Latest round of air vent testing- thank you Barnes & Jones!

Paul48

I've watched the way Barnes & Jones has treated customers for a few years now. I am always amazed that you treat everyone with kindness and dignity. You go out of your way to help anyone you can. From small problems to big problems, you treat them the same, and patiently work through problems with the customer. The fact that you came here, and listened to what was being said, and then developed a product that fits a need, speaks volumes.

There is no company, more deserving of great success than Barnes & Jones.

disclaimer: I am an unpaid spokesman

Fred

What a great asset to this industry, his company and this site!
Do we know how tall these traps/vents are?

Sailah

Paul48 said:

I've watched the way Barnes & Jones has treated customers for a few years now. I am always amazed that you treat everyone with kindness and dignity. You go out of your way to help anyone you can. From small problems to big problems, you treat them the same, and patiently work through problems with the customer. The fact that you came here, and listened to what was being said, and then developed a product that fits a need, speaks volumes.

There is no company, more deserving of great success than Barnes & Jones.

disclaimer: I am an unpaid spokesman

Thanks Paul, your bottle of Scotch is on its way...lol

Fred said:

What a great asset to this industry, his company and this site!
Do we know how tall these traps/vents are?

4 3/4" from tip to tail, so maybe 4 1/4" after you thread the tailpiece in.

Fred

Thanks

Sailah

FYI someone messaged me the code doesn't work. It's supposed to be live as of 2pm PDT so 6pm for those of us on the East Coast. But it was my first promotional code on Amazon so if it doesn't work, apologies and I'll fix it.

Thanks

Peter

STEAM DOCTOR

Code works. Just ordered two. Can't wait. Will test in my own 1 pipe system soon as I get a chance

Fred

I just bought five. @Sailah Code does not appear to work. Amazon is applying the $25.00 discount automatically to all orders. Code is not required???

gerry gill

Thanks Peter- just ordered two big mouths to try myself. Looking forward to the compact vents availability!

MarkS

Looks like I just bought the last one. Going to try it on the main branch opposite the first Big Mouth. Will do more time trials and report once the cold weather sets in again.

Sailah

Fred said:

I just bought five. @Sailah Code does not appear to work. Amazon is applying the $25.00 discount automatically to all orders. Code is not required???

Lol. You guys cleaned me out. I sent 25 in to Amazon, I think the first batch went to Delaware, the others are headed to CA and FL if I remember right. BTW Amazon as a seller is totally fascinating to me in terms of their distribution network and how it works.

So the other shipments should be showing up and stock will continue to refresh. I sent some more to the northeast fulfillment center.

And thanks for the support, I really hope you guys like them. It was fun to collaborate with all the minds on Heating Help.

gerry gill said:

Thanks Peter- just ordered two big mouths to try myself. Looking forward to the compact vents availability!

Gerry, I'm doing a long run of the compact trap fittings. Enough to make 200 of the variable venting versions. We had some spare machine time so I jumped on it to get both the fitting and the hex done. I will also get the fixed vent original Gerry Gill done for you shortly.

I should have both ready in a couple weeks probably sooner.

I really like that vent, the machining is so nice, all stainless, and the hex cap looks right.

gerry gill

Excellent, how many cycles were these rated for? i know you told me but i forgot, i just remember it was a mind bending number.

Sailah

10 million cycles

Sailah

One thought on this. We can tailor the alcohol/water mix in the diaphragm to allow the vent to open/close quickly to steam or lower the alcohol content to make the vent react slower. My boss was explaining this would keep the vent shut for a longer period when the steam is off and thus shorten the time that it takes to vent the main next cycle. Does that make sense?

I guess I understand the principle behind his thoughts but you guys are the single pipe gurus. Worth it?

If that's a great idea I can have diaphragms made up and sent to the guys who have already ordered them. If not we can leave it as is.

SWEI

So you can tailor the reopening temp? I'm thinking natural vacuum here.

Fred

SWEI said:

So you can tailor the reopening temp? I'm thinking natural vacuum here.

I'm not sure that this will work on a one pipe system unless something can be done with the radiator vents as well, after the initial venting?? Otherwise, I would think the longer the main vents stay closed, the more sucking we'd get at the radiator vents. I'd like to hear what others think but, in my mind, as long as we have to contend with the current range of radiator vents, just ensuring the Big Mouths open, fully, before the next call for heat, they should work fine. IMHO
BTW, My Big Mouths shipped today and are suppose to be here tomorrow!

Paul48

I'd be concerned that you might wind up being very system specific, and have it be fine for one system, and not another. The purpose of the big vent is to vent fast. If you slow the response, will they blow steam or spit?

gerry gill

I'm kind of following Paul48's line of thought. I just want it to close fast so no steam escapes.

Sailah

OK makes that easy. If anyone thinks different in their system it's an option to explore. Looking forward to feedback to the big mouth.

New England SteamWorks

I am pretty excited about these Peter. Thanks so much for what you are doing. I've never been happy with the failure rate of the No.2, and they are often too tall. The Big Mouth should be excellent.

Question though: I notice the 3/4" threads, which would be my preference. But if you made a 1/2" version, one could more easily swap out a bad No.2 with a Big Mouth, no?

Sailah

Yes the 1/2" will be the same thing. Same orifice but probably shorter overall since it's based on the Mepco 1E but machined for the 3C disc and seat. I had them made for a heating help member who wanted a crossover trap that exceeded a Nicholson in venting capacity but at a friendlier price tag. So that would be s direct replacement pipe size. I suspect they will be very close to the 3/4" big mouth maybe a tiny bit less capacity due to the pipe size?

Probably a couple more weeks on those.

Fred

I got my vents this morning. If they work as good as they look and are built, they will be amazing! Probably will last a lifetime.

ChrisJ

Fred said:

I got my vents this morning. If they work as good as they look and are built, they will be amazing! Probably will last a lifetime.

They should handle your oversized sorry excuse of a boiler just fine.

BobC

@Sailah Is that a 5/8" hex inside the stub?

I got mine today as well and thought I'd give folks an idea of how they are built. The Bigmouth is about 4-3/4" overall but it has a union at it's base so by mounting the stub first it will mount with a bit less headroom, it's smaller than a Gorton #2 and looks like it has about twice the venting capacity.

I probably wont get to really check it out till the fall because I've had the heat switched off for a while now.

Bob

ChrisJ

BobC said:

I got mine today as well and thought I'd give folks an idea of how they are built. The Bigmouth is about 5" overall but it has a union at it's base so by mounting the stub first it will mount with a bit less headroom, it's smaller than a Gorton #2 and looks like it has about twice the venting capacity.

I probably wont get to really check it out till the fall because I've had the heat switched off for a while now.

Bob

But how do you mount the stub first unless you have a tool for it? I just spun it on with it connected and used my hands to tighten it best I could. Running at the pressure I do the chances of a leak were slim.

It would be best to install it properly though, I just have no idea what tool is used for it.

BobC

A quick look tells me it's a 5/8" hex but I haven't verified it. For something like this I just find a hex head bolt that fits and double nut the other end so I can use a wrench or socket on it.

Bob

Sailah

Correct it's an allen I believe. I'm not at work so I can't check. 5/8" sounds right. Just thread the tailpiece and union nut on with an allen. Then connect the vent, same procedure as if it were a trap. If you don't have an Allen that big, find a hex bolt head that fits and use vise grips on the bolt shank to wind it in.

Fred

@BobC , it is a 5/8" allen. I have a set of allen sockets and I just checked it.

@ChrisJ , Chris, Chris Chris. When your boiler gets to be 33 years old and still performs like mine, we will never hear the end of it. Well, the rest of heatingHelp will never hear the end of it. I won't be around for that

ChrisJ

Fred said:

@BobC , it is a 5/8" allen. I have a set of allen sockets and I just checked it.

@ChrisJ , Chris, Chris Chris. When your boiler gets to be 33 years old and still performs like mine, we will never hear the end of it. Well, the rest of heatingHelp will never hear the end of it. I won't be around for that

I'm running water treatment and watch how much I add very very closely. I also add as I start boiling to drive water out immediately. The only rust I ever get out of it came down from the radiators and piping.

This cheap, cheesy WM EG series is likely going to outlast all of us my friend.

Fred

This cheap, cheesy WM EG series is likely going to outlast all of us my friend.
I truly hope it does. That way, the next generation can call it a "Sorry Excuse of a Boiler" because it lasted 33 + years. You're young enough that you will likely be around to hear that. As for me, I take pride in maintaining mine, for the 25 years I've been in this house, and don't have to hope that effort will pay off. It already has. If it died today, (knock on wood for uttering those words) no one could complain about 33 years of service, from a Burnham.

STEAM DOCTOR

Got my first "big mouths" yesterday. First install is tomorrow. Lucky customer don't realize how fortunate he is.
Only drawback I see is that it's too easy to plug the female threads. Never know what some knucklehead might be tempted to do. Lol

Paul48

Dremel with a drum sander fixes that.
@Sailah ......Or, fast and dirty....hammer and punch, bugger the starting threads.

gerry gill

I'm not thinking that the treads are an issue..they may in fact come in handy..perhaps if the vent were some place humidity sensitive one may want to do what Dan H said in another thread and pipe a 28'' u pipe off of it just in case it failed wide open..or pipe it out of the basement wine room for example.

ChrisJ

gerry gill said:

I'm not thinking that the treads are an issue..they may in fact come in handy..perhaps if the vent were some place humidity sensitive one may want to do what Dan H said in another thread and pipe a 28'' u pipe off of it just in case it failed wide open..or pipe it out of the basement wine room for example.

You have a wine room?

nicholas bonham-carter

Doesn't everyone?--NBC

Paul48

Under the theater, next to the bowling alley.

Sailah

My "wine" room doubles as my kids room usually. Sometimes it's my wife's room too...

STEAM DOCTOR

Question:
Does orientation matter. I would assume that big mouth needs male treads pointed down to allow condensate to drain back into main and not out through 3/4" female threads

ChrisJ

STEAM DOCTOR said:

Question:

Does orientation matter. I would assume that big mouth needs male treads pointed down to allow condensate to drain back into main and not out through 3/4" female threads

I believe vertical is necessary, or close to it. Likely a 45 deg angle would be fine, as long as condensate can drain back out of the valve. You don't want it draining out of the female threads.

STEAM DOCTOR

Wonder if upside down would work? Female threads pointing up.

STEAM DOCTOR

In middle of first instalation as we speak. Gave off puff of steam when steam first reached vent. There is an occasional sizzling sound and the appearance of drop of water.