Selecting New Steam Radiator Valves

cubicacres

We have 22 radiators in our single-pipe steam building, and replaced 8 1" radiator valves with new BARVY-1000 Matco-Norca brass angle valves the last few years due to broken/missing handles, stem leaks that kept leaking after packing the nut with graphite string, hairline cracks in the lower valve leaking, etc. That leaves 14 that haven't been updated yet (we also have replacement handles or may want to remove them after making sure they're 100% open so tenants don't throttle them, so may not need to replace as many going forward for that).

The Bluefin RVST-100 is reported to be a matching equivalent from our online supply source, but would there tend to be a small size/fitting of the union difference between them if we prefer to match any new purchases with the ones we already installed? We might want to replace just the valve that goes on the riser and not need to use a spud wrench to remove the tail piece/nipple inside the radiator like we just did recently, so are trying to match the same model/manufacturer if possible.

Or is this not such a big deal if we buy completely new sets of matching valve & tailpieces that go with each other and replace both sections going forward? Not sure how often we'll want to replace just one section (tail piece nipple inside radiator or valve on riser only), so not sure how important it is to have the same model.

Neild5

The valve and spud should be replaced as a set, even if they are from the same manufacturer.   The shape of the matting surfaces definitely are different one manufacturer to another, but even from the same manufacturer can be different if they came from different plants or if the specifications changed over time.

cubicacres

Thanks. In our valve parts box I see 4 left over brass spuds/nipples with 6 sided nuts that we didn't replace when we replaced those valves (so far we got lucky or don't know about any leaks from them yet).

Any use for them now that they weren't paired with their matching valves if we plan on getting more matching valve/spud pairs to use in the future?

Would we want to buy more of the same brand for any reason, or does it not matter now what brand they are going forward as long as we replace them as a matching pair?

I left a voicemail at Matco-Norca since I saw 3 models that looked the same for 1 inch steam risers, but couldn't tell how they differ via the photos on their website. Just curious if some are thicker brass/better or different in some way than the others somehow.

jumper

A lazy cheap guy fixes handles if that's only problem with existing valve?

nicholas bonham-carter

If the packing nuts leak, maybe the pressure is too high.—NBC

The Steam Whisperer

We use Marsh radiator valves for just about everything. I've seen plenty of the Matco and other valves of similiar quality ( probably the same valves under a different name) start leaking after only a few years. Despite them being manufactured in the Chicago suburbs only about an hour and a half away ( I'm in Chicago), we end up ordering them through https://www.nyrpcorp.com/ for the best price. They no longer make 2 inch however. These are packless radiator valves with substantial castings. This is a little 1/2 inch valve.

gerry gill

The Marsh also have Teflon discs instead of ‘elcheapo rubber.

cubicacres

Thanks. Noticed the 2x price difference or so between the 2 brands. Would more expensive ones with teflon discs & packless avoid us needing to re-pack the nuts? We packed a few nuts with graphite string when searching for leaks a few years ago. I'd be fine with higher-price & quality if that meant less leaks to hunt down going forward. A few other websites have 2-3 of the same brand, size, and angle type for 2-3 different different prices-do you know what the differences might be between those 2-3 (thicker brass, etc?)