I just bought a house and i am having an issue with one of the zone valves. It will not close. I know it needs to be replaced. However in this town (I live in REMOTE Alaska) it might be a month before someone can come and replace it.

How hard are they to replace? Do i have to turn off all the heating lines so glycol does not leak out when i replace it? Here is a pic of the valve/motor



This is a pic of the side of the valve box, there is a metal piece sticking out that moves to the left and the right. is one side closed and one open? Anyone know?


I appreciate your help very much, heating oil up here is 4.60 a gallon and i don't need to be burnign more than i need

One last thing, i know the t-stat is working becuause it also controls another zone valve on another baseboard heater on the opposite side of the room.

 

What are the two pink wires wired to ? your pics don't show that...

Yes, you need to drain as much of the system as you need to in order to replace.

Yes, that lever is open/close, not sure which way is which.

That valve appears to have been leaking around the stem, which has caused the corrosion that can be seen. Looks like for quite a while. Based on the proximity of flammable stuff, unless you knew exactly what to do, and have experience soldering pipes, I would recommend leaving that repair to a pro.

As for saving some oil money, one thing that will help is if you brush and vacuum all the dust out of the baseboard fins. You'll be surprised at how much more heat you get out of them!

Are the chickens allowed in the house to stay warm ? (feathers) ...

 

NJ gave you good advice.

It is possible that the motor on the valve is defective. Some valves will "fail open" when the motor dies. Most valves will allow the replacement of the motor without draining the system.

I suggest that you look carefully to see if the motor can be removed. You could possibly rig a clamp to of some kind to operate the stem of the valve to open and close it manually. Replacing that valve WILL be difficult because of how it is installed.

 

They are not attached to anything, they are just loose. I know this one needs to be cleaned, we boought the house and got the rest of them cleaned up but not this one yet. And it just so happened to be right under where they kept their parrot.

I will get the pro to come over and take a look at it, thanks for the info/help guys, it is greatly apprecaited.

 

That's what I thought. Not exactly the correct way to wire a zone valve. Those wires go to what is called the 'end switch'. That switch closes when the valve opens, and signals the circulator to run and the boiler to fire.

If that switch is not used, and the valve fails in a closed position, your circulator pump will run into a dead head and quickly self-destruct.

I'd think about having that corrected. Not saying it won't work as it is (obviously it has been working), but it ain't right. It will require a bit of re-wiring and some new controls on the boiler, so it probably won't be inexpensive.

 

Depending on several possible variations in system design you may have a continuously running circulator pump. The mere fact that the wires to the "end switch" are not connected to anything is not by itself a defective installation.

It could also be that this particular zone valve is wired to "limit" the temperature in the area when another zone is heating.

 

I see! thanks for the clarification furd. I guess though that it still should be checked into by a tech to confirm.

I did make another slight boo-boo in my previous reply too.

The lever handle is not actually open/close, it's AUTO / MANUAL OPEN .

 

That is a Honeywell V8043 zone valve & the motor, if that is the problem, is easy to replace. An easy way to determine if the motor is the source of the trouble is to turn off the power to the system, remove one tiny screw which holds the motor in place, & remove the motor. Opposite of the screw is a tap or ear which locks under a hook. When you take out the screw, you will have to give the motor a slight twist to get it out. If the auto/manual lever snaps back to the closed position, the motor is the problem.
It has taken me longer to type this than it would to change the motor.

 

Being a super for many apartments I find a lot of these Honeywell zone valves stuck open. The gears seam to jam up. The head is easy enough to change but at $90 a pop I'm wondering what is causing this problem.

 

Next one you get that seems stuck open, try Grady's advice about removing the motor... if the valve then closes, replace only the motor... helluva lot cheaper than 90 a pop...

These guys are 'around the corner' from ya:

8043 zone valve motor at Patriot Supply

 

Not to mention GROUPS easier. I can change a motor, start to finish, in about 5 minutes.

 

Valve stem is leaking causing gears/motor to muck up. I
would isolate that loop at the boiler and replace not just
the whole power head, but also the valve guts. No soldering,
all screws and special bolts. Easy job if loop is isolated. What
part of Alaska are you in- I can point you to the fastest and
possibly cheapest place that can send you a new one.
Interior, Northwest, Southeast, Panhandle, Aleutians, Etc.?

 

Steve, those pictures are from the original poster on this thread... from 2007 ... NOT from apt-super who has tagged the end of an older thread... and he is in NY, NOT Alaska... please pay attention!

 

My apologies for screwing up on a couple posts. I will
make a huge effort to read an entire post, including
the fine print. I see you have over 6,000 posts, and
have been doing this since '06. I just started. Would
appreciate it if you would berate me privately, not in
a string. In my excitement to help out I guess I'm
missing a few things. If you don't care for my input,
just say so.

 

I guess I might have come off a bit harsh... sorry about that.

 

If the system is designed that the circulator pump runs continuous with no end switch then there should be a by pass loop in the system to prevent dead heading.