What is this?

allshookup

I am a building manager and I take care of light steam radiator repair in a 15 unit apartment building. This is attached to the valve on the radiator farthest from the boiler. What is it and what is its purpose? Do I need it on the system? The valve turns really hard and I want to replace it after I know what this thing is and does.

Thank you for your time and support!

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Jamie Hall

Others will have a say — but it looks to me like a plain vanilla plug on a nipple and coupling. It may have had a vent on it at one time, to speed up steam to that radiator. Do you need it? Maybe not. It's not doing anything as is, but if that radiator is slow it would speed it up if you put a vent on it.

Now. Remember that when you change the valve you MUST also change the spud in the radiator. That's a union fitting in between, and the valve and the spud are a matched pair. Do you really want to do that? I'd be seriously inclined to take the valve apart, clean it up, repack it and maybe put a new disc on it, and see if that helped.

EdTheHeaterMan

May have also been the riser for a radiator that is in the room above this room. When the room was renovated, that radiator may have been removed and those were the parts on hand to cap off that pipe.

Although just placing the plug in the top opening of that tee would have worked just fine. You never know what the plumber was thinking at the time. I Think @Jamie Hall nailed it!

Steamhead

@EdTheHeaterMan said: "I Think @Jamie Hall nailed it! "

I think so too. This is shown at the end of chapter 8 of @DanHolohan 's book "The Lost Art of Steam Heating".

DanHolohan

I agree with all that Jamie said. Thanks.

Intplm.

And or the original installer didn't have an elbow so they used a tee, nipple, and plug with coupling.

allshookup

I thank everyone for their input. As far as changing the spud with the new spud and valve. That spud is a nightmare to get off. I usually end up very carefully cutting it out. Spud wrench Is useless.

I like the idea of repacking the valve but never have done it. Any advice on that fellas?

Jamie Hall

Theoretically it's easy… if things come apart as you would like. So. Turn off the boiler! Get two good crescent wrenches, one on the packing nut (the upper smaller one) and a backup on the bonnet nut (the bigger lower hex one as back up). Now the fun begins. In principle, the packing nut should just unscrew, but it looks as though there may be some paint on the valve stem, so it may not cooperate so easily. Try partly closing the valve and unscrewing the packing nut. With any kind of luck (and patience) you should be able to get the packing nut unscrewed. Now take the handle off (I hope the screw in the handle cooperates…) and lift the packing nut all the way off. Check the condition of the valve stem — it needs to be clean and hopefully shiny. If there really is paint on it, try and get it off — but without scratching the stem. Now fish the old packing out and put new packing (plumbing supply store, big box sometimes) Packing nut back on but don't be a gorilla…just tight enough to compress the packing a bit.

Try it.

Waher

It likely had an air vent where the plug is now to help get steam to that last radiator more rapidly during a heating cycle.