Gorton vents/ losing boiler water

gfrbrookline

I have been trying to figure out why my boiler has been losing so much water recently. The only change I made was to replace three ventrite's with Gorton #5's . I thought the gorton's were slow to close so I took one off tonight and looking at them it looks like the top vent is about 15 degrees off center, on two two of the three. Has anyone had this issue?

gfrbrookline

I also found a No. 4 with the same issue.

Dave0176

Have had a lot of bad luck with Gortons lately especially No1s.
A customer of mine found that if his vents were panting and spiting steam, he’d go down and do a bit of skimming and everything would settle down. Of course his boiler was recently re’piped however I’m wondering if it’s an indication that skimming is needed.

mroberts5

I also have had trouble with Gorton's. They close nice and slow (and quietly), but I feel don't seal completely. I can still hear a wet hiss when "closed". This has been on 3 different valves.

acwagner

Is there a spot in your building that's accessible where you can test them?

clammy

How’s your near boiler piping is it up to snuf and are your-steam mains insulated .poor steam production and lack of insulation can make the steam in your mains lazy and introducing wet steam without much latent heat into a radiator will produce radiator vents that split and pant and possibly suck . I would look at your boiler installation and operation manual and make sure your boiler piping meets the Minimum piping dimensions required by the manufacture . It’s a good place to start make sure your boiler is not over filled and that the sight glass does not bounce or surge durning operation . If it s surging and bouncing then a flush and possible washing out of the boiler with a good skimming after wards may improve your steam production especially if it’s loaded w mud and rust those substances in the boiler do not help good steam production . Are your radiators properly pitched back to your radiator hand valves? If the Hoffman’s where passing steam then don’t except any other brand to not do the same after being exposed to wet steam for any length of time find the cause not replace the messenger . Peace nd good luck clammy

wz25

I've experienced some issues with Gorton radiator vents recently as well. Two new #6 vents started behaving oddly-- one seemed to have failed closed, and the other started to sputter, with one or two drops of water coming out the vent in the middle of a cycle. This was on a properly piped, just-skimmed system (by @Dave0176; not sure if I am the customer he is referring to)-- and by just-skimmed, I do mean that literally-- the first cycle after skimming.

Taking the two vents off, both seemed to have more water than usual, and to my inexperienced eye, it looks like they became waterlogged and then stopped working properly. They would probably work fine now that they've dried out (they pass air when I blow into them in an upright orientation, and do not pass air when upside-down), but I've not put them back into service.

I replaced them with two Hoffman 40 vents and those have been working perfectly. Totally silent until they ping shut, if the cycle is long enough for steam to reach that far.

I have another Gorton #5 that is making chirping noises, but not dripping any water. That vent is also new, and while it seems to be functioning properly, I am closely monitoring it. There's one newer Gorton #5 that is working perfectly, and I have two older Gortons that are OK.

gfrbrookline

@clammy NBP is consistent with requirements, slightly improved as I have a 4" header, all pipes are covered in 1" insulation and fitting caps. The boiler was serviced, flushed, cleaned two weeks ago by @New England SteamWorks . No bouncing/surging issues, water in the sight glass is clear, even when heating, and the radiators are all properly pitched. We did not have this issue with Venrite vents and have switched back to them. The only reason I switched was I wanted fixed venting so tenants couldn't change the settings and alter the balance.

I will report back after a day or two as to the boiler water loss.

gfrbrookline

Update

I replaced all of my Gorton No. 5's with Ventrite No. 1's set to 5 and the one Gorton 6 with a Ventrite No. 1 set to 8. I also turned off the feed to the LWCO. The Gordon's would wheeze and gurgle, sound like they closed and then seconds later start gurgling again. The Ventrites close solidly, and reopen periodically through a cycle as they should, barely hear them.

We have gone through three heating cycles and the water level is no longer falling. I was losing 1/2 to 3/4" per cycle. The Gorton No. 4's I have on the small radiators seem to be working fine.

The downside is I no longer have fixed venting and the tenants can screw up my balanced system by turning the dial up or down.

acwagner

I don't have ventrite's, so I don't know if this is possible. But is there a way you can remove the dial or modify it so you need a tool to adjust it?

gfrbrookline

I can take the dial off but that would leave the spindle which could still be turned. I thought about using hoffman 40's but the last time I used them I got too many complaints about the clicking waking everyone up.

gfrbrookline

The Ventrites max venting is the same as a Gorton No. 5 so they won't over vent since the majority are in living and dining rooms I guess I shouldn't be too concerned that they won't turn the vents off. Setting 1 is off, setting 2 is the same as Gorton No. 4.