That "CLICK" coming from valves

SteamNovce

Hello,

couple quick questions on air valves...

One of my steam(baseboard) radiators makes a click sound coming from what I think it the air valve..seems to be at the end of the heating cycle..is this normal? I notice my other ones don't do this.



Also,

I bought a couple of maid o mist valves, the guy behind the counter told me #5's were fine..I looked at their website and the diagram recommends #4's...any adverse affects with using number 5's instead of 4's..could it make the radiator make noise..like click, clack...ive had enough of that.



Thoughts?

I

jpf321

unfortunately....

neither the guy behind the counter nor the diagram on the website are correct, and I know you don't believe be b/c the diagram is from the manufacturer, how could it be wrong.



radiators should be vented based on size, rather than location. it should make sense to you that a larger radiator will contain more air than a smaller one regardless of where it is located. have a look at my post here: http://www.heatinghelp.com/forum-thread/129085/Uneven-Heating#p1184396



have a look at the article here: http://www.heatinghelp.com/files/articles/1315/123.pdf



tell us what the specific vents were that you are replacing. tell us the specific vent brand/model that is clicking. post pictures of your rads and if you like, your boiler, boiler controls and near boiler piping.



visit us wallies often and you will learn a great deal

SteamNovce

RE: That "CLICK" coming from valves

thanks for the reply!

It actually makes a lot of sense what you said in rgds to the size of the radiators.

So here's a quick breakdown...when I bought this house 3 years ago it had those large cast iron radiators, most of which were in really awkward places.

I went ahead and removed them and put in baseboard radiators(left the 1pipe steam) just replaced the radiators with the baseboard. So basically, there's a radiator maybe about 12ft long in one of the bedrooms and I notice that if the heat is off for a bit and the radiator gets cold when it starts to heat up it'll (the radiator itself..make like a ping ping noise and then the valve will go "click"..a while back this perticular radiator would bang like crazy...I found that lifting the valve side a bit remedied this for the most part. The valve on there now is not a name brand, its just a basic tube looking one with an adjustable screw at the top(not circle valve like the maid of mist)

I'm guessing I should put a 4 maid o mist given the size(and distance to the boiler)? The guy who's a pretty knowledgeable plumber said that a 5 is just as good...based on the size of the radiator...what do you think?

jpf321

please provide...

please provide specifics about the baseboard(s)...brand/model, if you put them in not too long ago, you should have this info... what size is the inlet pipe (supply pipe) on the radiator? 1/2", 3/4", 1"?



Here is an example of burnham baseboards: http://www.burnham.com/products/baseboard-radiators/baseray



Here is an example of slantFin baseboards: http://www.slantfin.com/product-baseboard.html



Here is an off-wall article about baseboards with steam: http://www.heatinghelp.com/article/11/Hot-Tech-Tips/162/Fin-tube-Radiation-for-Steam-Heating



Here is a quote from Dan Holoran:

http://www.masterplumbers.com/plumbviews/2002/BasicSteam3.asp

Baseboard over three feet

long has no place in a one-pipe steam system. In most cases, you can

never get the pitch or size you need to keep the air vent from spitting

water up at the ceiling. If you must use baseboard, connect it with two

pipes, vent the outlet side, and drip the return pipe immediately into a

wet return. Do not use a steam trap; just drip it into a wet return.

Pitch the baseboard run toward the return as much as you can.

Paul Fredricks_3

?

Is this a hot water loop off a steam boiler? And the pinging is just expansion because the little plastic slide pieces for the fin tube are not in the right spots?



That's my take on it at least.

SteamNovce

RE: That "CLICK" coming from valves

JPF321,

I want to say the pipe is 3/4 or 1", def not 1/2..I'll have to confirm though, and the baseboard is actually slantfin.



Paul,

Where are these plastic pieces you're referring to?

For a second I thought you meant the actual fins around the length of the pipe, these aren't them, correct? 

Paul Fredricks_3

ok

Inside the baseboard radiator there are brackets. They fit into the section that is nailed to the wall. The front trim plate attaches to the brackets. And the finned tubing sits on top of these brackets. Depending on the brand of baseboard you have, there is usually a plastic piece, about 2" square, that snaps onto the bottom of the baseboard and helps it to slide smoothly across the bracket as the fin tube expands when it gets hot. Some times the plastic piece is there, but it's not between the bracket and the fin tube. On some baseboard there is a thin strip of plastic on the 4 corners of the fin tube, though I have found this type to be less effective for friction reduction.



If neither of these exist, the you should try and put something between the fin tube and the bracket. I've had success with shirt cardboard, or I guess you could use a 2 x 2 piece of a milk container. The pinging you hear may be the fins dragging across the brackets as  the pipe heats.

jpf321

slantfin baseboards

currently, slantfin only makes one product line of baseboards spec'd for steam heat:

MultiPak 80 .. and within that product line, there are only 2 models spec'd for steam .. see chart here:

http://www.slantfin.com/documents/677.pdf



Now .. the chart above states that 1ft of the copper is 1130 BTUH which is = to about 5sq ft EDR/linear ft. the steel is 990 BTUH which is = to about 4 sqft EDR/linear ft.