Riser vents

David Lake

My 1920s 5-story condo building in Washington, DC has an old one-pipe steam system with risers that have air vents installed just below the ceiling in all of the top floor units (I assume the risers are capped just above those ceilings?). Some of the air vents are Gortons, Hoffman 40s, and Hoffman A1 adjustables. I suspect many of them do not work properly, as many have been painted over and others show serious corrosion. I'd like to replace all of them with the same air vent, so my question is should I just use a bunch of Hoffman 40s, or should I look to larger ones such as Gorton Cs or Ds.
By the way, I have the "Lost Art" and have read the part about venting risers, and have looked through all of the previous postings on this topic, and couldn't find an answer to this question.

Thanks in advance!!!

Steamhead

That's a great thing to do

The info you need is in Dan's "Dead Men's Steam School" video and workbook. Dan takes you thru the entire vent-sizing procedure in the video, and the workbook contains the necessary charts. Highly recommended- order yours on the Books and More page of this site.

If you need a good steam man to work on that system, look no farther than Dan Foley of Foley Mechanical, in Arlington.

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