Ghosts closing radiator valves ;)

tomsloancamp

Has anyone experience radiator valves closing on their own? On several occasions, I have found the valves to be turned down to near close and I’m pretty sure my wife isn’t doing it.

Jamie Hall

Most radiator valves I've hit are so hard to turn that they surely don't close on their own! So... ghosts. Definitely ghosts.

ethicalpaul

"pretty sure"

ChrisJ

How easily do these turn?
Are they leaking at the packing nuts?

tomsloancamp

The posts aren’t loose but it seem to have happen on 2. I recently got a new boiler installed and the had hammering issues (which were resolved through skimming.) The gaskets under the nut are indeed worn so I am in the process of replacing them with graphite packing. They were fully closed so I wonder if the vibration from the hammering could have caused it (they were on the same riser.)

nicholas bonham-carter

Perhaps a donation to the sisters, and a request for prayer would help.

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/171801/please-help-the-franciscan-sisters-of-kansas-city-with-their-boiler#latest

Hap_Hazzard

It's obviously the result of the Coriolis force.

mattmia2

what kind of valves are they? Are they rising stem, does the handle move up and down as you close them? A picture would help a lot.

Fred

Have you asked your wife? Who else lives in the house?

Gsmith

I find it very difficult to imagine that the valves are being closed by vibrations. Most radiator valves require more than several complete turns to close from full open. As I said, difficult to imagine them closing by themselves. It is possible I suppose the disks have worked loose by vibration and fallen into the close position, but then you wouldn't be able to open them with the hand wheel again either.

tkos115

Maybe with the packing being loose and the expansion and contraction of the heating and cooling cycles is slowly causing it to tighten down, with the help of gravity.

DZoro

Ghosts, definitely.....
But this maybe a use for duct tape. Put some tape on the valves so that they can't close on their own,,,, maybe….
D

mattmia2

I'm thinking maybe striped threads where the valve could fall, depending on the type of valve.

The Steam Whisperer

I've seen that before in a home by a heavily trafficed road and across from a Railroad. One or two valves would gradually close. tightening up the packing will help provide some resistance to keep it from turning closed.

tomsloancamp

@mattmia2 here’s a pic of the valve ... I started repacking them and I haven’t seen an sign of ghost or gremlins. I did find some condensation leaking from the stem before repacking.

Intplm.

Yes. I have had this happen before.
The family pet rubbing against the valve. And or.
The packing nut is loose and the valve is not backseated all the way can also do this. (That's tightly turned all the way to the on position.)
So check those things first before considering hiring an exorcist.😇

mattmia2

Is the knob by any chance rubbing against the wall and turning as the pipes and radiator expand and contract?

BTW it is a rising stem globe valve so it has relatively coarse threads that probably aren't stripped and dropping somehow.

EdTheHeaterMan

If you look close at the picture, can you see the fingerprint left by the ghost?

EdTheHeaterMan

Fred said:

Have you asked your wife? Who else lives in the house?

I don't think the wife will give up the answer to that question! Or is that two different unrelated questions?

dopey27177

tighten up the packing nut. Put a baby monitor pointed at the offending radiators and see what happens.

Jake

Joe_Dunham

I once had an issue where a manufacturer shipped a threaded insert in the fully open position. They kept coming in closed. I thought that the truck bouncing around was doing it. So I laid one on the counter and put a vibrator under the counter. Sure enough the threaded insert turned down, because its an inclined plane. If the valves really loosy goosy, the water hammer may be causing that. maybe tighten the packing nut