Radiator steam vent brand recommendations

tkos115

So, I'm looking to replace my 1 pipe steam vent valves on all my radiators this year. Two years ago when I moved into the house I replaced and balanced my system using Gorton valves on the radiators, and a big mouth vent on my main. The system itself is balanced quiet well right now, all the radiators heat up within about a 5min or so variance. The problem I've had with the Gorton valves since almost day one is that once all the radiators have heated up and the valves close, two or sometimes three of them will still make a sputtering sound or a high pitched whistling. They are generally always the same radiators. I have tried to clean them and I checked my steam pressure setting to make sure the cut in and cut out wasn't too high. I even had an older steam guy come by and look at it and make sure it's working correctly while he was cleaning the boiler. Everything seemed to be good according to him.


But anyway... my main question is does anyone have recommendations on a decent brand for these vents?
I know this can be like asking different car mechanics what brand oil they prefer haha.
Would I just be better off sticking with Gorton valves since I already know what numbers I'll need or would another brand be better?



Thanks for your time and help all!

ethicalpaul

So what is your steam pressure?

I like Maid o' Mist, and their numbering scheme matches Gorton but you might see the same behavior because the mechanisms are basically the same. But you can try one for less than $10 from supplyhouse.com so it's worth a shot.

How old are your problematic vents? Is it just that they are ancient? Or if they were at any point under a high pressure situation (anything over 3psi), they could have been damaged.

tkos115

They are exactly 2 years old today hah. So it's possible that they may have been exposed to about 5 or 6 psi when I first got them. I can't remember if it was right before or after I installed them. But around when I got them it was set a bit high, somewhere around 5psi ish. I just can't remember if I noticed that before or after I put them in. It was right around when I moved into this house. Right now I think it's at about .5psi I believe. (Haven't looked at it in awhile).


When it was set higher than it should have been, I know it was only for one cycle because the boiler had been shutdown at the main switch since at the time no one was living there and I did a test fire on it. But like I said I can't remember it if was before or after I put the new vents in.

ethicalpaul

OK, I wouldn't consider that "vent killing" abuse, just a few occurrences like that. Buy one for a test and see how it does, is my advice.

nicholas bonham-carter

If you don't have a good low-pressure gauge, (0-3 psi), then order one of those as well.--NBC

gfrbrookline

@tkos115 I had a few Gortons that were defective last year, contacted them and they sent replacements. They are the best I have found for fixed venting. I like Ventrite No.1's for adjustable but they don't have the upper level venting capacity of the Gorton's.

Agree with @ethicalpaul and @nicholas bonham-carter on the pressure. A domestic steam boiler should never be run at over 2psi, an optimally designed system system should run below 1psi.

Send pics of your pressuretrol/vaporstat settings to confirm.

tkos115

I'll snap a few pics tonight when I get home from work. It was a busy weekend, I didn't get the chance to take a look at it. I'll probably toss in a few new valves for the ones that are leaking and see how it does. I'm pretty sure mine is set to about 1psi. I'm probably going to invest in a low pressure steam gauge since the one I have now goes up to 30psi and I can't really tell what the pressures are when it's running. Can I just use a tee fitting for the two gauges? Does anyone have a recommendation on how to add the low pressure gauge in?

ethicalpaul

Yes, you can use a tee and some nipples to add another gauge above your pigtail (assuming that's what you have there). You can use 1/4" brass for everything and it'll be good.

There are many ways to do it. Your existing conditions dictate what will work. When you send the pics, we can suggest options.

https://www.supplyhouse.com/Brass-Fittings-164000?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIoM7Rmv-d7AIVGbbICh078AZFEAAYASAAEgJTD_D_BwE

tkos115

i just snapped this one pic, I can take others if you think it would be beneficial.

ethicalpaul

Can you take one where we can see the connections more? Maybe from farther back and offset from the front. All I can see is the pressuretrol and the gauge face.

tkos115

Hopefully these are better pics

ethicalpaul

Ok that last one is good, thanks!

you could add another 1/4” brass tee to the end of the existing one with one end pointing forward, And the other end pointing left or up if there is enough room. It might take an elbow and/or a couple inch nipple to let it all fit.

Have you had that pigtail cleaned out during any recent services? You have to make sure it’s not clogged with gunk which can happen in a couple years. If it’s clogged the ptrol and gauges won’t feel the pressure.

tkos115

I don't think it has been cleaned in awhile. Or at least not since I moved into the house 2 years ago. I will take it apart and clean it though when I add the new low pressure gauge. Does the setting on the ptrol look like it's set correctly?

Thanks for your help!

ethicalpaul

Yes, the ptrol looks good. Often we see them set too high, but right at the bottom is good. There's a white dial inside also. You can remove that screw on the bottom and remove the cover to look inside to see if the dial is set to "1" which it should be. That is the differential setting: .5 cut-in plus 1 differential equals 1.5 cut out for this model. Do you ever see your boiler cut out (shut down) in the middle of a long call for heat (like in the morning if you turn up the thermostat etc)?

You'll have to remove the cover anyway to disconnect the wires to unscrew it off the tee.

You can unscrew the ptrol with a crescent wrench. It would be good to hold the street elbow below it with a small pipe wrench or channel locks to prevent torquing the pigtail.

The brass parts apparently don't need sealant, but I always wrap a few turns of teflon tape around the male threads anyway.

tkos115

So I finally got around to checking that white dial and I believe it's set correctly. The 1 is facing out towards the opening. Is that set right according to the pic?

Thanks again!

ethicalpaul

Yes, looks good

Dan_NJ

looks good yes, but I have to say mine is set up the same way and my *actual* differential is about 1.8 Lbs, rather than the 1 Lb shown on the dial. I may finally get a vaporstat just so I have something that's not off by 80%.

ethicalpaul

Yes they all seem to be at least 1/2 psi heavy (Late) on cut-out, it’s a drag