Replacing Hoffmans with Gortons

pcloadletter

A couple of weeks ago I replaced the cheap vents on my six radiators with Hoffman 1A's from the local heating supply store. A few years ago I had replaced the original vents (mostly old Dole 1A's) with the chinese USAV ones from Home Depot. At that time I didn't know about steam heat and the quality of different vents.



Well I assumed I would be satisfied with the Hoffman 1A's because of their reviews and the premium price I paid for them, but I have been sorely disappointed. Out of the six I bought, only three worked correctly. The other three would not close no matter what, and I assumed they are defective.



I've heard everyone rave about the Gorton vents but I'm really nervous about switching to them. I don't have a lot of money to burn so I can't keep replacing these vents because I don't like them. I'm nervous because I can't get the Gorton vents locally and would need to order them from PexSupply. I have six radiators, two in the living room with the thermostat, one on a big radiator in the kitchen, one on the porch, one in the downstairs bathroom (off the porch) and one upstairs. I'm thinking of using Gorton 4's for the radiators in the front room and Gorton 6's for the rest. I don't want to deal with swapping around the various Gorton vents to balance the system.



Advice?

Hap_Hazzard

Normally I'd say, "try the Maid-o-Mist vents."

"They come in the same sizes as the Gortons, cost less, and have interchangeable orifices that you can swap around instead of exchanging the vents themselves."



Unfortunately they've been using the wrong thread size on the fittings for months now, so I can't recommend them until they get that ironed out.

Boiler Talk

Replacing Hoffmans with Gortons

http://www.heatinghelp.com/forum-thread/144163/radiator-venting.  Refer to the thread above to start.  Hap has some good advice there as well.  Also, it wouldn't hurt to get familiar with main venting as well.  You might purchase the venting guide available on this site.  I doubled the main venting on my one-pipe system using two Gorton #1's on each branch, but the real learning curve was on the radiator venting.  The guide booklet well help you calculate the approximate venting for each radiator and pipe that feeds it from the main pipe.  I thought I would buy Heat Timer vari-valves to solve my problems.  They work but venting slower or using Gorton's or Hoffman's is the way to go.  Back to you now -



I don't know if you need to purchase new vents until you look a bit closer at your system.  Was it the radiators with the Hoffman's didn't heat properly?  You said the vents didn't close.   What do you mean?  The venting should be pretty quite.  You shouldn't hear "pssssst."  Do the radiators heat up at a rate that is approximately the same?  Of course if you knew you wouldn't be asking this question and you would know the answer.  I suppose you adjusted the Hoffman's to get the radiators to heat slower or faster so they all heat at about the same rate?   The smallest radiator, the middle size radiators and the biggest all get say 50% hot at the same time.  That's what I think a balanced system is suppose to do. 

Hap_Hazzard

I'm tentatively revising my recommendation.

If they sell Maid-o-Mist vents at your local home improvement store, you might want to give them a try, but check the threads before you try to install them. One of our regulars got a few that apparently had British Standard Pipe fittings instead of National Pipe Tapered. He was able to rethread them, but I suggest you simply return them if they aren't right.



If the tape seal on the box is already broken, you can check the vent in the store. First make sure someone didn't steal the orifice spud. The orifice spud screws into a fitting on top of the vent, has a hole through the center and is stamped with the number or letter designating the venting capacity (4, 5, 6, C or D). If it's missing or the number doesn't match the label, give it to an employee. Next, ask the plumbing specialist to check the fitting to make sure it is 1/8 NPT, not MIPS or BSP.



If the box is sealed, buy it as-is and check it when you get home. Chances are it will be fine, but if it doesn't want to go in, don't force it, check it. If it isn't right, take it back and explain why you're returning it.

pcloadletter

I already tried the MoM vents

Picked up some new ones at HD a few weeks ago and I was one of the people who found incorrect threads on them. I wasn't happy with them so I returned them and ordered the Hoffman vents which I am using now.