Welcome! Here are the website rules, as well as some tips for using this forum.
Need to contact us? Visit https://heatinghelp.com/contact-us/.
Click here to Find a Contractor in your area.

Adding TRVs?

DJDrew
DJDrew Member Posts: 89
We are redoing a bathroom on the first level of our house and installing new radiators, because of the way the system is piped, we had to drain the whole system.

While the system is drained, I am considering replacing the 3/4" radiator valves on the second level of the home with 3/4" Danfoss TRV valves. For years we have had to partially close the upstairs radiators to balance the system and keep the temperature somewhat in-check upstairs (always 3-4 degrees warmer it seems).

Is this wise choice to use this system downtime while it is drained to make the swap to TRVs for the upstairs bedrooms? Or am I better to just keep throttling the flow with the existing valves to keep the temperatures in check?

Thoughts?

Comments

  • Zman
    Zman Member Posts: 7,561
    TRVs are a great product that, IMO is underutilized in the United States.
    Do you know how your system is piped? It may not be as easy as it sounds.
    "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough"
    Albert Einstein
    DerheatmeisterRich_49
  • DJDrew
    DJDrew Member Posts: 89
    Thanks @Zman - Yes, each hot water radiator is piped direct to the basement and into large supply/return pipes circling the entire house. The 1930's must have been a time for iron-pipe water highways in houses.
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 9,572
    It was originally a gravity system.
    DJDrew
  • wesPA
    wesPA Member Posts: 38
    I would definitely recommend it, especially if you have things drained to do the remodel work. I installed the danfoss valves on the system at my house about 5 years ago, and have been very happy with the results. Like you, all my rads are piped to the basement,  and I had temp differences floor to floor prior to the valves 
    DJDrew
  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 23,159
    mattmia2 said:

    It was originally a gravity system.

    Most likely. And I'll bet when it was converted to forced circulation no one thought to place balancing valves on the radiator runouts. TRVs will help -- assuming that it really is piped home run or parallel, with no series elements -- but while you're at it you might consider balancing valves as well and get it as close to even as you can that way, and then let the TRVs do the fine tuning.
    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
    DJDrew
  • DJDrew
    DJDrew Member Posts: 89

    mattmia2 said:

    It was originally a gravity system.

    Most likely. And I'll bet when it was converted to forced circulation no one thought to place balancing valves on the radiator runouts. TRVs will help -- assuming that it really is piped home run or parallel, with no series elements -- but while you're at it you might consider balancing valves as well and get it as close to even as you can that way, and then let the TRVs do the fine tuning.
    @Jamie Hall Would that be essentially moving the manual valve to the return? Or leaving the manual valve alone and just fitting the TRV on the return?
  • mjstraw
    mjstraw Member Posts: 41
    TRVs should go on the supply or else they'll make noise.
    Mark
    Indiana PA

    DJDrewDerheatmeister
  • EricPeterson
    EricPeterson Member Posts: 211
    My house is also a converted gravity system.
    After we moved here and experienced overheated second floor bedrooms, I installed TRVs on all the bedroom radiators. It works great, and you can also shut off the rads when not needed (we are empty nesters).
    I did not however install TRVs on the bathroom radiators, because no one ever seems to complain (at least in our family) about bathrooms being too warm.
    DJDrew
  • jumper
    jumper Member Posts: 2,226
    mjstraw said:

    TRVs should go on the supply or else they'll make noise.

    Why?