White-Rogers 1311-102 zone valve stuck on

Robert O'Connor_5

I have (6) White-Rogers 1311-102 zone valves in an apartment building. One of them seems like its stuck on and thus the apartment always has heat. I replaced the zone valve last year for the same problem and it worked. Assuming that the thermostat and wiring is fine, is it commom for these zone valves to go bad so soon?

Boilerpro_3

My Experience

These same valves made 30 to 40 years ago are often still going strong, however the new ones appear to has some extensive quaility control problems. I recently had 3 out of 5 installed on a job be bad right out of the box. I would check everything else related to see if there are any other problems. They are a great design, with almost no pressure drop across the valve, and only are powered when they actually need to open or close, so life should be alot longer, everything else being equal. I believe GE bought out WR, and I have seen very poor quality in all of thier other products I have used, from light bulbs to applicances.

Boilerpro

Unknown

These valves are power

to open power to close valves which have had as Boilerpro mentioned a good track record in the past. I have recently had two new ones that would stick when in place on the valve. When you removed the head and held it in your hand it would work. I simply sprayed some WD-40 on the valve body and the rotator on the head itself. They have now been running for a month with no problem. I do notice however the quality of the new heads as compared to the old heads leaves a little to be desired.

Other things to watch out for is wires getting switched if the #4 and #5 wires get switched it will open once and never close. If #4 and #6 are switched it will open when it should be closed. In both cases overheating in the zone.

Last of all a broken #6 wire from the T'stat will cause it to stay open.

To give you an idea of how reliable these valves have been I have one customer(very wealthy) with 9 zones all using 1311-102 valves. In the last 25 years only two valves have been replaced.

These valves are also sensitive to correct mounting, they work best when mounted upright, anything else can cause water to leak by the rubber grommet inside and moisture gets into the head and shorts it out.

I have a complete manual available on Zone Valves which includes diagnostic procedures on most zone valves even those that are no longer made.

Todd_9

WHITE ROGERS

In our experience with these vales, we found that bad water conditions and/or antifreeze in the system can foul the o-rings and make the stem difficult to rotate. Often the powerhead is replaced but not the stem. These can be a pain to remove if they are stuck.
Another thing to be aware of, these valves do not provide 100% shutoff. They will allow a small amount of leakage and can pose a problem in the summer when no heat is required.