Gorton #1 Venting Behavior

saias

I recently replaced my main vents with Gorton #1s. Pretty sure the old vents were original to the house (1930) and definitely were no longer venting. Heating seems more balanced.

However, I have a question about how the Gortons vent. Everything seems good until all the radiators have vented and system starts to build pressure. At this point the Gortons start hissing steam until there is about .5psi pressure at the boiler and then they stop hissing. I exchanged the vents for new ones and it does the same thing. Is this how Gortons work or is there something else going on?

System has two mains that run parallel the length of the house; one in the front and one in the back. Mains are 2" and each about 25' long. They are not insulated. Vents are installed at the end of the mains in the tee with the returns. It's 1/4" fitting off the tee. I raised the Gortons 6-7" above the mains. The originals were connected directly to the tee. Pressure is set to .5psi cut in with a little more than 1psi differential.

STEAM DOCTOR

Are you sure it's venting steam and not air?

SteamingatMohawk

Can you post a picture showing how the returns connect back to the Hartford loop?

neilc

wonder if the rads were vented fast, to make up for the non working old mains,
and that the least resistance is still up thru the (too fast) rads (even with the "decent balance"),

Also curious if the 1/4 nipple/ell to the main vents are restricting there, and contributing to the rads being the easier way out(venting).

Start soaking those main tee bushings with oils and look to rebush and repipe full size to the main vent.

post a picture of typical rad and vent,
and can we see the Ptrol ?
has the pigtail been serviced ?

saias

STEAM DOCTOR said:

Are you sure it's venting steam and not air?

It looks like steam. Would it be visible if it was air?

SteamingatMohawk said:

Can you post a picture showing how the returns connect back to the Hartford loop?

@neilc Pigtail was replaced in October. Cut in and cut out work as set and gauge is measuring values.
Most vents on 2nd floor were Ds so I did change them out to mostly 6s when I replaced the main vents. I kept a D on the 3rd floor radiator because it is huge and a long riser run.

neilc

ok, so, steam hits the mains and then the rads,
now the rads are condensing, along with the uninsulated mains, steam collapses, gortons allow air in, and as new steam follows up, gortons again release air, wet simmering air,

or is that venting steam hot at the gortons,
and do they shut again when true steam arrives again?

saias

@neilc that seems like a reasonable explanation. To be clear, the boiler is running the entire time. The vents do shut again when boiler hits about .5psi. Will this damage the vents?
what do you mean by "is that venting steam hot at the gortons"?

neilc

saias said:

what do you mean by "is that venting steam hot at the gortons"?

vented air would not be as hot as steam,
carefully feel that air stream, then more carefully, tap touch the vent when it shuts again, <--- that's steam hot.

vents should be fine,
curious you're seeing that much vapor venting though,
can we see the near boiler piping, the header, floor to ceiling, one or 2 pictures,

saias

I think it's hot vapor. It's hot, but I can hold my hand in it. My hand gets moist from it. Here's a video:



You can see my boiler piping in https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1776856.

saias

@neilc anything I should be concerned about here? I know I need to insulate the mains.
Thank you!

neilc

kinda like was said in that other thread, don't be fixin what isn't broke, right?
and insulating might go a long way to getting your mind off the vapor at these Gortons,
are the rooms comfortable? even balanced heat?
are you adding much or any water to the boiler?
is there hammering ?
what are we trying to fix here?
ya might just be allrite !

ethicalpaul

Insulating the mains is fine, but it won't affect your venting problem. It will only solve the problem of more heat in the basement than you would like to have.

neilc

but is there a venting problem @ethicalpaul ?

the near boiler isn't text book from the other thread,
is there bouncing water in the sightglass?
dirty sightglass?
maybe skimming is due?

saias

The old vents were not working so I had no idea what to expect with the Gortons. When I saw them spewing, my concerns were:
1. Vent failure
2. Wasted energy
3. Need to be filling the boiler more often

I just installed the vents on Saturday so time will tell and it's been a mild few days here. The heat is balanced and system is quiet.

ethicalpaul

neilc said:

but is there a venting problem @ethicalpaul ?

the near boiler isn't text book from the other thread,
is there bouncing water in the sightglass?
dirty sightglass?
maybe skimming is due?

I would call it a venting problem when the main vent is letting steam out as in the video he provided. But I agree with your point that the actual cause may or may not be in the vent itself.

But regardless, insulating the mains will not affect it in any meaningful way. That was my main point--trying to reduce the things for him to look at to the actual things that can help.

I agree with you that skimming is advisable. The header isn't perfect but it should perform with clean water.

saias

The sightglass water is pretty stable, maybe 1/2" fluctuation. It is a little dirty, but looks more like rusty sediment. I will put skimming on the to-do list.

saias

Finally got around to skimming the boiler. Quite the project to remove the plug from the skim tee, but it did motivate me to remove an 8ft. riser that was no longer used and I capped it at the main.
Anyway, can't say I notice any difference after skimming. Also, calculated my EDR and found the boiler is 40% oversized. The heat is balanced so not going to worry about the Gorton's venting behavior.