Thanks for the video, Gordon! We're professional engineers and NYC plumbers, and installed several hundred of these over the course of a year or two. They looked good, well made by an American company with a good history. Two-fifths of them failed in a year. They stopped venting. We cut one open and found that the bellows had dismounted from the top and fell onto the aperture. So we called Heat-timer. We wrote to Heat-timer. Never a response. We were out thousands of dollars and had dozens of angry customers. A great idea - like a mini-steam-trap. But there's a design flaw. And the company, like its product, fails its customers.
I have these on all my Radiators, they do spit out here and there but overall work. I did replace my 2 main air vents to Gorton No1s which did save money on the bill due to quicker heating.
Good on you for installing good main vents. And if the varivalves are working for you, that's great! If they start failing, I would recommend to consider Vent Rite#1s.
Unfortunately, I bought four of the Vari-valves during the last heating system. I also bought a 2" Groton main valve #5 that will not shut down. Continuous steam release. There's a dip at the end of that main and water collects there.
I found a copy of the Audels oil burner guide a few years ago I remember some of the information thanks for sharing. I have a two pipe system and have a Hoffman 75 installed on the steam separator two pipes vertically hung with a cast iron contraption on top and the main vent on top of the device, I think the main vent was replaced about every three years or so. I’m never thought about using anything else but you have a good point that Hoffman 75 isn’t the best thing. I have about 600 square feet of radiation around the building and I’m thinking about adding some more radiator’s to some cold area’s. I’m going to get a thermal video camera attachment for my phone and start looking at the steam to find out where it works and where it goes wrong. There’s no shortage of work as a homeowner, but thanks to you it’s been very easy to understand how to troubleshoot the steam heating system. Not everything is the same in two pipe steam but there’s enough similarities to keep it interesting.
I have two steam traps at the end of the mains I thought it was weird that they were uphill from the mains to the dry returns and I changed the nipples to make them downhill But I was corrected by an old timer who said that there was no steam left by the time the steam trap was reached the end only air so it wasn’t necessary to install longer nipples. I did remove two large radiator style steam vents from the top of the wet return pipes at the end of the mains they seemed out of place and not in keeping with the rest of the system. I can send you a link to a video I’m thinking about making since my skills at descriptions are inadequate.
Thank you very much for the kind words! It took me a bit too long to realize that if someone is putting a Varivalve on a radiator, it works because it's treating the symptom and not the underlying problem. In the meantime, the customer is having to put up with the notorious V.V. spitting and early failure rates. On the plus side, they add good weight to the scrap bucket! Thanks again & happy quiet steaming.
I used on a radiator on the end of a main that I couldn't get to heat. I had a Gorton No2 vent after the take off for that radiator and had all the other radiators working perfectly. I suspect that the boiler may be slightly undersized. That vent finally got that radiator to heat.
You bring up a good point about an undersized (or underfired) boiler causing otherwise properly vented radiators not to heat properly. "If you put a big vent on a radiator (and have proper main vents on the pipes), and it still doesn't heat properly, it ain't a venting problem"
@@gordonschweizer5154 maybe next time she calls me to service her boiler, I'll bring a manometer with me and see how much I can upfire her boiler. It is a newer weil mclain, about 7 years old.
I use one of these. It's on a W.W Carman's radiator from the 1880s. It's bigger than a small boiler, and most vents are too small to get even 1/4 of the air out of it during a cycle, even with main vents properly sized. The Varivalve does work for it, with the additional benefit of fitting properly under the top cover due to the short height. No spitting because the vent is about 3 feet or more up off the ground. I would never use one on anything smaller but for such a massive radiator it or the Gorton D are the only vents available beyond putting an elbow and small main vent on the radiator.
Thanks for your comments & observations! I think what the Dead Men used to do is drill & tap the larger radiators that were hard to heat in two places to install vents. The steam would reach one first & shut it down after a lot of the air was gone, and the other vent would continue to allow the air to be expelled, but at a slower rate to reduce the likelyhood of spitting & gurgling. This all supposes that there was also massive main venting, of course.
I have seen that in Audel's Oil Burner Guide. On this radiator because of its rarity I don't dare go anywhere near it with a drill. On something common like a thin tube or similar I would maybe try that, or a manifold that holds two vents. In this case, this seems to be the only radiator that works well with a Varivalve. It has the right combination of almost comically large size, super high vent location, and on the end of a very long steam main. Even with a Gorton D it doesn't heat up fully with the boiler running for hours. Wonder how it was supposed to work in the 1880s, when I can assume vents had nowhere near the venting rate they do today? I suppose with coal you could wait hours for the thing to heat up. It weighs around 350-400 pounds, maybe more, with wrought iron tubes, steel? inner tubes, and a cast iron base. Believe me moving the thing to repaint it was difficult, even on linoleum where it could slide. It had to be stripped and repainted right in the kitchen where it is, moving it somewhere else would have been nearly impossible.
I have these valves and I appreciate how much you know about them. I googled your video because my upstairs gets much hotter than my downstairs, though I have actual radiators upstairs and downstairs they are baseboard heating. And the thermostat is downstairs. So it takes much longer to heat up the downstairs and it makes the upstairs very hot. So I’m wanting to learn how to use the valves to make the upstairs radiators not as hot. But after watching the video, I realize there’s so much about the technology. I don’t understand. Tilting, bleeding… I don’t even know what the valve function is. Is it to let steam out? To let air out? You mentioned that you can turn off the radiator entirely by closing the valve. Wouldn’t I have to turn the other knob on the other side that keeps the steam from going in to the radiator in the first place to do that?
Part of the problem you may be having is the baseboard heating. I assume it is cast iron BB, at least (if it copper fin tube... not good at all) Cast iron BB has issues when used with steam heat. One issue is that it might not be the same output as the free-standing radiators it replaced. For now, I would remove the varivalves and install Vent Rite #1adjustables for better control of the steam entering your upstairs radiators. The vent is for releasing the air from the radiator. Where there is air, there cannot be steam. If you slow the air being released from the radiator, the slower it will get hot. Also, make sure you have good large vents such as the Gorton #2 on your steam mains in the basement.
There are a few older Audel books covering various steam boiler systems, the newer ones mentioning steam (less than 50 years old) are all reprints. I am wishing you success with your new Vent Rites!
I was working on Park Ave in Manhattan back in '93. We had to cape a fitting. The problem was no one told me it was a $400,000.00 painting I took off wall and tossed on bed. What a nightmare, had to share that one.
I installed 3 of these on 2nd floor radiators with the vents wide open....radiators remained stone cold....replaced with Gorton C's and all radiators came back to life.
I've heard that the Varivalve line suffered a really bad run recently and you must have been caught up in that. Hope you got your money back. As to your needing Gorton C to get your radiator hot, have you looked into improving your main steam venting? By venting your mains properly with large vents, the radiators can be vented with smaller vents. In general, smaller, slower radiator vents last longer due to not as much rust & stuff being sent through the vent orifice. Also, radiators tend to heat up with less spitting and sloshing in most cases (also a general case... you yourself might be just fine). It is easier to balance a system with good main venting as you can dial in the venting on the radiators when most of the air in the system is dealt with in the basement. Stay warm!
@@gordonschweizer5154 thanks for the reply....truth be told I probably don't need C's upstairs but I was so tired of freezing I wanted to see how much heat I could get up there. Thanks for the tip on the main vent...I'll have a look at that guy, he's pretty old and might be clogged with hard water deposits.
Ok wound up installing a number 6 instead of the Varivalve. Now the radiator heats up nicely with the added benefit that the system is suddenly quiet...no more banging on the second floor. Time to re-visit those other V-Vs! Very thankful for your vid!
Hi, thanks a lot for your videos. I'm looking to replace the vent valves on all my radiators and was looking for your opinion based on your experience. I see options from Varivalve to Gorton to Ventrite#1. Which would you recommend as for 2024? I watched your ventrite video. Is it still the best one in your opinion? Thanks for your input!
@@themacavelly You are most welcome for the kind words! Yes, the Vent Rite #1 is my go-to vent in most cases. I would not put a Vent-Rite on the radiator in the room with the thermostat. That radiator should get a fixed vent so it becomes the index for the system. Which fixed vent? Hard to say, but I usually start with a Hoffman #40. Balancing a steam system is often a process of trial & error. Please do make sure your steam mains are insulated and fully vented by themselves. I would recommend a Gorton #2 on the longest main.
@@ChrisRubeo How is the "out" pipe hooked up? Is there a way for steam to get at the baseboard from both directions (that would be bad). Generally, you want to vent even perfectly piped baseboard s l o w l y, or you may risk a spitting vent &/or water hammer. A Gorton #4 is a slow vent.
@ it was a very early remodel to a 1935 house. All the other radiators are one pipe, steam radiators, but in one room, the living room, there’s a 12 foot long cast-iron baseboard radiator. A one inch pipe comes in at the base of the radiator on one end and a 1 inch pipe goes out at the other end. For years I’ve also had a, varvent above the exit pipe and it has not had a steam trap. But it seems like this radiator takes a long time to get hot so maybe I need to install a steam trap at the return pipe. Is there something I should put in place of the little varvent.?
The problem with cast-iron baseboard is that it was really designed for hot water heating and not steam. Cast iron BB promises much, cost a fair amount, and delivers not nearly enough for the trouble. If you read the literature from at least one manufacturer, they say (in fine print) that cast iron BB is not to be used in lengths over 10 feet for steam. You are lucky, in that someone installed an outlet for the water, but you must make sure that that pipe ties into a return BELOW THE WATER LINE! That is needed to seal that end from steam backing up that return (no radiator trap is needed then.) Next, I would scrap the Varivalve. It is over-priced junk. Next, I would install a high capacity vent, maybe a Gorton #6 or more, on the INLET side of your BB. That should bring steam up to that point quickly, by getting rid of the air there. Then, you can experiment with various smaller vent sizes at the far end in place of that Varivalve. It might be difficult, but if you can get the BB to pitch, even just ever so slightly toward the return end, that will help some. This all presupposes that you have vented your steam mains in the basement with Gorton #2s or at least Gorton #1s and that those pipes are well insulated.
@@gordonschweizer5154 Thank you so much for the help! I'm going to email you, now. I'm in New York right now at my 89-year-old mother's house and we're trying to figure out the situation with the heat so she can be more comfortable. I'd like to, if possible, hire you for a video phone consult. Maybe you can just look over our system and give us a few pointers. When we first moved in 40 years ago the third floor was an oven, but I got those special dial regulator things for the vent holes, and that seems to have helped, but a solid once over from a real professional would be awesome.
Most of the steam I see was installed a 100 years ago originally, coal fired 500kbtuh stuff. I see a lot of vents that should have failed, but did not. Buckets, F&T, TP’s at radiators, gravity boxes, ya know. But buy a half dozen of these gems and your still a couple dozen short.
I'd stick with the Gortons. That line in Heat-Timer's sales literature that Varivalves last longer that bimetalic type vents is a load of male bovine fecal matter.
Great video! Watched a bunch of your others too, thanks! I have a Gorton # 1 on my main. It takes 2 to 4 minutes of releasing steam before it shuts off. Is that normal? It seems 10-30 seconds should be enough. 1 year old small (100k BTU) Weil-McClain. Could surge be affecting my Gorton? (I have always used Hercules boiler liquid). PSEG wants me to fill it to 3/4 (I think the lower the better as it's steam I want). It has to be refilled more often than my old peerless. BTW, I replaced the Gorton #1 with a new one and it is doing the same thing (may be from same lot as both were given to me by 1 year ago by PSEG). BTW, I have all (working) varivalves on my radiators which I will be replacing after this.
Thank You! As to your issue with the Gorton #1, it appears from reports by others that they are going through a rough patch as far as quality control is concerned, sad to say. But you might be having wet steam issues, as you suspect. 3/4 is too high. I would try to run your boiler water level at about mid gauge. I believe that is close to what the manufacturer calls out for. Check to make sure your pressure control is set to the lowest possible setting & the pigtail is clear. Is the near boiler piping correct? All the Hercules boiler liquid in the world will not overcome bad piping.
@@gordonschweizer5154 UPDATE: I installed both my Gorton #1's and both were letting out so much steam the water levels dropped like crazy and I'd have to refill. I went and bought a third and installed. This new one barely vents but at least I'm not losing water. Meanwhile, I returned the first two to Gorton and they quickly sent me two replacements in exchange. Will try one later today to see if I can get goldilocks "just right". Also, I got PSEG to give me a new Pressuretrol. I installed a 3 psi gauge next to it for a more accurate reading and it cuts off at 2 1/2 psi and then back on at 1 psi (settings are at the lowest at .5 with 1 differential). The old-brand-new one wouldn't cut off lower than about 4 psi. So much for getting it to run at 1 1/2 psi. Not happening so I'm going to have to live with this. The piping and the Hercules had nothing to do with all this. Thank you!
@@hymnistic Thank you very much for the detailed update. Inaccurate pressuretrol issues have been around for a long time sad to say. You've got the grey box one or the clear plastic front one?
@@hymnistic The grey box or PA404A is "tweakable" to be more accurate, but it is hard to show that on TH-cam. You have to search a bit to find info on that. As to your failing Gortons, I don't know what to say, except I'm crestfallen to hear of your (and many others') problems that that heretofore excellent brand is suffering.
I replaced all my vents with vari vents. My steam heating system never worked better. No banging or spitting of gorton valves. So I will stick with vari vents...one radiator has had a vari vent on it for 20 plus years works great
@@TheScottmittel I have used Big Mouths as main vents in certain very limited applications - namely as the only vent on the dry return terminus in low pressure vapor systems. And piped to be near a sump pump. In that application, the B/M will only be exposed to steam if something else upstream fails. If the system floods, B/M will dump lots of water into the basement. I am sorry to say I do not trust the longevity of the B/M vent over the average Gorton #2 vent for constant steam exposure cycles mainly due to the o ring seal.
Thanks for the video, Gordon! We're professional engineers and NYC plumbers, and installed several hundred of these over the course of a year or two. They looked good, well made by an American company with a good history. Two-fifths of them failed in a year. They stopped venting. We cut one open and found that the bellows had dismounted from the top and fell onto the aperture.
So we called Heat-timer. We wrote to Heat-timer. Never a response. We were out thousands of dollars and had dozens of angry customers.
A great idea - like a mini-steam-trap. But there's a design flaw. And the company, like its product, fails its customers.
I am sorry that Heat-Timer did not step up and take care of you.
Sad, indeed.
What pressure do you run the boilers?
Excellent explanation. I never liked Varivents and now I know why😖. Thanks for digging into something we all should of done. Stay well
I have these on all my Radiators, they do spit out here and there but overall work. I did replace my 2 main air vents to Gorton No1s which did save money on the bill due to quicker heating.
Good on you for installing good main vents.
And if the varivalves are working for you, that's great!
If they start failing, I would recommend to consider Vent Rite#1s.
thank you for the book recommendation! just ordered on ebay.
Unfortunately, I bought four of the Vari-valves during the last heating system. I also bought a 2" Groton main valve #5 that will not shut down. Continuous steam release. There's a dip at the end of that main and water collects there.
Sorry to hear you had Gortons that failed open out of the box. That sucks. Did you get them replaced?
Thanks!
@@ChrisRubeo A pleasure talking with you!
I found a copy of the Audels oil burner guide a few years ago I remember some of the information thanks for sharing.
I have a two pipe system and have a Hoffman 75 installed on the steam separator two pipes vertically hung with a cast iron contraption on top and the main vent on top of the device, I think the main vent was replaced about every three years or so. I’m never thought about using anything else but you have a good point that Hoffman 75 isn’t the best thing.
I have about 600 square feet of radiation around the building and I’m thinking about adding some more radiator’s to some cold area’s.
I’m going to get a thermal video camera attachment for my phone and start looking at the steam to find out where it works and where it goes wrong. There’s no shortage of work as a homeowner, but thanks to you it’s been very easy to understand how to troubleshoot the steam heating system. Not everything is the same in two pipe steam but there’s enough similarities to keep it interesting.
I thank you for your comments!
You might have some "cross-over" steam traps on your system at the ends of your mains?
I have two steam traps at the end of the mains I thought it was weird that they were uphill from the mains to the dry returns and I changed the nipples to make them downhill But I was corrected by an old timer who said that there was no steam left by the time the steam trap was reached the end only air so it wasn’t necessary to install longer nipples.
I did remove two large radiator style steam vents from the top of the wet return pipes at the end of the mains they seemed out of place and not in keeping with the rest of the system.
I can send you a link to a video I’m thinking about making since my skills at descriptions are inadequate.
@@davidlampe4153 Thanks for your description!
I didn't get notice of you posting here & found it by accident.
Thank you for sharing this great info. Helped put a couple concepts into perspective. Esp "toy vents" and "heavy breathing"/ vaccuum.
Thank you very much for the kind words!
It took me a bit too long to realize that if someone is putting a Varivalve on a radiator, it works because it's treating the symptom and not the underlying problem.
In the meantime, the customer is having to put up with the notorious V.V. spitting and early failure rates.
On the plus side, they add good weight to the scrap bucket!
Thanks again & happy quiet steaming.
I used on a radiator on the end of a main that I couldn't get to heat. I had a Gorton No2 vent after the take off for that radiator and had all the other radiators working perfectly. I suspect that the boiler may be slightly undersized. That vent finally got that radiator to heat.
You bring up a good point about an undersized (or underfired) boiler causing otherwise properly vented radiators not to heat properly.
"If you put a big vent on a radiator (and have proper main vents on the pipes), and it still doesn't heat properly, it ain't a venting problem"
@@gordonschweizer5154 maybe next time she calls me to service her boiler, I'll bring a manometer with me and see how much I can upfire her boiler. It is a newer weil mclain, about 7 years old.
Love steam heating videos. They're Gems
Thank you!
I use one of these. It's on a W.W Carman's radiator from the 1880s. It's bigger than a small boiler, and most vents are too small to get even 1/4 of the air out of it during a cycle, even with main vents properly sized. The Varivalve does work for it, with the additional benefit of fitting properly under the top cover due to the short height. No spitting because the vent is about 3 feet or more up off the ground. I would never use one on anything smaller but for such a massive radiator it or the Gorton D are the only vents available beyond putting an elbow and small main vent on the radiator.
Thanks for your comments & observations!
I think what the Dead Men used to do is drill & tap the larger radiators that were hard to heat in two places to install vents. The steam would reach one first & shut it down after a lot of the air was gone, and the other vent would continue to allow the air to be expelled, but at a slower rate to reduce the likelyhood of spitting & gurgling.
This all supposes that there was also massive main venting, of course.
I have seen that in Audel's Oil Burner Guide. On this radiator because of its rarity I don't dare go anywhere near it with a drill. On something common like a thin tube or similar I would maybe try that, or a manifold that holds two vents. In this case, this seems to be the only radiator that works well with a Varivalve. It has the right combination of almost comically large size, super high vent location, and on the end of a very long steam main. Even with a Gorton D it doesn't heat up fully with the boiler running for hours. Wonder how it was supposed to work in the 1880s, when I can assume vents had nowhere near the venting rate they do today? I suppose with coal you could wait hours for the thing to heat up. It weighs around 350-400 pounds, maybe more, with wrought iron tubes, steel? inner tubes, and a cast iron base. Believe me moving the thing to repaint it was difficult, even on linoleum where it could slide. It had to be stripped and repainted right in the kitchen where it is, moving it somewhere else would have been nearly impossible.
I have these valves and I appreciate how much you know about them. I googled your video because my upstairs gets much hotter than my downstairs, though I have actual radiators upstairs and downstairs they are baseboard heating. And the thermostat is downstairs. So it takes much longer to heat up the downstairs and it makes the upstairs very hot. So I’m wanting to learn how to use the valves to make the upstairs radiators not as hot. But after watching the video, I realize there’s so much about the technology. I don’t understand. Tilting, bleeding… I don’t even know what the valve function is. Is it to let steam out? To let air out? You mentioned that you can turn off the radiator entirely by closing the valve. Wouldn’t I have to turn the other knob on the other side that keeps the steam from going in to the radiator in the first place to do that?
Part of the problem you may be having is the baseboard heating.
I assume it is cast iron BB, at least (if it copper fin tube... not good at all)
Cast iron BB has issues when used with steam heat.
One issue is that it might not be the same output as the free-standing radiators it replaced.
For now, I would remove the varivalves and install Vent Rite #1adjustables for better control of the steam entering your upstairs radiators.
The vent is for releasing the air from the radiator.
Where there is air, there cannot be steam.
If you slow the air being released from the radiator, the slower it will get hot.
Also, make sure you have good large vents such as the Gorton #2 on your steam mains in the basement.
Cool book now …. Is there an Audel book on steam boilers? Thank you for recommending vent rite vents …. I bought for my radiators .
There are a few older Audel books covering various steam boiler systems, the newer ones mentioning steam (less than 50 years old) are all reprints.
I am wishing you success with your new Vent Rites!
I was working on Park Ave in Manhattan back in '93. We had to cape a fitting. The problem was no one told me it was a $400,000.00 painting I took off wall and tossed on bed. What a nightmare, had to share that one.
Oh! my! gosh!
Was there an insurance claim?
I would guess certainly harsh words were said, at the very least.
I was told the oils on my fingers depreciated the value of the frame. Co. took care of it. I learned a very valuable lesson.
I installed 3 of these on 2nd floor radiators with the vents wide open....radiators remained stone cold....replaced with Gorton C's and all radiators came back to life.
I've heard that the Varivalve line suffered a really bad run recently and you must have been caught up in that.
Hope you got your money back.
As to your needing Gorton C to get your radiator hot, have you looked into improving your main steam venting?
By venting your mains properly with large vents, the radiators can be vented with smaller vents.
In general, smaller, slower radiator vents last longer due to not as much rust & stuff being sent through the vent orifice. Also, radiators tend to heat up with less spitting and sloshing in most cases (also a general case... you yourself might be just fine).
It is easier to balance a system with good main venting as you can dial in the venting on the radiators when most of the air in the system is dealt with in the basement.
Stay warm!
@@gordonschweizer5154 thanks for the reply....truth be told I probably don't need C's upstairs but I was so tired of freezing I wanted to see how much heat I could get up there. Thanks for the tip on the main vent...I'll have a look at that guy, he's pretty old and might be clogged with hard water deposits.
Ok wound up installing a number 6 instead of the Varivalve. Now the radiator heats up nicely with the added benefit that the system is suddenly quiet...no more banging on the second floor. Time to re-visit those other V-Vs! Very thankful for your vid!
Hi, thanks a lot for your videos. I'm looking to replace the vent valves on all my radiators and was looking for your opinion based on your experience. I see options from Varivalve to Gorton to Ventrite#1. Which would you recommend as for 2024? I watched your ventrite video. Is it still the best one in your opinion? Thanks for your input!
@@themacavelly You are most welcome for the kind words!
Yes, the Vent Rite #1 is my go-to vent in most cases.
I would not put a Vent-Rite on the radiator in the room with the thermostat.
That radiator should get a fixed vent so it becomes the index for the system.
Which fixed vent?
Hard to say, but I usually start with a Hoffman #40.
Balancing a steam system is often a process of trial & error.
Please do make sure your steam mains are insulated and fully vented by themselves.
I would recommend a Gorton #2 on the longest main.
Great info, wishing I could hit like multiple times!
Very kind of you to say!
What's the best vent for steam baseboard? (It's got a pipe in and a pipe out, of course) - the rest of the house is one pipe standard steam radiators
@@ChrisRubeo How is the "out" pipe hooked up?
Is there a way for steam to get at the baseboard from both directions (that would be bad).
Generally, you want to vent even perfectly piped baseboard s l o w l y, or you may risk a spitting vent &/or water hammer.
A Gorton #4 is a slow vent.
@ it was a very early remodel to a 1935 house. All the other radiators are one pipe, steam radiators, but in one room, the living room, there’s a 12 foot long cast-iron baseboard radiator. A one inch pipe comes in at the base of the radiator on one end and a 1 inch pipe goes out at the other end. For years I’ve also had a, varvent above the exit pipe and it has not had a steam trap. But it seems like this radiator takes a long time to get hot so maybe I need to install a steam trap at the return pipe. Is there something I should put in place of the little varvent.?
The problem with cast-iron baseboard is that it was really designed for hot water heating and not steam.
Cast iron BB promises much, cost a fair amount, and delivers not nearly enough for the trouble.
If you read the literature from at least one manufacturer, they say (in fine print) that cast iron BB is not to be used in lengths over 10 feet for steam.
You are lucky, in that someone installed an outlet for the water, but you must make sure that that pipe ties into a return BELOW THE WATER LINE!
That is needed to seal that end from steam backing up that return (no radiator trap is needed then.)
Next, I would scrap the Varivalve.
It is over-priced junk.
Next, I would install a high capacity vent, maybe a Gorton #6 or more, on the INLET side of your BB.
That should bring steam up to that point quickly, by getting rid of the air there.
Then, you can experiment with various smaller vent sizes at the far end in place of that Varivalve.
It might be difficult, but if you can get the BB to pitch, even just ever so slightly toward the return end, that will help some.
This all presupposes that you have vented your steam mains in the basement with Gorton #2s or at least Gorton #1s and that those pipes are well insulated.
@@gordonschweizer5154 Thank you so much for the help! I'm going to email you, now. I'm in New York right now at my 89-year-old mother's house and we're trying to figure out the situation with the heat so she can be more comfortable. I'd like to, if possible, hire you for a video phone consult. Maybe you can just look over our system and give us a few pointers. When we first moved in 40 years ago the third floor was an oven, but I got those special dial regulator things for the vent holes, and that seems to have helped, but a solid once over from a real professional would be awesome.
@@gordonschweizer5154 I sent you an email. Thanks.
I’m getting water on the floor is it possible or probable that vent is faulty or could I have it open too much. Thank you
Indeed yes.
Most of the steam I see was installed a 100 years ago originally, coal fired 500kbtuh stuff. I see a lot of vents that should have failed, but did not. Buckets, F&T, TP’s at radiators, gravity boxes, ya know.
But buy a half dozen of these gems and your still a couple dozen short.
I take it, then, that you are also not enamored of the Varivalve vent?
@@gordonschweizer5154
Correct Sir!
The DIY’s love em cause they’re cheap, but nothing good is 1/3 the cost of a reliable component.
Would you use a vent like this for master venting a riser pipe. I have used Gorton #2 at the top of my risers.
I'd stick with the Gortons.
That line in Heat-Timer's sales literature that Varivalves last longer that bimetalic type vents is a load of male bovine fecal matter.
Great video! Watched a bunch of your others too, thanks! I have a Gorton # 1 on my main. It takes 2 to 4 minutes of releasing steam before it shuts off. Is that normal? It seems 10-30 seconds should be enough. 1 year old small (100k BTU) Weil-McClain. Could surge be affecting my Gorton? (I have always used Hercules boiler liquid). PSEG wants me to fill it to 3/4 (I think the lower the better as it's steam I want). It has to be refilled more often than my old peerless. BTW, I replaced the Gorton #1 with a new one and it is doing the same thing (may be from same lot as both were given to me by 1 year ago by PSEG).
BTW, I have all (working) varivalves on my radiators which I will be replacing after this.
Thank You!
As to your issue with the Gorton #1, it appears from reports by others that they are going through a rough patch as far as quality control is concerned, sad to say.
But you might be having wet steam issues, as you suspect.
3/4 is too high.
I would try to run your boiler water level at about mid gauge.
I believe that is close to what the manufacturer calls out for.
Check to make sure your pressure control is set to the lowest possible setting & the pigtail is clear.
Is the near boiler piping correct?
All the Hercules boiler liquid in the world will not overcome bad piping.
@@gordonschweizer5154 UPDATE: I installed both my Gorton #1's and both were letting out so much steam the water levels dropped like crazy and I'd have to refill. I went and bought a third and installed. This new one barely vents but at least I'm not losing water. Meanwhile, I returned the first two to Gorton and they quickly sent me two replacements in exchange. Will try one later today to see if I can get goldilocks "just right". Also, I got PSEG to give me a new Pressuretrol. I installed a 3 psi gauge next to it for a more accurate reading and it cuts off at 2 1/2 psi and then back on at 1 psi (settings are at the lowest at .5 with 1 differential). The old-brand-new one wouldn't cut off lower than about 4 psi. So much for getting it to run at 1 1/2 psi. Not happening so I'm going to have to live with this. The piping and the Hercules had nothing to do with all this. Thank you!
@@hymnistic Thank you very much for the detailed update.
Inaccurate pressuretrol issues have been around for a long time sad to say.
You've got the grey box one or the clear plastic front one?
@@gordonschweizer5154 Grey box
@@hymnistic The grey box or PA404A is "tweakable" to be more accurate, but it is hard to show that on TH-cam.
You have to search a bit to find info on that.
As to your failing Gortons, I don't know what to say, except I'm crestfallen to hear of your (and many others') problems that that heretofore excellent brand is suffering.
Hello, a lot of smoke is coming out of my valve. I tried opening and closing but still not working. Please help
Smoke or steam?
It seems at least the vent has failed.
It should be replaced with something other than a Varivalve.
Can someone tell me which valves are the best. I had quite a few included varivalve fail on me.
@@Taras-Nabad All steam radiator vents have issues to a greater or lesser degree
Currently, our "go to" adjustable steam vent is the Vent Rite #1.
I replaced all my vents with vari vents. My steam heating system never worked better. No banging or spitting of gorton valves. So I will stick with vari vents...one radiator has had a vari vent on it for 20 plus years works great
I glad you lucked into a good batch.
May I ask, what pressure do you run your system at?
Do you have good main venting such as a Gorton #2?
@Gordon Schweizer do you use b&j big mouth main vents? They are 50% faster than gorton#2.
@@TheScottmittel I have used Big Mouths as main vents in certain very limited applications - namely as the only vent on the dry return terminus in low pressure vapor systems.
And piped to be near a sump pump.
In that application, the B/M will only be exposed to steam if something else upstream fails.
If the system floods, B/M will dump lots of water into the basement.
I am sorry to say I do not trust the longevity of the B/M vent over the average Gorton #2 vent for constant steam exposure cycles mainly due to the o ring seal.