Choosing New Valves; Cleaning Old Ones

Mike__S

Hi there,



I have a single pipe steam system and a newish Burnham boiler. Most of my radiators have Varivalves.



A few of the Varivalves on my radiators were not working correctly. They are stuck shut (cold radiator) or stuck open (radiator very hot all the way across). I've attempted to clean them by soaking in hot vinegar but it hasn't worked to clean them. A few questions:



Are there other ways to clean these or have the valves "failed"?

Can I use a stuck open one as a "D" valve? They never seem to close.

Should I replace these with new Varivalves?

Or should I choose the cheaper Maid-O-Mist adjustable valves (with the interchangeable valves)?

Or should I replace these according to the Gorton diagram?



Thanks!

Mike

rrg

I used the varivalves and some failed like yours

I went with Gorton's and never looked back.

it does take a trial and error to see what size worked best in each room.



My varivalves failed because of the high pressure the house was set at when I bought it.

I also read they have a high failure rate.



Be sure the boiler is not the problem that caused the failures.

nicholas bonham-carter

Never rely on the Gorton diagram!

Excellent vents, but their advice leaves much to be desired.

I like Hoffman 40's on all radiators at first, then if any rads on upper floors are too slow, use a size larger, such as a Hoffman 1a(adjustable)

The maid of the mist with changeable oriffices seems like a good choice as well, since you could just change the oriffices instead of the whole valve. I don't know about longevity though.

This advice presumes you have generous main venting with no resistance (back pressure) at 2 ounces.--NBC