One day recently my battery leaked in a Soviet-built apartment. In my mind, I could close the taps on the radiator, fix the battery and continue to use it quietly. But bad luck, no taps were installed. I had to write an application to the local thermal power plant, pay to turn off the riser, and only then dismantle the battery. Don't want to face the same problem? Then let's look at the options for fittings for radiators and how they can help you during operation.
Technical features of radiator taps
Valves for heating radiators are valves installed on heating pipes and serving as a shut-off system. Their main feature is to block the access of hot liquid to the battery.
Therefore, if the heating system malfunctions, there is no need to contact the housing and utility company to troubleshoot the problem. When the tap is closed, the water will not flow into the radiator itself, but will pass further along the pipe through the built-in jumper. The radiator will remain without liquid, which will provide conditions for its installation.
- Such devices are ideal for private households.
- If one of the batteries malfunctions, it will be enough to close the valve on it.
- At the same time, other radiators will continue to operate and the temperature in other rooms will not be affected.
Also, this feature of heating taps will help save the family budget; non-residential premises can be turned off from heating by turning off the tap on the radiator.
Blitz tips
- It is necessary to consider the type of batteries when installing faucets. That is, if the batteries are old and made of cast iron, then there is a high probability of internal corrosion and severe contamination; in general, in this case, it is better to change the batteries, but if this is not possible, then it is better to install a tap that can be easily removed to clean the insides of the radiator.
- It is better to use as much sealing tape as possible for a better seal.
- When purchasing faucets, you need to find out the material from which the device is made in order to avoid purchasing low-quality materials that may not work well in water.
- If you have the opportunity to buy a thermostatic valve , then it is better to purchase it, as it shows high quality and reliability, and most importantly, durability.
- A quick and easily accessible passage must be provided to the tap in order to quickly turn off the water supply during emergencies. That is, you should never crowd the space in front of the battery with various furniture and other things.
Application
Valves on radiators are necessary primarily to shut off the liquid in them. Those. they serve as a locking system.
This gives them the following functionality:
- Turn off the heating system as needed;
- Shutting off the fluid in the system to carry out repair and maintenance work on the heating system;
- Regulation of air temperature depending on the preferences of the owner of the premises.
Often such cases occur in apartment buildings, when it is warm outside, but the heating has not been turned off or gas meters are installed throughout the entire building. Then it turns out, according to the colloquial expression, “they are drowning the street.”
The solution to this problem will also be a faucet on the radiator, which will help create not only a comfortable temperature in the room, but also save money.
Specifics of various cranes
The market offers two types of taps, starting with an automatic device and ending with equipment with thermal heads. Each of them has its own specific work.
Manual adjustable taps or valves of automatic devices are equipped with thermal heads, which allows you to save energy during the heating season. This is achieved due to constant air temperature in the rooms.
Moreover, the manual taps are designed in such a way that before the start of the heating season, it is possible to adjust the coolant according to one system, which will not allow the coolant to exceed the established norm.
As for valves equipped with thermal heads, where the fluid flow is automatically regulated. Due to this, the flow area in the heating system is reduced or increased, depending directly on the temperature in the room.
How to replace a valve with your own hands
In any residential premises, several valves are installed to enable emergency shutdown of the supply.
Valves are present on plumbing, heating and gas systems. The valve of any system can be replaced independently or with the help of specialists. Read on to learn how to do the work yourself. Fittings for various pipelines
Installation nuances
Taps for heating radiators are used in the following cases:
- For central heating systems;
- For private housing construction and apartment buildings equipped with an individual heat source;
- For apartment buildings that belong to an individual boiler room.
Before installing valves or taps, you need to know that these devices block the cross-section of the pipe. Therefore, any regulation using these devices will reduce the heat supply to the radiators.
If there is not enough thermal energy, regulation of the battery taps is not necessary. This will only lead to cooling of the air in the room. Here, one option is to block the entire flow.
If the house is heated by a central boiler room, then it is recommended to install brass taps on the radiators. Valves with thermal heads will not help in this case, but will only clog the coolant control.
Then the only solution is high-quality installation of heating radiators. Also, with centralized heating, pressure surges and water hammer occur, which are caused by the startup of the heating system.
Therefore, it is recommended to install ball valves on radiators, which are designed for pressures of more than 16 bar. As for the material itself for making valves or taps, it is advised to purchase a product made from high-quality metals that will withstand any force of corrosion.
Methods for sealing connections
If the thread profile does not have a sharp edge, FUM tape can be used as a sealant. However, this modern material has not caught on among experienced specialists; they consider flax to be the most reliable sealant. A thin strand of this material, collected into a bundle, is wound around the pipe, starting from its end. The winding direction should be opposite to the thread direction. The flax should fill the thread to its full depth, and each new turn should partially overlap the previous one. The seal will be more reliable if the thread is equipped with a notch that prevents the flax winding from turning. Before installation, the threads of the part should be coated with UniPak packaging paste or similar.
Installation on polypropylene pipes using adapter couplings.
If the heating system is made of polypropylene pipes, then metal ball valves on the heating radiators are installed using adapter couplings. All threaded connections in this case are sealed according to the method described above.
Mayevsky taps are often equipped with a gasket made of rubber or other material, so they do not need to seal the FUM with tape or tow.
When the installation or replacement of all shut-off and control valves has been completed, it is necessary to perform a test run of the system. This will make it possible to check the tightness of all connections and the functioning of the valves under operating conditions. In this case, it is important to make sure that the system is completely de-aerated and the working medium circulates normally in it. A small amount of sealing material should be added to threaded connections that are found to be leaking.
Variety
These devices have significant differences from each other.
Device types:
- Ball equipment. Serves the battery without shutting down the entire heating system. The shut-off fittings are located between the pipe and the radiator. The equipment is made of metal, which includes a body part, a handle and a couple of pipe sections. The peculiarity of the device is that the faucet closes and opens the equipment. It does not apply to temperature control;
- Cone devices. They are manual control of the radiator temperature. The faucet is a metal body part equipped with a handle. The peculiarity of the device is that it reduces the heating of the radiator. The downside of the faucet is periodic cleaning of the device from deposits;
- Mayevsky's device. Used to reduce accumulated air and gas in the battery. It is a plug with a metal thread and a hole through which air and gas escape. These devices are ideal for radiators made of aluminum, because it is this metal that accumulates air and gases the most (they are removed once a month);
- Thermostatic taps. Represented by an automatic device. The valve consists of a cylinder filled with liquid and gas. The device itself has a temperature regulator that allows you to maintain a constant temperature in the room. Important! A radiator with such a device provides a bypass.
Key for American women Good-natured Plumber
If you are faced with such a connection as the American one, then most likely the question has become about how to tighten it? Some American ones are tightened with a hexagon, but for the majority of them, you will still need a special wrench.
I already wrote that in the absence of such a key, you can use pliers or something suitable. The main thing is not to deform the round part of the cone.
The only good thing about this wrench is that it is compact and takes up very little space in your tool bag. The disadvantages of such a key include the following:
1. If the hooks in an American female are too deep, this wrench will not be able to tighten such an American female.2. Very short lever. For tightening American women larger than 1/2 inch, without additional. leverage is indispensable.3. The key must be constantly pressed against the American key, otherwise it tends to jump out of the American slots.
The other key can be said to be similar, but it does not have the disadvantage of number “2” of the previous key + it has a ratchet.
Well, the most convenient key, in my opinion, is a cross-shaped key for American women. It has 4 main sizes, which is more than enough.
Other keys:
Well, for those who have access to a lathe, you can easily make such a key yourself. Buy American ones for 3/8, 1/2, 3/4. Turn round blanks to fit the inner diameter of the American women. Make slits on these blanks and cut out a tetrahedron for the ratchet. All that remains is to buy a ratchet or use the one available from a set of heads.
Shape of taps
The devices are available in two types - angle and straight valves.
Direct device
A straight faucet delays the flow of coolant, reducing the cross section. At the same time, the throughput capacity is reduced by half compared to a pipe of this cross-section.
Angle valve for radiator
The device is located on the battery at an angle of 90 C. The throughput of the crane compared to the above-mentioned brother is increased a couple of times. All this is justified by the fact that the raised spool does not block the flow area of the device.
Valve device
Two types of valves can be installed on plumbing and heating systems:
The working element of a ball valve is a ball located inside the body. The ball has a through hole. If the valve is open, then the ball is turned with its hole towards the flow of water. In the closed position, the ball turns its blind side towards the water. The locking element is rotated using the handle.
Ball valve device
The shut-off element of a valve valve is a valve with a gasket located on a spindle, which is lowered and raised by turning the handle.
Valve device
Where to buy and cost
The market offers more than 50 types of battery valves. They can be purchased in almost any department of a hardware store related to equipment for equipping thermal systems in private or apartment buildings.
Also, battery taps can be purchased in an online store, knowing only the composition of the heating system. Considering all these tips, questions about where to buy radiator taps will simply not arise.
The price of radiator taps depends on the following factors: the manufacturer of the product, the region where these products are sold, the metal of the tap itself and its functionality.
Using heating batteries in a private home
Heating boilers installed in private homes are usually equipped with programmable automation and a set of weather-dependent sensors. In this regard, there is no need to install separate taps for aluminum heating radiators on each device.
A sufficient measure in this case would be to install one valve on the supply pipe at the top point of the circuit and a shut-off valve on each device. Such a system makes sense from an economic point of view, since valves are much more expensive than valves. In addition, programmable boiler control allows you to achieve a similar effect.
Photos of radiator taps
Elevator unit
elevator unit of the heating system
If this parameter is lower, it is recommended to use modern plug valves, such as in the photo, since valves have serious disadvantages:
- it is necessary to periodically fill the oil seal, even when the valve is not in use, since the packing, in contact with water, is gradually destroyed;
- After a short period of time, the cheeks begin to become overgrown with deposits. If the valve sits for several years without being used, it will not be possible to close it completely;
- In the event of an emergency, every second can be decisive. If it takes literally a moment to close the plug valve, then it will take a long time to rotate the valve’s steering wheel, even when it is fully operational.
It should be noted that plug valves, which are a ball with a channel for water surrounded by a plastic shell, differ in:
- practicality;
- durability;
- reliable fluid retention;
- no need for maintenance.
They have significant design disadvantages:
Water hammer
Criterias of choice
A radiator valve is, as a rule, a ball-type device that regulates water flow and connects pipes to the radiator.
Installed on the bypass, risers, at the top of the battery, in places where air accumulates to bleed it. Choosing a suitable faucet is not difficult, just know a few nuances:
- the diameter of the pipes to which it will be connected (DN, in millimeters or inches);
- working pressure (PN, in the range of 15–40 and above);
- type of connection, presence of thread inside or outside, American.
The choice should take into account the purpose of the reinforcement, its location, and the properties of the environment
The ratio of the input and output of the valve in the radiator, their relative position is also important
When choosing, you should consider the characteristics of the cranes:
- Ball valves, although the most common and affordable, are not very effective. It has only two modes: closing/opening;
- a cone valve is a more acceptable option due to the possibility of an intermediate position. Disadvantage: the tap must be returned to its original position and constantly monitored;
- An automatic thermostat is the most efficient, reliable, but also much more expensive than others. When installing it on a one-pipe system, a bypass must be present.
Furniture items
A few examples of furnishing a kitchen combined with a living room:
- 1. Sofa. It becomes an object that zones space. The sofa is placed with its back facing the place where food is prepared. In small rooms (less than 20 sq m) a corner is placed, which is placed against a wall installed perpendicular or parallel to the kitchen.
- 2. Set. According to designers, minimalist models without elaborate details look modern. The service, vases or glasses are placed on an open shelf. You can buy a fashionable display case for them. Furniture is placed near the wall. If the space is large (20 sq. m, 25 sq. m or 30 sq. m), then in the central part you can install an island, which also has sections for kitchen appliances.
- 3. Furniture set. The style should be combined with the design of both rooms. In small rooms, a compact table and chairs made of transparent material or painted in light colors look good. You can add a table with a round top to your living room interior. In spacious rooms, the kit is installed near the wall or in the central part. An elongated rectangular dining table would look good here.
