Gorton air vent quality

ARobertson13

Dear Members,
First, I am positive that Gorton is aware of these complaints because I and others have communicated these issues to them.
My posts were an attempt to make the steam heating community aware of these issues and that Supply House [I am a customer], UPS and the end user are not responsible for these failures. To summarize my findings: Please read carefully:

Gorton Vent Category 1: Right angled Radiator vents [G#4, G#5, G#6, GC and GD].
These Out of Box [OB] "Failure to close" issues were due to the bi mettalic curved strip not placed so
that when heated by steam or hot air it could not expand enough to move the head into the seat hole
and do so with enough force to prevent steam from escaping. As for the dislodged pin on the float,
I could not duplicate the pin coming out even at low temperatures by dropping or hitting this category
of vent. The extreme end of the bi mettalic strip is extended and hits the bottom of the vent case preventing the pin from being removed unless the strip is deformed by pressing it hard 2/3of it's
length. As for the float not floating, I unsealed a vent. Marked the position of the float. Then immersed
it in water and saw that it did not float or change position.

Gorton Vent Category 2: Straight Vents Bronze [G#1 1/4 and 3/4 inches]
Same as for Category 1.
There was a difference in their ability to hold heat and stay closed. Also, you could connect the 3/4" with
a 1/2 inch nipple.

Gorton Vent Category 3: Large mains vent [G#2]
OB "Failure to close" issues were due to the bi mettalic curved strip not placed so that when heated by steam or hot air it could not expand enough to move the head into the seat hole and do so with enough force to prevent steam from escaping. Dislodged pin also related to bi metalic strip design and or low temperature position. I described a situation in which an OB G#2 vent with the pin installed at room temperature 77F became dislodged at 53F when standing still. When I adjusted the Strip so that the head would close at a proper temperature 140F. Then when the vent was cooled off, the pin became dislodged at 30F. An examination of the strip will show a right angled bend at the end of the strip was designed to hit the bottom of the case to prevent the strip from moving beyond the position in which the pin could drop out. The category 1 and 2 vents have an extended less curved section on it's extreme end that serves this purpose successfully. The G#2 vents can be dislodged by dropping them or could temperature when stationary. If the strip end was redesigned so that that the only way to remove the pin is to deform the
strip as with the category 1 and 2 vents, the pin would not drop out with low temperature or dropping.

I was able to unseal and repair about 60% of the category 1 vents and a higher percentage of category
2 vents but with a smaller sample. All of the G#2 vents that I opened 4 so far were easily repaired so they
could be used in the field [Even dropped]. I could have done better if I did not mess up them trying to determine a safe and less damaging way to open and seal them.

I hope this information helps the members here understand these vent issues. I would thank some of you for the information you gave on this site. Saved me and my COOP and a few landlord a lot of trouble and money.

RTW

Its interesting Gorton Heating Corporation of NJ has not once responded as a company on this site to concerns about their product. And, respond if parts / labor involves a foreign source, ie. China. Just sayin

Steamhead

RTW said:

Its interesting Gorton Heating Corporation of NJ has not once responded as a company on this site to concerns about their product. And, respond if parts / labor involves a foreign source, ie. China. Just sayin

@RTW , why don't you call them yourself?

RTW

@RTW , why don't you call them yourself?

Honestly, this tread is four pages long and not a whisper from the company. I would prefer a written response from upper management in writing to confirm quality issues to avoid any misunderstanding in a phone to a sales rep. but maybe thats too much to ask?

Steamhead

@RTW , several people in this thread have advised them of the problem, myself included. How they respond is up to them. If you want to see them post here, call them and ask.