I got CLANKssssssssssssssCLONKsteam heat!

December 23, 2012 7:56 AM

My radiator steam vents (photo) make an incredibly loud banging noise whenever they open or close. (CLINK whoooooosossssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh CLONK). Can you recommend replacements?

They must be adjustable-type; our building heat is pretty much always on, so it's up to our vents to control the heat level in the apartment.

posted by dmd to home & garden (5 answers total)

As a side note, this is probably happening because the metal is expanding and contracting due to temperature, and thus parts that don't typically clank now clank because there's more room to rattle or a smidge more metal. Are you able to get in there at all? Could you potentially pad the clanky parts? (We ran into this with a much larger system that actually had access, so you may not have the ability to do so.)
posted by Madamina at 9:32 AM on December 23, 2012

Are you sure it's the valves that are clanking? Usually clanking is steam in the pipes hitting a void or a back-sloping segment.
posted by notsnot at 11:27 AM on December 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yes, it's the valve. These are adjustable valves with a float in them. It's the float making the noise.
posted by dmd at 2:28 PM on December 23, 2012

Hmm, I'm not an expert by any means, but the vent type you posted is meant to be used to adjust the vent output across all radiators on a system for proportional heating. You set the valves furthest away from the boiler to be open the most so that they fill with steam quickly and the closer ones fill more slowly and the whole system is balanced. If they're beling used throughout the building as temperature controllers, some radiators are going to be getting a lot more steam at certain times than they ought, and subsequently the valves are going to make more noise as they open and close. The wider the valve is open, the louder it will be, as more air is moving through it more quickly. I've also heard that particular brand of valve is loud, and valves can also get loud as they wear out.

Our valve thermostat and valve are separate pieces- we have a Danfoss thermostatic valve controller and Hoffman air valve. The Hoffman still clanks, but there are other types on the market that are supposed to be very quiet, like the Maid 'o Mist. I don't know if they can be used together, but I'm sure you could email Pex and ask.
posted by oneirodynia at 3:53 PM on December 23, 2012

I think you have a one pipe low pressure steam system? This needs to be verified before proceeding. If so, I haven't heard any complaints about noise from these Danfoss valves. It replaces the air vent and gives you an adjustable thermostat. Link. That said I haven't installed one. The vertical steam pipe in my apartment is enough to heat it so I have just closed the radiator valve completely. Installation video.
posted by ihadapony at 8:04 PM on December 24, 2012