SE451402B - Heating system valve assembly for house - Google Patents

Abstract

A heating system comprises radiators with corresp. rise and return pipes, a heat source and an expansion tank system. A water pump circulates water between the heat source and the radiators, the heat source being located on a lower level than the radiators. The heat source is directly or indirectly provided at the top with an open outlet, the radiator system water pressure above this outlet being produced by the normally permanently functioning water circulation pump. The position of the valve arrangement is such that the return pipe is held open so long as the pump pressure is maintained, but closes if the pump pressure ceases through power failure or pump fault. In turn, tapping off water from the radiators at the bottom as the result of pump stoppage is prevented.

Description

451 402 z A prerequisite for the practical applicability of the principle is of course that the water content of the radiator system at pump stop - e.g. due to power outages - drained downwards to the lower-level water tanks (heat source) located at the lower level and located there with an open outlet.

A device for preventing such an effect has been described in the applicant's previous patent from 1960 sv. pat. No. l73 555. According to this invention, under conditions corresponding to pump stop, the water in the radiator system is retained by vacuum action in a tight radiator system. The water in the radiator system cannot be drained downwards due to the said vacuum effect. However, this effect presupposes that the radiator system is tight. If this is not the case, air can leak into the radiator system, whereby its vacuum effect is reduced and its water content is drained downwards corresponding to the amount of leaking air.

In practice, most radiator systems are at least so tight that air leaks in only very slowly due to possible leaks, e.g. at the radiator valves. In the event of prolonged pump stops, however, so much air can leak in that excessive water draining downwards occurs. Short-term pump outages due to power outages, however, rarely cause significant inconvenience. Experience shows that short-term power outages e.g. in about half an hour e.d. is relatively common e.g. a few times a year in connection with temporary switches online.

Prolonged power outages - a day or longer - on the other hand, are quite rare; usually it takes several years in a certain area between such prolonged power outages.

However, if a long-term power outage occurs in winter during stronger cold, and the apartment owner is then away and if at the same time the radiator system is relatively leaky, the house's heating can be risked in the unfortunate case. Although the mentioned combination is statistically quite improbable, it can of course not be ruled out. In such a case, the radiator system can be emptied of water to such an extent that the circulation is also interrupted by recurring electric current.

A non-reliably tight radiator heating system should therefore be provided with a "safety device", which in any case prevents the radiator system from draining downwards at pump stops. However, the safety device must not jeopardize the intended cost-saving effect of the overpressure-free system. The present invention provides such a safety device.

Most radiator systems at detached houses are fed from the heat source - boiler or accumulator system - via a riser line emanating from the heat source and a return line returning to it. Both of these lines can branch off into several branch lines after the heat source. The invention intends to eliminate all undesired draining of water from the radiator system. In principle, this is done by at least closing the return line immediately after the pump stop automatically at the bottom. 3 451 402 In this context, the fundamental difference between the riser and the return line should be observed. The riser line can be closed relatively easily by means of a suitably arranged so-called check valve. This allows flow in one direction of the line (feed direction), e.g. by pulling a ball in a sealing valve seat by the water flow and water pressure in the feed direction.

If the supply flow stops, the ball falls off its weight, possibly in combination with a spring pressure, back into the valve seat and prevents a backflow in the riser line. This is not possible in the return line with its opposite flow direction and water pressure. The shut-off of the return line at pump stop therefore represents a much more complicated measure.

The present invention is characterized primarily by the fact that the return line - but alternatively also the riser line - at an overpressure-free arranged heat source at pump stop is closed with a valve device which is kept open as long as the pump is supplied by the mains electricity but which is immediately closed. power goes out. Secondly, the invention is characterized by the mode of operation of said valve device. The invention is further characterized by the claims which appear from separately submitted claims.

An embodiment of the invention is shown in Figs. 1-3, where Fig. 1 shows an overview and schematic connection of shut-off valves according to the invention in both riser and return lines to a radiator system with so-called pressure-free arrangement of the heat source of the radiator system (boiler or accumulator system), Fig. 2 shows schematically and in more detail a shut-off valve according to the invention arranged in the return line of the radiator system, Fig. 3 shows a detail of the shut-off valve in Fig. 2.

In Fig. 1, 1 is a heat source, which can consist of both a boiler or one or more accumulator containers or the like. 2a and 2b represent radiators in one or more planes, which, however, are suitably arranged at most in two storeys above the heat source. The radiator system is fed from the heat source with water from a riser line 3 and a return line 4 (both of which after the heat source can branch off into several branch lines). Circulating water is circulated through heat source and radiator system by means of the circulation pump 5, which in cooperation with a flow barrier 6 placed in a suitable place in the return line creates a water pressure (pump pressure) in the circulation system, which allows water filling and required circulation through also the highest radiators Za. The system also includes a shunt valve and a shunt line of a conventional nature, which, however, is not shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1 also schematically shows shut-off valve devices 7 in the return line and 8 in the riser line. Fig. 1 further schematically shows two different alternatives of expansion vessels for the heat source, since their open outlets and their location in height are essential for the description and function of the inventive device. Thus, 9 shows an expansion vessel of a more conventional design (but with unconventional height placement), which is connected to the heat source by the conduit 10, and which is provided with an outlet 11 open to the atmospheric air in the same plane as the heat source. The water surface in the expansion vessel normally varies between a lowest level 12 and a highest 13, the latter at the height of the open outlet 11.

Fig. 1 also schematically shows another alternative 15 for the expansion vessel, made according to another of the applicant's patent applications (sv.pans. 83 / 04171-5).

This alternative is based on locating the expansion vessel next to the position above the top of the heat source and is further based on the occurrence of some vacuum action at the top of the heat source 1. The expansion vessel 15 is connected to the heat source 1 by the line 16 and is provided with a counter atmospheric air open outlet 17. The water surface in the vessel varies between a 1st level 18 and a highest 19, the latter at the height of the open outlet 17.

In both expansion core alternatives, the heat source 1 is constantly water-filled all the way up to the top and is thereby provided with an effectively closable air valve 20.

The shut-off valve 7 in the return line can in its simplest embodiment - - "simplest" in terms of its technical description - be designed as an electromagnetically controlled valve of a per se known standard type, which is kept open as long as it is passed by electricity but is closed in the event of a power failure. In the event of a power failure, this vemti1 automatically closes the return line, while at the return of the current, the return line is reopened and the system operates as before.

If the riser line is also provided with a similar electromagnetically controlled standard valve 8, which is thus closed in the event of a power failure, then both riser and return lines will be closed down immediately in the event of a power failure. The circulating water thus remains "trapped" in the radiator system along with pipes and cannot be drained downwards. However, the pipes open automatically at the return of the current. This embodiment of the main principle of the new invention is therefore technically a functional "safety device" which also maintains the water. a leaky radiator system in the event of a power failure.

Electromagnetically controlled shut-off valves of the type specified here are, however, relatively expensive, especially if they are to be made with sufficiently large valve openings, which require strong and therefore expensive magnetic coils. The costs of the valves therefore risk eliminating the intended cost gain through the "overpressure-free" design of the system.

The shut-off valve in the riser line can, however, alternatively be designed as * in 5 451 402 a non-return valve of known standard design. During normal pump operation, the valve's sealing member is pushed away by the water flow, but when the pump stops, it falls back towards a sealing position and then also stops backflow downwards through the riser line. A non-return valve is significantly cheaper than an electromagnetically controlled shut-off valve. A disadvantage, however, is that its sealing effect can sometimes be somewhat uncertain, e.g. due to small contact pressure between the sealing valve surfaces.

None of the above-mentioned devices for closing the return line at pump stop in the event of an overpressure-free arrangement of the heat source is therefore both economically and technically completely satisfactory.

According to the present invention, a completely new principle is now used for the effective shut-off of the return line. It is mainly characterized in that the closing of the return line is controlled by the strong water pressure in the riser line in the manner described below. The new principle avoids the disadvantages of the systems proposed so far.

Fig. 2 shows an embodiment of the shut-off valve 7 according to the present invention. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, which is shown in full in the figure (scale 1z1), the valve is essentially made of two standard pipe parts. The upper part in the figure, called the valve part, is shown as an ordinary 1/2 "T-pipe, while the lower part, called the operating part, is shown in the figure as a 2" pipe (nipple pipe or the like). In series production, however, the entire valve can of course be made in another way and more or less in one piece.

The operating part 2l opens and closes a valve in the valve part, which opens resp. the closing clock return line. The operating part thus consists of a cylinder Z1, which is closed at both ends with ends 22 and 23. The upper end 22 in the figure can be fixedly connected to the cylinder 21, while the other end 23 is suitably releasable by means of a threaded connection.

The operating cylinder 21 contains an axially displaceable piston 24, which in Fig. 2 is shown in two extreme positions 24 and 24a. In reality, the axial distance between these outer positions can amount to only a few millimeters. According to the detail in Fig. 3, the piston can consist of two thin circular plate plates 25 and 26 with a slightly smaller diameter than the inner diameter of the nipple tube. Between the sheet metal discs is arranged a disc 27 of suitable packing material, which during the reciprocating movements of the piston in the nipple tube seals reasonably well against the cylinder wall. Alternatively, for further sealing, the piston may consist of an additional sheet metal plate and a sheet of packing material, but since for the reasons stated below a certain amount of liquid should be let past the piston, it should not be completely sealing between piston and cylinder wall.

The piston is connected to a valve rod 28, suitably made of a relatively small round brass rod. According to Fig. 3, it is fastened to the piston 24 with a fixed nut 29 and a removable nut 30. Nut 29 can be passed through a hole in the upper cylinder end 22, which hole is closed with a plug (preferably of brass) 31. The plug 31 is provided with a through hole 32, which with ample clearance guides the valve rod 28 as it passes through the plug. This passage does not have to be waterproof. The plug 31 is suitably inserted into the hole 33 and the T-tube 34 is threaded on the outside of the plug.

Now the control unit Zl etc. can be made in many other ways, but it has been shown above how it can be made demountable by virtually only standard parts.

Between the piston 24 and the top end 22 of the cylinder is arranged a strong coil spring 35 of stainless material. This is compressed when the piston 24 under the influence of water pressure, of which more below, moves upwards. When the water pressure ceases, the newly compressed coil spring pushes the piston back as far as the spring's compressive force can. The upward movement of the piston is suitably limited by a pair of spacers 36, e.g. screws screwed into the piston.

The control cylinder 21 is directly connected to the system return line 4 via the T-pipe 34 in the manner shown in Fig. 1-2 on the upper side 4. On the underside of the control cylinder (as shown in Fig. 2) the control cylinder is via a socket 37 and suitably a small copper line 38 connected to a coupling recess 39 on the riser line 3. When the circulation pump 5 operates, it generates a relatively strong water pressure which via the line 38 propagates to the cylinder space below the piston 24. At the same time prevails on the top of the piston via the T-pipe 34 and its connection to the return line 4 practically no water pressure at all, since the return line is connected to the suction side of the heat source. y: The piston 24 is therefore pressed during the running time of the pump 5 with considerable force upwards against the cylinder head 22 and at the same time compresses the spring 35. The piston's pressing force is considerable - at a pump pressure of 7 meters water column, the pressing force is about 14 kp gross at 50 mm cyan diameter and about 8 kp at 37 mm cylinder diameter (ll / 2 "). The pressing force is needed partly to overcome the piston friction, partly to compress the coil spring 35. other frictions are insignificant. The" useful "part of the pressing force is the one to be used to achieve sealing pressure in the hitherto not described valve part.

According to Fig. 2, the valve part consists of the upper part of the T-tube 34 together with a movable stop part. A plug 40 is suitably screwed into the upper part of the T-pipe part, which on the one hand leaves most of the mouth of the T-pipe open, and on the other hand is provided with sealing stops 41. A "valve head" 42, which is attached to the valve rod 28, is displaceable against these sealing stops. When the valve rod 28 moves downwards, the valve head 42 in its lower limit position will abut against the abutment surfaces 41. The seal in this contact can be further improved by means of a sealing gasket 43. 451 402 7 As should already be apparent from the above, the described valve is connected partly with a separate small line 38 to the riser line and partly directly to the return line. The latter connections consist partly of a connection of the return line 4 directly to the T-pipe 34, and partly of, for example, a pipe socket 45, which is watertightly screwed onto the plug 41 at the top of the T-pipe. The valve is now watertight connected to both riser and return line.

During normal operation of the heating system and thus also of the pump 5, the piston 24 in the operating cylinder is pressed together with the valve rod 28 by the water pressure under the piston upwards, whereby the valve head 42 is released from the stop 41 and then leaves the return line 4 open at the valve passage.

Should there now be a pump stop, the water pressure disappears under the piston 24.

The piston is then pressed by the previously compressed spring 35 back downwards and thus also the valve rod 28 until the valve head 42 abuts against the stops 41.

The return line is thus closed and the radiator water cannot be drained down that road. If at the same time the riser line is provided with a non-return valve 8 in Fig. 1, the riser line is also closed, but tests show that such closing can also take place without such a non-return valve, more on this below.

When the pump's electric current returns, the piston 24 is pressed upwards again and releases the valve head 42 from its stop via the valve rod 28, whereby the return line is reopened.

An analysis of the inventive device and tests performed show that it has several significant advantages. One such is that the device practically immediately at pump stop closes both return and riser lines downwards, whereby all water in the radiator system is retained even if the radiator system would not be vacuum-tight.

It is remarkable in this context that even if the non-return valve is missing in the riser line or is itself leaky and even if at the same time the radiator system were completely leaky from a vacuum point of view (which it cannot reasonably be in reality), the inventive device almost all radiator water in the system at least in the case of conventional 2-pipe systems. Namely, when the return line becomes sealed at the bottom at pump stop (via the valve head 42), so-called siphoning in the radiator system, and this means that the radiator water can not be drained further down than to the riser line connection to the upper part of the radiators. When the electric current returns, there is enough water left in the system to enable normal circulation. The worst that can happen is because you have to ventilate the radiators with regard to the part of their volume that is above the riser connection.

The effect now mentioned is essentially related to the fact that the inventive device 451 402 8 operates with very large operating force, especially in comparison with electromagnetic valves. It therefore provides a particularly good seal in the contact between the valve head 42 and its abutment. With 2 "nipple tubes, the net force after deducting friction losses and the spring voltage charge is about 6 kg, which gives a very good sealing effect. W å» A third advantage is that said operating force has no actual operating cost. Since power outages occur only rarely and this is the only time the piston 24 moves, there is also no appreciable wear on the piston.

In summer, when no heating effect is required from the radiators, the entire heating system can easily be switched off by stopping the pump 5 (via a switch). The radiator water will then be automatically retained in the radiators regardless of whether vacuum leaks occur.

The entire inventive device is arranged watertight outwards, despite the fact that it contains moving parts. These are nevertheless easily accessible for repair or inspection. The lower cylinder end 23 of the operating part is suitably provided with a screw cap (standard pipe part). The entire valve device can also, if necessary, be unscrewed from the return line 4, which with the use of the vacuum effect can often be carried out without the radiator system having to be emptied.

The valve is also relatively inexpensive.

A constantly operating circulation pump should be continuously passed by circulating water if it is not to overheat. However, if the radiator valves of all radiators then happen to be closed, the water circulation through the pump can be completely stopped if not e.g. a small bypass line is arranged past the pump. According to the inventive device, such a "bypass line" is obtained completely "free of charge" only by the piston 24 in the operating cylinder Z1 being made with insignificant clearance towards the cylinder walls, possibly only at a single point of the circumference of the piston. The cooling requirement and the bypass line can thus be very easily met according to the invention.

The shut-off valve 7 should be located at a height at a lower level than the free outlets to the atmosphere of the expansion vessels 9 or 15, i.a. for the reason that then the water pressure on the underside of the valve piston 24 becomes as large as possible and the back pressure on its upper side as small as possible, which means maximum actuating force on the piston of the actuating cylinder.

Conversely, a non-return valve 8 in the riser line should preferably be placed at a level above the just mentioned outlet 9 or 15, since this in case of leakage on the riser line side of the radiators through initial leakage on the underside of the non-return valve, Q tends to increase the sealing pressure on the non-return valve.

Claims (5)

451 402 increase the sealing effect of the non-return valve. The invention is not limited to drawings and embodiments exemplified in the text, but also comprises other embodiments which fall within the scope of the inventive concept. E_E_I_E_H_I _ * _ <_ B_ê - \ _ ' Valve device for radiator systems for heating single-family houses of a certain limited height, comprising a number of radiators (2a, 2b ...) with associated riser (3) and return lines (4) as well as branch lines to the radiators, further heating boiler to the radiator system in the form of boiler and / or an e11er f1era so-called overpressure-free accumulator containers (1) together with the associated expansion vessel system (9, 15) and circulation pump (5) for water circulation between the heat source and radiators, the heat source being arranged at a lower height level than the radiators with an atmospheric expansion conductor The air open outlet (11, 17) at a height level immediately above (11) or next to (17) the top (20) of the heat source and thus at a height level below the radiators and thereby thereby only slightly negligible overpressure in the heat source, and with the heat exchanger system above is caused by pump pressure from the aforementioned normally constantly operating circulation pump (5), characterized in that the valve device (7) is arranged preferably down in the return line of the radiator system and where the pump pressure in the riser line is controlled in such a way that the return line as long as the pump pressure in the riser line is maintained by a working cir cooling pump (5) but that the return line is closed if said pump pressure in the event of a power failure or pump failure, and thereby in the latter case drainage of water from the radiators through the return line is certainly prevented regardless of whether the radiator system is vacuum-tight or not. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the valve device contains a smaller cylindrical, preferably circular-cylindrical, water-carrying container 21, the cross-sectional area of which is substantially larger than that of the return line from the radiator system, and that this container has a central axis. a spring-loaded spring (24) (or a diaphragm) is divided into two separate chambers, the lower chamber (according to Fig. 2) being connected by a pipe connection (38) to the riser line (3) above the pump (5). ) with the relatively high water pressure of the riser during the running of the pump, while the upper chamber of the container communicates with the return line (4) with its low (or in some cases negative) water pressure, and 451 402 10 whereby the piston (diaphragm) due to the pressure difference between these two sides during the running time of the pump with great force compress the spring (35) up to a certain upper limit position of the piston (piston position 24 in Fig. 2), while reversing nt the spring (35) presses the piston (diaphragm) back to a certain lower limit position (piston position 24 a), if the pump pressure and thus also the pressure in the lower valve chamber ceases in the event of a pump stop. Device according to claims 1-2, characterized in that the piston (diaphragm) 24 is connected by means of an operating rod (28) to a valve head (42), which at the above-mentioned upper limit position of the piston is completely released from a valve head corresponding to the valve head. stop (41) in the valve device and thereby leaves the return line open for water circulation, but which in the above-mentioned lower limit position abuts waterproof and with large spring force against the stop (4l) and thereby completely seals the return line (4), and thus in radiators and return lines existing water at pump stop is prevented from draining downwards through the return line. Device according to Claim 3, characterized in that the water in the radiators in the case of a sealed return line is prevented from draining downwards through the riser line during a pump stop. Device according to claims 1-4, characterized in that a non-return valve (8) is arranged in the riser line to further ensure that the water in the radiators is prevented from flowing downwards through the riser line at pumo stops. W ä *: pl