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Varivalve Quick Vent is making puddles

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Steamfairy
Steamfairy Member Posts: 4
in Strictly Steam
Hi, I bought the Danfoss Thermostatic Valve and use it with an adjustable Varivalve Quick Vent and face the issue that when the radiator heats up, there are drops of water coming out of the quick vent which form a puddle on the floor. Small, yet significant as I believe there should not be one. I have tried the vent all open, partially open, all closed. Is this not the right air vent to use with this valve? Why do I see those small puddles?

I can still return the quick vents. I chose them because they were said to be very quite.
If you have any alternatives, please let me know.

Comments

  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 23,289
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    Is this the Danfoss valve, not vent? On a one pipe system? If so, it is possible that what is happening is that when the valve begins to close it is trapping condensate (the valve on a one pipe radiator must be either fully open or fully closed, never in between) and that trapped condensate is creating essentially very wet steam in the radiator -- and that may be where the puddle is coming from.

    On a one pipe system, one needs to use a thermostatically controlled VENT, not VALVE, for control if desired.
    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
  • David Nadle
    David Nadle Member Posts: 624
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    Is it an angle vent? Because you have to use a straight vent with the Danfoss 1PS adapter.
  • KC_Jones
    KC_Jones Member Posts: 5,737
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    Post a picture of what you put on the radiator including a shot of the radiator as a whole. Pictures are worth 1000 words.
    2014 Weil Mclain EG-40
    EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Boiler Control
    Boiler pictures updated 2/21/15
  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 15,677
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    Even without seeing pictures my guess is the varivalves are the problem.

    I would return them and buy Gortons. Gorton vents are also very quiet and work much better. Not knowing anything about your system or the radiator this is on it's hard to give a recommendation on a vent size but I find a Gorton #5 or #6 is often a good starting point. Most of my vents are 5s and 6s.

    I run two Danfoss TRVs right now, one with a Gorton #4 and one with a Gorton #6.

    Single pipe quasi-vapor system. Typical operating pressure 0.14 - 0.43 oz. EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Control for Residential Steam boilers. Rectorseal Steamaster water treatment
  • Abracadabra
    Abracadabra Member Posts: 1,948
    edited November 2014
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    Steamfairy said:

    Hi, I bought the Danfoss Thermostatic Valve and use it with an adjustable Varivalve Quick Vent and face the issue that when the radiator heats up, there are drops of water coming out of the quick vent which form a puddle on the floor. Small, yet significant as I believe there should not be one. I have tried the vent all open, partially open, all closed. Is this not the right air vent to use with this valve? Why do I see those small puddles?

    I can still return the quick vents. I chose them because they were said to be very quite.
    If you have any alternatives, please let me know.


    1 - Radiator properly pitched?
    2 - Properly constructed steam header so you aren't producing wet steam?
    3 - Supply valve to radiator fully open?
    4 - What pressure is your boiler maxing out at?
  • Steamfairy
    Steamfairy Member Posts: 4
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    Dear all,
    Thanks for all your replies.
    I previously had angled Dole air vents installed and there was never any leaking. But I wanted more control over the temperature in different rooms so I followed the instructions here:
    http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/video/0,,1638722,00.html#

    I have this thermostatic valve to regulate temperature:
    http://www.supplyhouse.com/Danfoss-013G0140-Thermostatic-Rad-Valve-w-Vac-Breaker-1-Pipe-Steam-5551000-p
    And bought the Varivalve Quick Vent as per recommendation on the site:
    http://www.supplyhouse.com/Varivalve-VASA-Varivalve-Adjustable-Straight-Valve-3841000-p
    The only difference to me is that I am using an adjustable valve.

    It all looks like this:

  • Steamfairy
    Steamfairy Member Posts: 4
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    And the drops of water are coming out of the air vent opening (like spitting) while the radiator is heating up. I tried fully open, closed or partially open - all with the same thing happening.
  • BobC
    BobC Member Posts: 5,478
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    This sounds like you are creating wet steam, what pressure is the boiler running at? The Doles are slow vents while the varivalves are very fast even at the low setting. Very fast valves create a lot of condensate and having wet steam will make things worse.

    For now, go buy a Gorton or Maid O Mist #5 or 6 and put it on one of the spitting radiators (the #5 is about twice as fast as the Dole, the #6 about 2-1/2 times faster). See if that behaves. If it does not, your wet steam problem has to be addressed.

    Bob
    Smith G8-3 with EZ Gas @ 90,000 BTU, Single pipe steam
    Vaporstat with a 12oz cut-out and 4oz cut-in
    3PSI gauge
  • Steamfairy
    Steamfairy Member Posts: 4
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    Sounds like some good advice, Bob. I will try the Gorton and let you know.
  • RobG
    RobG Member Posts: 1,850
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    Can you post some photos of your boiler, near boiler piping, mains and main vents?
  • Mark N
    Mark N Member Posts: 1,115
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    Isn't it possible that the condensate from the steam that makes it to the thermostatic vent doesn't completely drain. Then on the next cycle when the steam is pushing the air out the vent it causes it to spit. Check the pitch on the rad and the thermostatic vent body. Also make sure the hand valve is completely open.
  • Danny Scully
    Danny Scully Member Posts: 1,424
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    Check to make sure the operator is attached properly.
  • bvaughn76
    bvaughn76 Member Posts: 54
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    This post might be a little old, but shouldn't that configuration have a vacuum break on the radiator side of the TRV? That way if the TRV is closed for temperature reasons, and the boiler shuts off, air can enter back into the radiator? Otherwise, condensate might not properly drain and that could potentially be the source of your spitting valve?
  • Fred
    Fred Member Posts: 8,542
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    The Danfoss valve has a vacuum breaker built into it.
  • Charlie from wmass
    Charlie from wmass Member Posts: 4,322
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    Get rid of vari valve.
    Cost is what you spend , value is what you get.

    cell # 413-841-6726
    https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/charles-garrity-plumbing-and-heating
  • Big-Al_2
    Big-Al_2 Member Posts: 263
    edited December 2014
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    Hi folks. My system has been working so well since I replaced my own boiler a couple of years back that I haven't visited here much. Thanks again for all the useful advice during the installation!

    My experience with VariValves is that their internal geometry isn't very good at letting air pass without carrying some water with it. When steam reaches the vent, there is bound to be a little condensation in the vent before it can close. VariValves gurgle and spit some of it out. They just do. I stopped using them and switched to Maid-O-Mist and/or Hoffman's. No problems since then.
    Long Beach Ed

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