What kind of valve is this?

Brownie2015

Hello,
I bought a house that has radiant heat with a boiler in the basement. On the top floor I have one room with baseboard heating instead of radiators. I have radiators in all room and only one baseboard heater in the entire house. I turned on my heat this afternoon and then went through all the radiators and bleeded the air out of each radiator. I was successful until I got to the one room with.... you guessed it, the baseboard heater. 

There was no bleeder valve but the element was not warming up, it was basically cold. 

I did see one valve that looked like a ball valve of some sort. I turned the valve and heard air coming out. I thought this was a good thing but once the water came, the valve would not close. I just kept turning and the valve just spun and spun. I turned off the thermostat and I then grabbed my wife and gave her some towels and sent her to the leak. I went into the our boiler room and turned off the water and then started removing the water out of the boiler. Hoping I could Bring the water level down just enough to drop below the baseboard heater. 

It was a success but now I’m stumped, there was some numbers on the valve which I researched and it looks like it might be a gas valve! 

Can someone tell me what kind of valve this is and why it would just spin and spin. I’m starting to think the seals went bad and I cracked them once I turned the valve. Meaning this valve was never meant to be a bleeder valve and once I turned the valve and heard the air, this was due to a cracked seal. What do you guys think?
no quick fittings on this valve and looks like I’ll need to cut the copper pipe and remove the valve and replace with adding a bleeder valve. Then I’ll sweat back in the copper pipe to the reducer. I think it’s a reducer but I’m not entirely sure how this all went together and works. 

Brownie2015

Thanks again for any help that can be given to me on this. 

mattmia2

Looks like a balancing valve. Maybe a bell and gossett circuit setter with the knob broken off.

I can't tell how it is sealed, almost looks like there is a snap ring and an o ring on the stem.

Brownie2015

Mattmia2
I was thinking about using some CLR to remove some of the corrosion to get a better Look at the seals of this valve. 

You think CLR would do the trick?

EBEBRATT-Ed

It's a balancing valve of some type. You going to have to replave it. You can just use a ball valve. Looks like it leaked at the elbow above the valve at some point and they did some ugly brazing.

Is the pipe acsesable below the valve in the basement?

Brownie2015

EBEBRATT-Ed
No, it’s on the 2nd floor and the pipe goes into the floor an inch or so under this valve. Pretty much what you see is what I have to work with. 

Do you agree with my assessment above on how I’ll have to go about replacing the valve?
cutting and the re-brazing the copper back in?

ratio

What's visible of the finned element in the picture doesn't look all that healthy either. Maybe take this opportunity to replace it as well, or even think about going with a radiator to match the rest of the house, IDK.

I would try to get that valve off the feed pipe by cutting a groove in it & cracking it off, so you don't have to twist it off. It looks like you'll have a hard time getting a pipe wench on the stubup.

Larry Weingarten

Hi, A thought is to cut that dented 90 in half and then use a smallish crescent wrench to grip the flats on the male adapter that is probably under the valve. A crescent wrench is far narrower than most pipe wrenches. Maybe put a cheater on the crescent. Then put a pipe wrench on the valve to remove it. Get a long sweep copper 90 to replace the cut one. Refrigeration supplies are the place to look. You'll need either a long sweep street 90 or a fitting type male adapter on top of the valve. Anyway, some ideas.

Yours, Larry

JUGHNE

A fin tube convector like that will cool off quickly while your CI radiators are still producing heat from the mass of iron.
IIWM, I would look for a radiator and ditch the beat up convector.

unclejohn

It is a gas cock for sure. Get a 3/4 " or what ever size it is ball valve and you should be ok. Just don't get the same guy to solder it up.

EdTheHeaterMan

The valve you have in a ball valve. Since there is no handle, the stem will continue to rotate inside, as you turn the stem, the valve will open at 90° (to 12 o'clock) close at 180° (or 3 o'clock) reopen at 270° (or 6 o'clock) then close at 360° (or 0° like 9 o'clock) where you started. In your picture, the valve is partially open at pointing at about 10 o'clock. The 2 flat sides of the stem are the direction of the missing handle

You may not need to replace it, just make sure it is fully open. since it is on an upper floor, you most likely have air in the piping, if you get the air out, you may solve the problem. This of course is assuming that it ever worked in the first place.