Turnoff valve - replace just the top part?

JaymeHart

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I have 1 radiator (single pipe steam) with a leaky control valve feeding the radiator. A tiny bit of steam escapes from the very top (arrow to indicate).

Do I need to replace the whole valve, or can I just remove and replace that top control shutoff piece?

Jamie Hall

You don't even have to replace it — even if you could. That's what's called a "packing nut" and it just unscrews. Underneath it and between the valve stem itself is packing — in the old days, usually cotton thread with perhaps tallow or something on it, nowadays teflon string or somesuch. You can get it at the Big Box. What you do is unscrew that nut, get a pick of some sort and get as much of the old packing out as you can — you don't have to be perfect — and then wrap the new packing thread into the recess right up to the top. Screw the nut back on. If it still leaks a bit, give the nut more of a tunr.

Intplm.

Just below the arrow in your picture, there is a nut that you can tighten. That should stop the "tiny bit of steam".

Tighten this nut, or packing gland just enough and only enough to stop the leak.

If that doesn't work, you can repack that packing gland.

JaymeHart

Awesome advice and guidance. Thank you. Much appreciated.

My son will be quite happy that his room will no longer be the hottest in the house, when I can actually rely on the actual vent to do its job.