What brand of radiator vents do the steam pros recommend?

bipbap

I'm trying to do some balancing here to fine tune heating some rooms (we already added vents to the basement mains which helped a great deal) and we have a mix of Maid o Mist and Gorton vents currently on our radiators.

The Maid O Mist ones seem ideal since they each come with the option of making them any size you need. However, both past heating guys I had some to help with our system swore by the Gorton vents so we have a bunch of those too. I guess the downside is if I need to swap change sizes with a Gorton, I need to buy a whole new vent to get a different size.

Is there anything better about the Gortons that makes that more worthwhile as opposed to the flexibility of the Maid O Mist?
Or is there some other better vent I don't even know about that is out there for steam radiators?

We have a one-pipe steam system in a multifamily building if that helps.
Thank you!

RomanGK_26986764589

Just a homeowner here, I have Maid O Mists on almost all of my radiators and I like them. IMHO they are quieter and more reliable vents than Gorton. Maid O Mists also have interchangeable orifices which is a big help when fine tuning the venting rate on the radiators. Hoffman #40 is also a very good slow reliable vent. I have one on one of my radiators. Just don't buy cheap Taiwanese/Chinese vents from big box stores. Their quality is very inconsistent.

Danny Scully

Maid-O-Mist and Gorton share a patent. Major differences are 1) maid-o-mist has plastic float, Gorton has copper 2) maid-o-mist are crimped together, gorton are soldered. I’ve had success and failure with both, but tend to lean toward gorton.

acwagner

Homeowner as well. I think there are a number of quality brands out there, two of which you have. Hoffman is another. I don't think there is a consensus on which are better, it's really just personal preference.

For what it's worth, if the maid-o-mist and the gorton's have performed well for you, then I'd recommend you pick one of those brands and use them throughout your system. Just makes having spares easier.

Also, there's a PDF you can purchase from this site that lists the venting capacities of basically every brand and model of vent and a general approach to balancing the system by adjusting radiator venting. I believe it's called "Balancing Steam Systems". I found it helpful balancing mine.

delta T

My personal favorite is Gorton, I have very few customers complain about them, and they tend to last a very long time.