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Throttling Valve

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes
Alan (California Radiant) Forbes Member Posts: 3,261
in THE MAIN WALL
I just ran across this today on a gravity system, American Radiator Co. boiler.








Often wrong, never in doubt.
mattmia2kcoppSTEVEusaPA

Comments

  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 5,540
    Looks like a blowtorch or a camp stove.
  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 12,015
    really old
  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 18,964
    Oh lovely! Does it still work? I would guess that that balance arrangement was in some way dependent on water temperature? In a steamer, that would have been activated by steam pressure.
    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 15,348
    Jamie Hall said:

    Oh lovely! Does it still work? I would guess that that balance arrangement was in some way dependent on water temperature? In a steamer, that would have been activated by steam pressure.

    That is correct. It was developed from beam-balance regulators used on coal boilers. I've seen one or two still in service.
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
  • retiredguy
    retiredguy Member Posts: 607
    edited March 25
    I used to buy Detroit Lubricator modulating gas valves back in the 1960's and early 1970"s. from Sid Harvey. I was glad to see them go away. That pilot was one of those liquid filled pilot safeties that worked until they didn't. They took way too long to respond to a pilot flame outage.
  • Alan (California Radiant) Forbes
    Alan (California Radiant) Forbes Member Posts: 3,261
    edited March 28
    This is on an Ideal Gas Boiler hot water boiler. The owners were having a delayed ignition explosion because the main pilot - closest to the burners - was too low. I increased the flame so that it lit off properly, but then saw flame rollout with CO > 2,000 ppm, so I shut it down and gave them a price for a replacement. I probably could have taken it apart to clean the HX, but dang, some of the really old stuff falls apart when you try to work on it and never goes back together again to work properly.
    I think that second flame is pilot safety because there's nothing else to protect against flame outage.






    Often wrong, never in doubt.

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