or klack open.  When it was 8F outside over the weekend I had a few radiators finally filling with steam and the vents snapping.  When its warmer out I guess the steam never reaches any of the vents.



My question is,  why use these when they are so noisy?  Judging by how a Gorton works I assume they are silent.  What is the benefit of Hoffman's design over Gorton's design?  Do the Hoffmans typically last longer? provide a better seal?



  I will and can deal with the noise if I know there is a benefit in the design.  If the Hoffman 1A is simply a noisy vent with a terrible adjustment cap and a nice chrome job that performs the same as a Gorton then I don't think they are worth it.

Dave in QCA

Adjustable

It seems that the 1A is the preferred vent of many of the pros because of its adjustability and reliability.



However, my experience with it is that the adjustment mechanism is quite problematic and in most cases vents too fast without very careful adjustement.



I prefer the Hoffman #40, the old slow standard.  Very reliable and quiet.  It will make a bit of a clink sound, but is much quieter than the 1A.  I also like the shiny chrome!



Can't speak to the Gortons, as I have not used them on radiators.

ChrisJ

40

Dave,



You say the 40 is quieter than the #1?  I had assumed they would sound the same due to the design.



I think my concern with the 40 is one or two of my radiators actually seem to want more than the 1A wide open can provide while two other radiators want the 1A about as slow as I was able to get it.  The radiators which have the 1As wide open are on the 2nd floor with a pretty long runout.  I think two of them are around 20 feet worth of runout each.



I would think if I switched to all #40s I would end up with a lot of balancing problems?

Dave in QCA

Depends on the System

My experience is that most systems tend to be self balancing of all of the radiators have slow vents.  However, a 20' runout is bound to cause some challenges and you may have to compensate for that.  I believe that the Gorton vents do NOT make that snap sound and they come in varying capacities.  Look them up in your Greening Steam book.

ChrisJ

Greening steam

I will have a look when I get home.



You know a stupid problem I keep having is the radiator in my bedroom overheats the room at night.  My theory is this is because I sleep with a fan on for the noise and the air movement increases output from the radiator.  The room will stay 67F all day long where I want it but at night will creep up to 70-72F by morning.  I have that 1A as slow as I can get it without causing the radiator to not heat.



My guess is the only solution to this is a thermostatic air vent.

Dave in QCA

TRV?

This sounds like a good application for a thermostatic radiator vent valve.  

Mark N

Temp Creep

The temp is creeping up over night in your bedroom while your in setback or does it go high after recovering from set back? Were the vents on the rads closing while just maintaining temp or when you were recovering from set back? Do you have Gorton main vents? Their rad vents are of the same design. If you have the Gortons on your main they make no noise whatsoever when they close, but they will close at a lower temp than the Hoffmans.

ChrisJ

setback

Hi Mark,



The creep is during the setback.  While the room should be even cooler than 67F due to the setback it always creeps up to 70-72F.

Sometimes during recovery the 1As end up clicking on a few of the radiators.  When it was 8F outside I had quite a few clicking just maintaining temperature.

I do have Gorton main vents but I've never really been around them much during operation. 

Do the Gorton's seal as fast as the Hoffman's?  Do they last as long?  You mentioned the Gorton's closing at a lower temperature, that sounds like less steam would escape with them if anything.

Mark N

Main Vent Videos

Over at Gerry Gill's website gwgillplumbingandheating.com the have some videos posted that explain how the vents operate. Since main vents close and open on every cycles they might not last as long as rads vents which only close infrequently. I would think if you give the vents a cleaning every few years they might outlast you. I've never had any issues with my Gorton#1's. I think all vents will start t leak some steam if the pressure is allowed to go to high or there is some crud around the vent port.

The Steam Whisperer (Formerly Boilerpro)

Temp Creep

Remember that the radiator is not the only heat source in the room.  You are Too!  Just being in the room adds btu's and depending on how low the heat loss is can increase the temp considerably.  We used to set beck our house to 54F during the day.  I would spend the day in the office and it would stay 5 to 10F warmer than the rest of the house.

ChrisJ

temp creep

Hi boilerpro,





I had thought about it but wasn't sure if two people in a room for 6-8 hours would make any difference. Its pretty amazing that one person could keep a room 5 to 10 degrees warmer.

steamnut

Hoffman 1as

This is not a "help" comment, rather just to concur that the Hoffman 1as that I installed on all of my rad vents this fall all click and clank loudly and it drives me crazy. I have been considering switching them all out with a difference vent, I just hate to spend the extra money!

nicholas bonham-carter

noisy hoffman's

maybe their sound is proportional to the venting back-pressure they are trying to overcome, as well as the peak pressure, when all the air is out, and the pipes are all warmed up.--nbc

ChrisJ

noise

My system always runs low pressure if any and the Hoffman 1As click and klack plenty loud.



Its loud enough I can hear it via the pipes in the basement if I'm watching the boiler.