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PRV Maintenance / Gunk / Failure

Unknown
Unknown
in THE MAIN WALL
How have you been buddy ? Maybe air was trapped in the 3/4 nipple leading the the relief valve , throwing some rust into the valve itself ? I personally don't do this but popping the relief to get the air out after an install might be a good idea . Sometimes we use a 10 inch nipple . Plenty of room for air to be trapped to eat away some steel .

Comments

  • Constantin
    Constantin Member Posts: 3,796
    Back again...

    Earlier this week I had the pleasure of meeting gasfolk up here in Cambridge. While in the boiler room, I noted that the Pressure Reducing Valve (PRV) had started to leak a little. The pressure on the system was well below the 30psi setpoint... and I double-checked that the expansion tank was good re: air and pressure thereof.

    So, off I went to repair the thing, made all the more fun by the drain tubing for the PRV being arranged such that there was no way to unscrew the PRV unless I cut off the attached drain tube first. I figured this was a good opportunity to invest in a sharkbite fitting, which would allow me the next time to take the assembly apart bit by bit instead of cutting it to pieces.

    However, what surprised me was the failure of the PRV itself. It's only 4 years old, the water here is pretty clean and was treated with Rhomars secret juices. Yet, something gunked up as you can see in the attached photos. It may have accumulated before the cleaning (which happened about a year after the boiler was installed)... these may be leftover oils from the manufacturing process that have had 4 years to solidify. Plus, if the PRV wasn't tripped during cleaning, then that sector would have been left untreated.

    Anyway, what do you think? Is a 4-year life on a PRV normal? Should I perhaps switch to a copper/brass nipple between the cast-iron triple header and the PRV in case a metal mismatch may have contributed to the leakage of the PRV?

    Also, are there marked differences in PRV quality among brands? The one on the boiler was a Conbraco, the current one is a Watts. All the best to you all and have a great Thanksgiving week. Cheers!
  • Constantin
    Constantin Member Posts: 3,796
    Hi Ron,

    Busy as all heck... the number of rulemakings I am working on keeps increasing... Thus, there are lots of manufacturers that want to talk to us, I get to see a lot of plants all over North America, keep developing cost models that need developing, and, oh yeah, there's Sundari!

    I can't complain though. Being busy is not a bad thing and I managed to take my one big holiday this year and introduce Sundari to her grandpa, grand-aunt, etc. That was really fun, especially since she recognized them in 'real life' after having only seen / interacted with them via Skype. Free videoconferencing software is a really neat tool for family to keep in touch...

    Anyway, I took another look at the old PRV and noted that it had bits of the old nipple still in it (though in rust form) with further bits and bobs of rust on the rubber seal inside the PRV. I'd almost bet that a bit of rust killer would make the old PRV as good as new... so when I find myself with too much time on my hands, I may replace the new iron/steel nipple holding the replacement PRV.

    I saw that you guys are still busy changing plants out. Hope that more homeowners get the benefit of your one-day, plumb, and happy installs. Cheers.
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