Vent Valve Size

johnw

I need to replace some vent valves on some of my radiators. What I want to know is the vent valves that I buy all the same size - so I can just unscrew the old ones and replace with the new ones or is there some measurement I need to take?

Ken_8

If you use good valves, like

Gorton's, they have a handout piece that guides you to the "logic" of their sizing scheme.

By understanding the logic of orifice diameters and air venting speed changes, you can balnce an entire home with careful selection of the vent size.

Gorton's use a wierd sizing matrix. The smallest to largest go: #4, #5, #6, 'C', & 'D'. Once you get the little hand out page, or go to their website which is: gorton-valves.com/, you can scope out what I mean.

Good luck!

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Steamhead

It would also be a good idea

to check the vents at the ends of your steam mains. If there are none or if they're bad or too small, they can cause overworking of your radiator vents.

You want the mains to vent all their air in about a minute, measured from the time the boiler starts producing steam. This way, each radiator has steam available at about the same time. Measure the length and diameter of your steam mains (outside diameter of pipe is OK) and we can tell you what you need. If you need to add vents, it would be a good idea to have a pro do it- but the money will be well-spent.

You could get away without main vents during the coal era, but with oil or gas they are essential for good operation and reduced fuel consumption.

Once your main vents are right, you can size your radiator vents to the sizes of your radiators.

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"