Gorton Main Vents

gehring_3

I have several Gorton No. 1 and No. 2 main vents on my one pipe steam system that are only a little over one year old and the other night I noticed some of them hissing (i.e. not closing all of the way) while the system was making steam (the mains were already hot and had been full of steam for a while.) I operate at less than 2 pounds of pressure, the vents are all up on nipples set back from the return elbows, my pipes are all insulated and my water is clean.

What would cause these 1st class vents to fail so quickly? Can I boil them in vinegar like radiator vents? (need a big pot for the No. 2) I am disappointed that they are relatively new and appear to be going bad already. Any thoughts on what would cause this and how to fix it?

As always, thanks in advance for the advice.

Mad Dog

I've had that happen too Carl

Sometimes I had cleaned the boiler and system with the nice new vents on and ruined them. Gortons are great but they can be a little sensitive and finicky. They may be blown, but they probably just have some sediment and crap in 'em. I would try to boiler them. Are they as high up out of the steam maelstrom as possible? Mad dog

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gehring_3

Thanks Mad Dog.

I had a nice chat with Ken at Gorton and he recommended that I try cleanning them out with some vinegar - that there is probably just a piece of dirt hung up in there. I will try that within a day or so. Right now (tonight anyway) I need the boiler to be on, now down for service.