Thermostatic valve for radiator: description, principle of operation

Modern designs of heating batteries are usually supplemented with elements and mechanisms that are responsible for adjusting certain parameters. Depending on what kind of radiator, as well as the version of the coolant used, different temperature controllers can be used .

When a thermostat is required

The thermostatic valve for a radiator today has become more common than others. It is installed when the number of sections of the battery is more than required, as well as in those cases where there is a need to save on heating, because the temperature outside the window is rarely stable. If there is a thermostat, the temperature of the coolant will not affect the climate in the room, this parameter can be adjusted by a person.

Thermostatic valve description

The thermostatic valve for the radiator consists of two parts: a thermostatic head and a valve. The device is usually made of brass. The body covers the pipe, whereas the upper part is a continuation of the push rod with a spring. If you press the thermostatic head, it will act on the rod, and the greater the pressure on the spring will be provided, the stronger the valve will be blocked.

Operation of valve assemblies

The thermostatic head has a sensing element located in a cavity filled with liquid or gas. Heating, the heat-sensitive medium begins to increase in volume, pushing the element forward. It affects the rod, and then - on the overflow valve. As an additional knot of the thermostatic head, there is a cap, which looks like a handle. It has a scale of modes. For precise setting of parameters there are electronic regulators.

Principle of operation

If you need a thermostatic valve for a heating radiator, you should definitely consider the operation of this device. It is based on the following scheme. When the temperature of air or coolant changes, the environment where the thermosensitive element is located in the head reacts to the process. The pressure rod is pressurized by a sensitive element, the first of which is raised or lowered, which depends on the temperature parameters.

When the valve is lowered, it blocks the flow of water, so the circulation speed in the battery decreases, the heat flow is not so intense. The consequence is a decrease in the volume of water in the system, which entails a decrease in heat transfer by the infrared radiator. All this is the result of a reduction in the operation of the valve head.

The thermostatic valve for the radiator can be mechanical. It works by the principle of regulating the process from the side of the person, this allows to reduce or increase the flow of water. When the regulator rotates, it is possible to set the desired value on the electronic panel, the operation of the thermostatic head changes because the initial pressure value is set and affects the sensing element. The principle of operation of the described device is quite simple, however, for correct operation it is necessary to observe the installation rules, safety regulations and automatic operation adjustment.

Varieties of thermostatic valves

The thermostatic valve for the heating radiator, depending on the adjustment method, can be automatic or manual. In the latter case, it is a question of mechanical devices, which, at work, presuppose the need for human intervention. The operator must rotate the mechanism, reducing the diameter of the duct to achieve the desired temperature. Automatic models have a more perfect design: they do not require manual adjustment, fixing a decrease in the temperature of water or air, reducing or increasing the flow of the heat carrier while doing so.

Types of thermostats by the type of bellows filler

The thermostatic valve for the radiator, whose photo you can see in the article, is classified according to the type of bellows filler for gas-filled and liquid devices. Quite sensitive to deviations from the norm are liquid thermostats, which are capable of transferring a pulse to the head mechanisms for a short time.

More modern are the gas-filled thermostats, which operate at the expense of the pressure of the gas located at the far point from the hot water and the valve, so they are able to accurately capture the temperature and air.

Installation Instructions

The thermostatic valve for the radiator, the installation instructions of which will be presented below, can be mounted by you yourself. Depending on the scheme of the heating system, pipes for the supply of hot coolant are supplied to the radiator in different ways. This indicates that the plugs and adjusting valves must be located in different places.

Before starting the installation, shut off the water supply to the radiator and drain the entire volume. If you want to work with a single-pipe system, the coolant will go through one pipe, and the heaters will be connected in series. The pipe comes into the upper part of the radiator and water comes up. It flows through the installation, flows out from below and enters the main line.

In this case, the thermostat should be located on the bypass. To be more precise, on the jumper tube, which connects the back and forth pipe of the device, ensuring the movement of the coolant after the head is blocked by the thermostat. The manufacture of the jumper can be carried out by hand. For this, an 8-cm pipe must be welded to the steel pipes, but beforehand, holes must be prepared in the right places.

Working with a two-pipe system

The thermostat should be installed on the feed pipe, if it is a two-pipe system, where one pipe is used for the inflow, and the other for the outlet. In this case, a jumper is not required. A thermostatic valve for a radiator is a device that will be most effective if you have to work with an individual heating system. However, a significant effect can be achieved even in a centralized system, while the presence of a hot water meter is important, which will save.

Description of thermostatic valves of some manufacturers

The thermostatic valve for the Prado heating radiator is used to automatically adjust the flow of water through the heater, which is affected by the air temperature. Such equipment allows maintaining the temperature in the room with an accuracy of 1 ° C. Operation of the device should be carried out in closed rooms with natural ventilation, and the ambient temperature should vary from -15 to +50 ° C. The maximum possible humidity level is 85%, which is true if the temperature is within +25 ° C.

Do not use this device in a nuclear safety system. It should not be used in environments that contain aggressive components, gases in concentrations, as well as in dust, which can destroy metals.

The thermostatic valve for the Danfoss heating radiator is also quite common. It is able to regulate the power of the radiator, working silently and not clogging even in heavily polluted systems. The case of such devices is made of pure brass, which in the production process is covered with nickel.

Products of the RA-NCX series are made in chrome-plated case. If it is necessary to automate the operation of the heating system, both of the above-described series can be used in tandem. This includes the valves with a thermostatic drive. The Danfoss thermostatic valves have a flow stabilizer in the design that provides low noise performance. Even if the pressure drops are high, this characteristic will persist.

If you choose a thermostatic valve for a radiator, which is better, it is definitely worth solving. For example, valves of the company "Danfoss" are the least susceptible to "sticking" the valve. This effect is the adherence of the cone to the saddle when the contact lasts for a long time or the valve is in the closed state. For valves of liquid type, the closing force is very high. If you use the thermostats "Danfoss" with gas filling, then when the temperature rises, the closing force is almost non-existent because the gas condensate simply evaporates. This and the correct selection of valve seat and cone materials reduces the probability of "sticking" to a minimum.

Why choose a valve "Danfoss"

The above-described valve from Danfoss is optimized for operation, therefore the stroke of the rod is increased by 1.5 times. An impressive movement of this element and a large cross section can reduce the chance of clogging the valve. Serving such devices is quite simple. They have a fairly low cost, but allow you to reduce the cost of maintaining the system through an improved design.

Valves have a single performance tuning window with increasing cross-section. If you compare with the models of other manufacturers, then they have a configuration window - a set of round holes. If dirt clogs one of them, it will be necessary to disassemble the valve for cleaning. But in the case of the valve "Danfoss" in the occurrence of this situation, it will be sufficient to only turn the tuning ring without disassembling the device and using additional tools.