New Gorton # 2 Main Vent Arrived - Installation Assistance Please

ethicalpaul · March 10

you can absolutely forget radiator pitch regarding your hissing vents

ChrisJ · March 10

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1891076#Comment_1891076

At least in the case of my house, this is 100% incorrect due to the stack effect.

All I ever feel is air being pulled in around the foundation, never the other way around. So, in that case all heat lost into the basement is preheating my drafts before they get pulled up into the first floor.

I wouldn't imagine any older house would be any different unless it was sealed really well between the basement and first floor.

MikeC_3 · March 10

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1891207#Comment_1891207

You also mentioned this problem wasn't a main venting issue. I get the feeling that you are the contrarian of the forum.

Ok, so where would you start if not with the pitch (being the simplest)? Valves are fully open, vents have been confirmed functional, I've tried various capacities and they are just three radiators in random rooms/floors that have no connection to one another.

ethicalpaul · March 10

I'm only the contrarian because I have done the experiments. Others repeat things that have been "known" for decades but apparently never looked at.

Some of those "known" things are correct, but others of them are just demonstrably wrong…if people would choose to test them.

You can contact me at the links below and I'd be happy to discuss with you or visit your site if you are near NJ. These threads get a little muddled and difficult to follow so you'll have to excuse my quick interjections—there's too much to completely follow.

But when someone wants to mess with the pitch of their radiators in order to solve a venting problem, I do interject in order to try to save them wasted effort.

PS: here is my one-pipe radiator pitch experiment:

https://youtu.be/DZ_3JGHWnOw

The reason that pitch doesn't matter in your case is because in every single radiator, there is already a bunch of water lying in the bottom, both during calls for heat, and between them, regardless of pitch.

Captain Who · March 10

@MikeC_3 Tell us a little more about those radiators that have hissing vents, which you have verified are not due to bad vents. What floors are they on? Are they heating across all sections, and do they lag behind the other radiators in getting hot…..stuff like that. Do you hear any water in their supply piping, making noises like the steam and water are fighting each other? I have one in my 2nd floor ~~basement~~ bathroom that I know there is a section of runout from the main down in the basement that has a bit of reverse pitch. If I sit through a whole burner cycle up by that radiator I can hear the water fighting the steam until the steam finally wins and everything is pretty quiet. I did have a one year old varivalve start to leak steam there and had to replace it a couple months ago. It was under strain from all the wet steam reaching that radiator because of the puddle and that probably led to an early demise.

MikeC_3 · March 10

Ok, the only commonality between them all is that they are medium sized (tubular) in comparison to the others. All on different floors, all fed by separate risers.

The first hissing radiator is a squat 24 inch long one on the first floor and is a twin to one right next to it fed sequentially. Its neighbor does not make any noise, so I switched vents and the situation remained the same. Everything above is quiet.

The next is a same sized unit on the second floor. Swapped the vent for a confirmed working one, same result. Everything above and below works fine.

Last is a smaller square one on the third (top) floor 18" x 18". This is the noisiest of the bunch. I think this one might actually be the piping because it floats about 6 inches above the floor placed on blocks that are jammed under the legs. It was encased when a kitchen was added, and I never examined it prior. Why, I have no clue.

All of them heat completely across and are not noticeably faster or slower than the other radiators - except that they are shorter. I am unsure if the hissing only continues as long as the boiler is fired or if they stop prior.

There isn't any gurgling, banging, spitting or fighting as far as I can tell. It sounds like the typical tea kettle comparison that many people use. I really wouldn't have thought much of it (and I don't think many people do) until I started this project. If the other 15 are silent, I sort of want them all to be!

Steamhead · March 10

Thanks for the update! This is similar to others we've gotten over the years.

For the hissing, check the packing nuts on the shutoff valves. These can leak enough to hiss. If the valve handles spin easily, try tightening the packing nuts. If you tighten them all the way and they still leak, repack them.

MikeC_3 · March 10

So are you saying the his comes from the valve end or that they draw air in and cause the vent to leak?

The vents are doing the actual hissing.

Captain Who · March 10

Can you discern, with an inspection mirror, if the hissing from the vent is air or steam? Was the boiler producing pressure when the hissing was occurring? Probably too warm for that outside now unless you crank the tstat up anyways.

ethicalpaul · March 10

I am unsure if the hissing only continues as long as the boiler is fired or if they stop prior.

This and other unknowns are key pieces of the puzzle

MikeC_3 · March 10

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1891244#Comment_1891244

As are knowns! You've been pretty wrong about everything so far, so feel free to take a stab.

MikeC_3 · March 10

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1891243#Comment_1891243

It'll have to wait until the upcoming cold spell. I'll report back.

The boiler was definitely producing pressure when it was occurring, I'm just not sure if the hissing ceased during or when it stopped.

mattmia2 · March 10

obviously for something to come out the the pressure inside has to be greater than the pressure outside. that doesn't tell anyone if that thing coming out is steam or air that is slowly coming out over the whole cycle.

ethicalpaul · March 11

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1891246#Comment_1891246

It sounds like you would prefer other opinions, so I'll leave them to it. Good luck.

New Gorton # 2 Main Vent Arrived - Installation Assistance Please

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