Heat-Timer Varivalve

DanB01

I am new to steam boiler systems and my boiler is losing a good amount of water as I need to add every couple days. I have replaced a couple hissing air vents which I am hoping helps. In the house I have maid o mist and gorton. Then in the garage I came across this one ( see picture). I saw a couple drops of water come out so will attempt to replace but looks much different that my others. Can anybody tell me a bit about this one?

Big Ed_4

the Heat timer radiator steam vent is a very fast vent without a float safety .. They were made for buildings where controls sent up steam a few times a day .. Its not a ideal vent to balance an system, I do use them for that far problem radiator…

Jamie Hall

But I doubt that that vent is your real problem… you may have a significant leak somewhere.

STEAM DOCTOR

Nothing but trouble from those vents. They vent way too quickly and they have a remarkably short lifespan. Only real benefit is that they can fit into tight spaces. Would not install them in my own home, if someone gave them to me for free.

DanB01

thanks for the responses. Do you think I should just replace with a maid o mist like what I have inside the house? Although I am not sure what size I would use. It is mostly 5 or 6’s inside (I have replaced with whatever the previous owner had in there).

a bigger leak is what concerns me. I am starting with air vent replacements and will need to get professional help in locating the leak if it doesn’t help.

ethicalpaul

Do you have a buried wet return? Do you notice a lot of white "smoke" coming out of your chimney when the boiler is firing? These are two common areas of leaks.

I want to really like that Vent-Rite Vari-Valve vent because it's made just down the road from me in Fairfield, NJ, and I'm going to test one in my home very soon because I wonder if I may have been too harsh on them in the past. I do see a lot of them in people's homes around here and that's another reason I want to test it myself. The company itself brags that they have a very fast top rate rivaling the massive and expensive Gorton #2 main vent.

I do like Maid O Mist and Gorton although it seems just about any vent can fail just about any time, while other units of the same model can go for years.

ARobertson13

I have heard complaints about the Varivalves on this site. 2 years ago I tested all of the popular vents. Unfortunately, the complains about these valves were verified. Two of the 3 I placed in my system failed after two months. They would not open.

ethicalpaul

It's kind of depressing about vents, I have seen Maid o Mist and Gorton both fail, both radiator vents and #1 main vents. That's why I'm expanding to try one of these myself.