Orifice plates

nicholas bonham-carter

Wouldn't some sort of needle valve be easier for regulating the flow of steam into the radiator? I realize some piping changes would be involved, but the final adjustments would surely be easier. Including reducing the output of a radiator which is too large for the room.

Do I understand correctly that the boiler can then be sized for the total heat loss?--NBC

Rod

Adjustable Orifices

Hi NBC-  Mepco makes 2 styles of very nice proportioning radiator valves that have an adjustable orifice. While being able to adjust orifice size would be a great benefit, I think orifice plates are almost impossible to beat from an economic and less hassle standpoint unless you needed to replace the standard radiator valve also.

- Rod

jumper

my theory is

Some steam heat guy didn't like to buy or install traps so he went with orifices. Ideally he installed too small and changed only when somebody complained that room is not warm enough. Maybe if he disliked traps he also disliked valves.

ttekushan_3

Orifice Radiator valves

Yes. If you can throttle all radiators proportionally, then a smaller boiler will work quite well as it will "see" a smaller EDR. No more steam trap problems, too. The radiator inlet restrictions still allow the mains to fill and pressurize enough so that they still act as an equal distribution manifold but without having to keep the boiler so large. I like to call this "Virtual Downsizing" of the system without having changed a single radiator. You just proportionally heat fewer sections or a smaller radiator surface area, unlike water where you merely lower the total temperature of the radiator.



The only problem is that people might complain,

"The radiator isn't hot all the way across."

"Is the room warm?"

"Yes. It's perfectly comfortable!"

"Then what's the problem?"

"The radiator doesn't get hot all the way across."

*sigh*



My favorite valve: