Gorton air vent quality

STEAM DOCTOR

Any updates on Gorton quality? There was a stretch of time recently, where there were numerous reports of Gortons leaking out of the box. I had that myself as well. I haven't had used any Gorton's in quite a while, much to my distress. Just want to hear the observations of others, out in the field. Thanks.

Steamhead

They're doing OK. Once in a while a bad one gets through, but we've never had trouble getting it replaced. The #2 main vent is the one we use the most- we keep them in stock.

JUGHNE

I had a couple of G2's that did not have the familiar rattle sound.
They were returned for new.

gfrbrookline

See my post on a vent sizing issue. That being said they are still the best quality vents on the market.

Danny Scully

I just had nearly a 50% failure rate on an order…not closing, very frustrating. 

Long Beach Ed

Still the best there is. We use them without any problem. If you ever order any from SupplyHouse.com you'll get whatever size they have handy regardless of what you order.

ChrisJ

Long Beach Ed said:

Still the best there is. We use them without any problem. If you ever order any from SupplyHouse.com you'll get whatever size they have handy regardless of what you order.

It's been a while since I ordered but I've always received exactly what I ordered from them as far as Gorton vents

STEAM DOCTOR

@Long Beach Ed. Never ever had that problem with supply house 

Long Beach Ed

I must have been the lucky one. Three times. Good to know I may have to go there again one day.

Mad Dog_2

I too did get a bad batch about 2-3 years ago, but not before that or recently.   Gorton's and Hoffmans are the only vents I'll use. Mad 🐕 Dog

nde

Check out gordon's analysis of failed Gorton 2. He found in one example the dual metal strip that is key to closing the vent was backwards though not clear if Gorton's mistake or if the metal was supplied incorrectly. But likely the issue for ones that never close from the box.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-g0YSu8Bbo

Danny Scully

I think in my case it’s definitely an issue with the bimetallic strip. The vents close when you blow threw them (upside down) but aren’t shutting on steam. Only positive is - it’s clearly dry steam leaving the vents, no water 🤣

ChrisJ

That's a prime example of "Made in USA" doesn't mean better, or even good, unfortunately.

Steamhead

ChrisJ said:

That's a prime example of "Made in USA" doesn't mean better, or even good, unfortunately.

As I posted earlier, "we've never had trouble getting it replaced" when we get a bad one. Try that with a Chinese manufacturer.

ChrisJ

Steamhead said:

ChrisJ said:

That's a prime example of "Made in USA" doesn't mean better, or even good, unfortunately.

As I posted earlier, "we've never had trouble getting it replaced" when we get a bad one. Try that with a Chinese manufacturer.

I was thinking more along the lines of American manufacturers that have things made overseas.

However,

We have 3D printers made by a Chinese company and their support bends over backwards to help.
They even try to send free accessories and parts as apologies for minor issues that they already solved via email.

Their support is one of the reasons we bought another printer from them.



It would be nice if Gorton had someone on this forum to interact with those who use their products. Maybe tell us what's going on, why there's been issues and what's been done to resolve them etc.

Long Beach Ed

I consider Gorton the only game in town, with Hoffman as the exception. Wouldn't dream of putting a Chinese vent in a customer's home. Never seen an old Chinese vent that worked. Can't play with that stuff.

Mad Dog_2

I agree LB Ed.   Ken Kunz from Gorton used to come in sometimes. Mad Dog. 

ChrisJ

@Long Beach Ed.  @Mad Dog_2

Most of my vents are Gorton except the ones I decided to use that came with the 3 Macon TRVs I'm using 

I don't know what brand those are but they seemed solid and I haven't had issues with them so they stayed 

My two Danfoss TRVs have Gorton.   I think G6s.


I've talked with Ken years ago and felt he was as good as they come.

Waher

I got a dud No.2 from Supplyhouse today. No clank/rattle no matter how hard I shake it. Called Gorton and they told me no noise = defective or damaged in shipping and to either return it or send it directly to them. Supplyhouse is supposed to email me with either a replacement order or return label in 1-3 days.

ethicalpaul

This exact thing happened to me last month with a #1. Supplyhouse will make it right

Waher

Well SupplyHouse managed to get me a replacement delivered today and I sent the defective one back with UPS. The replacement No.2 still wasn't making the distinctive clanking the others did, but if I give it a shake it makes some noise, so I assumed it would work if installed. It's the 4th vent down on an antler and it seems to take much longer to get hot compared to the others. A No.1 directly after it is scorching hot. Over the boiler noise I can never hear the vents operate so I'm not really sure if it is working or not.

nde

You can test the vent with cold and hot water to see if functioning. Fill with cold water, shake around and drain. The float should move freely and you can blow air thru if help upright. Hot water do same steps. Float should close and not allow air to pass.

Waher

According to my Ecobee data the heating calls, during the same temperature range or colder outside, to satisfy the thermostat have been reduced from 20-24 minutes to 14-16 minutes. So I think that's evidence it is working as intended. Interesting to see the range of manufacturing tolerances for some vents to readily clank while this one doesn't.

Genuinely curious to see how fast my system will heat when I can afford to add a 4th No.2 to max out the capacity of my vent antler.


Edit: Nope, sadly two duds in a row

ChrisJ

I've never installed a vent I didn't blow thru first.  That includes blowing and turning upside down to make sure it closes.

ethicalpaul

It's the 4th vent down on an antler and it seems to take much longer to get hot compared to the others. A No.1 directly after it is scorching hot.

This is weird. This tells me that the vent in question is closed prematurely. You should have blown in it like Chris said.

Waher

ethicalpaul said:

It's the 4th vent down on an antler and it seems to take much longer to get hot compared to the others. A No.1 directly after it is scorching hot.

This is weird. This tells me that the vent in question is closed prematurely. You should have blown in it like Chris said.

Duration of my heating call cycles overnight were back to what they were prior to the installation of the vent, so I think it may be another dud. It's going to be sub-zero temperatures here the next few days, so I was eager to get the thing installed hoping to help the system work more efficiently and save fuel.

ethicalpaul

With 3 working vents on an antler I can't imagine that one more is going to make a noticeable difference.

Have you timed it with the vent off to see how fast it fills with steam with no venting limitation?

Waher

I took down the antler, removed each vent and shook them. The replacement Gorton No.2 is the only one that doesn't rattle so it's definitely another dud. My system is about 90' of 2" diameter pipe in one long loop. The vents are on a 3/4" diameter antler off a 3/4" tapping at the elbow dropping to the boiler. On paper 4 Gorton No.2s and 1 Gorton No.1 would max out the venting for that tapping and be sufficient for the cubic footage of air in that main.

Currently 2 functioning No.2s, one dud No.2, a Vent-Rite #35 (came with the house), and a No.1 on the antler.

ethicalpaul

Checking for rattling is fine, but did you blow through it? Also, paper doesn't matter. While you have a vent off the antler, time how long it takes for steam to get to the hole. Then time it again with the vent on there (even the faulty one would be fine). If the times are similar, like within 30 seconds, you don't even need that failed vent.

ChrisJ

ethicalpaul said:

Checking for rattling is fine, but did you blow through it? Also, paper doesn't matter. While you have a vent off the antler, time how long it takes for steam to get to the hole. Then time it again with the vent on there (even the faulty one would be fine). If the times are similar, like within 30 seconds, you don't even need that failed vent.

I've blown through many vents and flipped them upside down and blew again....
Never checked for a rattle of any kind. Why do we want to know their rattle statistic?

Waher

With an open hole from a cold system start it's about 12 minutes until steam comes out of the tapping.

I think if I had the venting maxed out the system would heat in 8-12 minutes depending on how warm the pipes/boiler are at the start of a cycle. My house is small and the boiler is the smallest Burnham MegaSteam model MST-288.

When I spoke with Gorton's technical department yesterday, the fellow over the phone told me that if the vent wasn't rattling it was defective.

ethicalpaul

That's good but don't measure from cold system start. You are timing the wrong thing.

Time it with a hot/warm system, and then time it again with the vent on there and see how those times compare.

Waher

It's about to be real feel -30f here, so I'm not about to fiddle with the system any more than I already have until the 3rd replacement vent shows up on Monday.

The dud I have on the antler now doesn't get scorching hot like all the other vents on the antler do, which I think confirms that the float is stuck closed. The vents should heat up like a radiator does if air is purging out of it.

ChrisJ

What is "real feel" is that wind chill or the real temperature?

Chris_L

ethicalpaul said:

That's good but don't measure from cold system start. You are timing the wrong thing.

Time it with a hot/warm system, and then time it again with the vent on there and see how those times compare.

I think it is actually better to test and compare the system when cold. Because the pipes are cold, the steam is condensing and there is very little pressure to push the air out. That is when you need the most venting. And if your system doesn't cycle much on pressure, that is the time you want to minimize.

When I've done the test while the system is warm or hot, the steam gets to the main vents in a matter of seconds. I never would have added more vents if that was the only test I did. And adding more vents did help under cold start conditions, which nearly all of mine are.

In any case, no harm in testing both ways. See which one works for you.

ChrisJ

Chris_L said:

ethicalpaul said:

That's good but don't measure from cold system start. You are timing the wrong thing.

Time it with a hot/warm system, and then time it again with the vent on there and see how those times compare.

I think it is actually better to test and compare the system when cold. Because the pipes are cold, the steam is condensing and there is very little pressure to push the air out. That is when you need the most venting. And if your system doesn't cycle much on pressure, that is the time you want to minimize.

When I've done the test while the system is warm or hot, the steam gets to the main vents in a matter of seconds. I never would have added more vents if that was the only test I did. And adding more vents did help under cold start conditions, which nearly all of mine are.

In any case, no harm in testing both ways. See which one works for you.

If the pipes are cold the steam is spending most of it's time condensing and heating the pipes and slowly working it's way down the line
.
The most volume of air to be removed is created with the hottest pipes because the steam is being created much faster than the system can use it trying to get to the radiators to condense. My system would do just fine with a single G1 if I tested it with everything cold. However, if it's been off for only 5 minutes I need all of five G1's to keep the pressure down and the system in balance. If you're creating any more pressure than necessary during main venting you're forcing steam out to radiators early and that's bad.


You need very little venting when the system is cold and in my opinion, there's absolutely no reason to test any systems speed and venting with cold piping.

ethicalpaul

Exactly what Chris said

Waher

I'm irate. The THIRD replacement SuppyHouse sent is defective. The float pin isn't seated in the bi-metallic strip.
Either Gorton's quality control was completely out to lunch on a batch of No.2s or someone dropped a pallet at the warehouse to have 3 for 3 be DOA.

Long Beach Ed

While others have said they get fine vents from Supply House, my experience has not been good. They've screwed up my Gorton vent orders most times. Now my local supplier orders them and I haven't had problems.

Waher

I'm wondering if I'm better off trying to get the one that seems to have a stuck float unstuck somehow (canned air? rubber mallet taps to the top? take it out in the sub-zero weather or put it in the freezer for a few minutes to contract the bi-metallic strip and then shake it vigorously? Dental pick to try pushing the top ball down?) since I know that one has the float pin properly seated than trying again with yet another return to SupplyHouse. This latest one that isn't seated definitely has to go back.

Long Beach Ed

I'd knock it around a little to see if things get back where they should. What harm would that do? After it all fails, send it back, as I have with plenty of Supply House stuff.