I've had a sticky goo out of one of mine, fitted by a former owner. It's black and went all over the floor, skirting, valve and pipe.
Drayton TRVs
- Thread starter Alfie25
- Start date
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Are you saying the sticky goo is coming from the head itself, rather than sludge coming through the pin or gland? As these are liquid thermostats, could it be the liquid seeping out?? I presume they no longer work properly once they've dropped their sticky goo? (!!!)
The goo is yellowish in colour. As best I can tell, it comes from the head itself. It oozes down the outside of the metal bit of the valve before dripping onto the floor. But then it sets harder / stickier, presumably as it cools.
It's difficult to tell how much the head's performance is affected by this leakage - it seems fair to assume that it no longer works correctly...
I must admit mine was more a residue than a goo (and probably not that sticky now I think about it). It looked like the valve had just let by, which is what I believe actually happened. But whatever it was had gone all over the body too, so I wasn't clear on what it was. I didn't do a functional test.
If this is happening on all your valves I would surmise maybe they are being asked to perform at the limits of, or out of specification. What is the boiler flow setting/knob position?
If this is happening on all your valves I would surmise maybe they are being asked to perform at the limits of, or out of specification. What is the boiler flow setting/knob position?
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I cannot imagine that they can be working outside of their specification.
It sounds like a manufacturing fault and I would have expected a respectable firm like Drayton would send you replacements!
I suggest you write to them about it including any batch numbers you may have.
Never heard of it before though.
Tony
It sounds like a manufacturing fault and I would have expected a respectable firm like Drayton would send you replacements!
I suggest you write to them about it including any batch numbers you may have.
Never heard of it before though.
Tony
Well it sounds from the description like it's affecting at least 3 batches over a 10+ year period. So either he's very unlucky, owns a problem cat, or there's an external influence involved.
Well, this discussion has prompted me to pay a bit more attention to the problem...
Last evening I replaced two more of the heads, and realised that they were two that I'd already replaced previously. Examination revealed that, in fact, it's the valves that are leaking around the pin. Probably not the heads at all
I now believe that the sticky goo is "dried" system water (which is well dosed-up with Fernox F1).
However, I did compare the weights of my collection of TRV4 heads (I didn't throw all the old ones away...). Three were 141 grams, but one was only 125g. So perhaps that one did leak wax, and I falsely assumed the others had failed in the same way?
Can the leaking valve pins be cured? Or is it complete new valve time?
Last evening I replaced two more of the heads, and realised that they were two that I'd already replaced previously. Examination revealed that, in fact, it's the valves that are leaking around the pin. Probably not the heads at all
I now believe that the sticky goo is "dried" system water (which is well dosed-up with Fernox F1).
However, I did compare the weights of my collection of TRV4 heads (I didn't throw all the old ones away...). Three were 141 grams, but one was only 125g. So perhaps that one did leak wax, and I falsely assumed the others had failed in the same way?
Can the leaking valve pins be cured? Or is it complete new valve time?
The heads on TRV4s are alcohol mix filled. That should be a clear liquid!
Cheap TRVs use a hard wax which would not normally come out. They take much longer to respond than liquid filled ones.
CH water should not be a dark green sticky colour.
Dark green and sticky is usually the result of adding a sludge cleaner which has not been properly flushed out!
More common than you might expect!
Properly cleaned system water is in the range from clear to slight straw colour!
Tony
Cheap TRVs use a hard wax which would not normally come out. They take much longer to respond than liquid filled ones.
CH water should not be a dark green sticky colour.
Dark green and sticky is usually the result of adding a sludge cleaner which has not been properly flushed out!
More common than you might expect!
Properly cleaned system water is in the range from clear to slight straw colour!
Tony
Is it prone to blockages due to the 8mm orifice being smaller than most other TRVs?
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