Steam heat and radiator vents

Riwaterman

Any specific recommendations for radiator vents for one pipe steam system?



Adjustable versus fixed?



Thoughts about cleaning vents to ensure proper venting?



How often should vents be replaced?



Thanks

BobC

radiator air vents.

Quality fixed air vents work very well as long as you know what size to put where. Maid O Mist sells a vent with 5 different orifices that you just screw on, It's a shame Gorton doesn't do something like this.



Adjustable vents give you some flexibility, Hoffman and Ventrite make very good adjustable vents. Adjusting the Hoffman is a bit finicky but it is a good vent. Heatimer Varivalves can be useful in select applications but they are too aggressive for a lot of applications and they don't have floats so they can act like geysers if provoked. The USAV vents sold at the big box and some hardware stores are junk, fine for an emergency but nut much beyond that.



The quality of your steam will have a lot to do with longevity, I have one Ventrite that is 40 years old and works great. Vents will last many years on a clean system. Boiling a vent in white vinegar can clean some of the out and make them usable again.



Bob