"Drake" wrote in message
...
On 9 Oct 2006 09:41:05 -0700, "Fash"
wrote:


In normal operation it would either be crud or corrosion around the
valve seat or that the head has failed.

If your problem is that you want to shut off the valve to be able to
remove the radiator, then valves normally come with an extra plastic
cap that is screwed on in place of the head for this purpose.

Lots of TRVs don't claim the ability to completely shut off flow. Some
have a positive 'off' position but usually make some claim to this as
an added feature in the blurb. Therefore you may be wrong to call it a
'failure'. If this is the case, you better hope you haven't upset it
too much by cursing it and otherwise saying rude things about/to it!

Thanks for the reply (Likewise to Andy). The odd thing is that the TRV
doesn't even seem to be controlling the temperature of the rad at all.
It seems to be permanently on 'very hot'. Seems to defy logic...

Drake

Not if the head part has been assembled wrongly. In fact logic points to
this as being the main possibility. Take the head of the TRV right off the
rad by unscrewing the locking nut at its base. You should see the spring
loaded pin sticking out of the base on the rad which has the shut off washer
on its other end. Push it down fully and see if it springs back up freely.
If so the shut off valve part is ok.

Now check the head of the TRV. It should be in two main parts. The bottom
bit which screws to the base on the rad and the top bit which rotates and
contains a plunger which expands as it gets hot to control the position of
the shut off pin. Remove any grub screws and take the two apart. You'll see
splines or buttresses inside both which determine how much the top bit can
rotate relative to the bottom bit and therefore how far down the plunger can
be screwed. Depending on how the two are oriented when you start to screw
them together you'll get more travel or less travel. Yours may differ
slightly from this description depending on its make but if you play with it
a while you'll see how it works.

Sounds like someone with itchy fingers has had yours apart and not put it
back together properly so the plunger never screws down far enough to close
the shut off pin. The rest you should now be able to work out for yourself,
perhaps with a little trial and error.
--
Dave Baker
Puma Race Engines
www.pumaracing.co.uk
Camp American engineer minces about for high performance specialist (4,4,7)