Swing Gate or Spring Check valve?

ScubaSteve65

First ever post!

3 zone circulating hot water. Zone1 Indirect fired domestic hot water, Zone2 upstairs cast iron baseboard, Zone3 ground floor runtal wall hung panels.

1 x  taco010, 3 x taco007 (non IFC). Plumber installed 3 swing gates in a vertical position. Zone 2 rattles like crazy. Can I open that swing gate and adjust something?or can I remove the flapper? (if I can, will heat creep up the pipe? or should I even care during the heating season?) OR should I install a spring check (there are isolation valves on either side of circ pump and swing gate). Part of the problem is that he installed the swing gate vertically AND it's only a 2-1/2" nipple away from the circ pump causing turbulence. Thanks in advance for your help, Stephen.

ps. It's a really tight tolerance so I either need a spring check with same dimensions or darn close and to make sure the circ pumps fits back in. And I assume I'll need new gaskets for the circ p[ump?

Jean-David Beyer

check valve choice

Why not use real flow-check valves? They tend to be bigger, at least mine are, but that is what they are designed to do: prevent reverse flow, and prevent gravity flow too. You may have to make room for them. Should have been in there from the beginning.



My piping is such that I needed only one Flow-Check valve. I have three zones operated by circulators with Integrated Flow Checks in them. These are really spring type check valves, but due to the geometry of my near-boiler piping, there are thermal traps that eliminate the need for true Flow-Checks.

ScubaSteve65

Don't have IFC's

He installed a real flowcheck on the domestic hot water loop. I don't have IFC circulator pumps. I wish I did at this moment. I'm trying to avoid a big project for now. Do you (or anyone) have an opinion on isolating the swing gate, opening it up and is it possible/advisable to something with the gate till the heating season is over?

World Plumber

Threaded

      Are the swing checks threaded or soldered. Some of the sweat flow checks are not much bigger than a swing check.

    Are you saying you can isolate the swing check with the isolation valves? Some of the valves can be opened to clean and service them. Depends on the valve. Some you can leave the flapper out. Do you have a valve you can take apart before you get into the system?



 Best bet if you decide to replace them is the flow check. A couple dollar saved with check valves in place of flow check = headaches and many more $'s to repair.

ScubaSteve65

yes, threaded

Swing checks are threaded. Here's the threaded setup in oder(vertical stack bottom to top w/ water flowing up) - Ball valve/2.5nipple/Taco007/2.5nipple/swing check/2.5 nipple/Ball Valve.

The swing check has a cap and a bolt on the side. Can I take the innards out w/o having to start disassembling everything else? What's worst case scenario? -hot water creeps past the circulator pump?

World Plumber

Check Valve

Steve:

     You should be able to remove the innards from that valve. The scenario would be water circulating in the zone that is off when the other pump is running.

     That might even be what causing your chatter it cold be draw of the water passing by the return causing the flap to try and lift.

tim smith

Re: swing checks etc

If you remove guts, you will get heat migration probably when indirect heating and no heat call. This is a drag in the summer you will find not as noticeable in winter.  We use Taco flow checks that are sweat up to 1" or threaded in all sizes up to 2" at least.  Snap a pic of your pipe up, maybe there are some other ideas.

ScubaSteve65

swing chatter chatter swing!

I'll snap a pic a little later. no camera (should have asked for one for Christmas). As (my) luck  would have it...Heard the chattering but now it's from the indirect DHW swing check too. It's not the water passing from other circs. They are positioned just too darn close to the circ pumps. I think I'll pull the innards from the worst culprit - the ground floor heat and redo this in the spring. I suppose migrating heat will not be so bad for this time of year. I can always close the valve and pull the ice cube from the zone controller in the spring and get to work on dismantling all the swing gates in warmer weather. I'll still try to get that pic posted.

Please have a look at my new post. It's a mystery

Charlie from wmass

try these

They are used often in place of flow checks. I prefer a proper flow check. But can't fight progress.

http://www.viega.net/productcatalog.html#modeldetail-group5904275042228

hot_rod

size the check valves

to the flow rate required, not the pipe size. Oversizing them can cause that rattle sound. Checks should have a Cv rating, often the correct size check can be a size or two smaller than the pipe size.



Caleffi offers these nice union checks in sweat. They have high temperature, low "pop" springs. These are like the checks in circs. It's nice to have a check valve with unions to allow service, they do get crud in them from time to time.



We also have a nice ball check valve, but only in BSP at this time. A dab of Loctite and the work fine



hr

MikeyB

Check Trol

If you have the room try cutting in a B&G Check Trol isolation valves,

MikeyB

Taco

I believe the checks inside the Taco IFC pumps can be purchased separately and installed in any Taco 007, call them up to make sure but I could swear I heard John Barba mention that on one of his videos

Jean-David Beyer

IFC check valves.

If I remember reading correctly, all "new" Taco 007 (and maybe others in the 00 series) will accept the check valve, but that the older ones will not.  You are right to call Taco, because I have no idea how to tell a new one from an old one without looking at it. The new ones are machined to accept the new valve. I seem to recall that there are two different valves and you need the right one.