Gas combination pilot/burner valve?

[dpb]

Have very old gas heater in pumphouse. Smelled gas the other day; got to doing the look-for today. Turns out it's the stem seal around the shaft on the valve at the heater; this heater is too old to have integral control valve like a modern furnace, the valve body has a second small control valve for the pilot line.

Anybody else here old enough to remember such and have any ideas on replacements? I've shut main off at the moment; since it's 80F this week won't need it any time real soon now and probably can get by until next winter now, but it'll need fixing at some point.

I don't want to touch this one at the moment until have a plan of action in case I can't rebuild the stem seal...

OBTW, it's 3/8" NPT...

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[dpb]

OK, I know that one was a real stretch...so--

Spent several hours at the hardware places in town today--over in the corner in the dark of the non-chain "go there if need the odd and/or old" place we rummaged around enough to actually find a 3/8" fips plug valve and a 1/4" compression one as well. So if shorten the supply nipple can insert a 3/8x3/8x1/4 reducing tee and feed the pilot that way...a little clunky compared to the integral version but will work and can then worry about whether can replace stem seal in this one or not.

I suppose it is probably pure unobtanium as an actual device at this point...but if anybody has a wayback machine I'm still interested.

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[dpb]

On 3/13/2012 9:07 PM, Oren wrote: ...

Nope, nothing like that here (or close). Too small, too new...

Lynchburg was another story, however...

[Stormin Mormon]

I think they call that "wild pilot". Beyond that, I'm not a lot of help.

Might be able to get a new valve by way of the make and model number of the heater. Or numbers on the valve itself. Or take the valve in hand, and go to the parts house and say "got one of these?"

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

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Anybody else here old enough to remember such and have any ideas on replacements? I've shut main off at the moment; since it's 80F this week won't need it any time real soon now and probably can get by until next winter now, but it'll need fixing at some point.

I don't want to touch this one at the moment until have a plan of action in case I can't rebuild the stem seal...

OBTW, it's 3/8" NPT...

[The Daring Dufas]

You might be able to repack the valve stem seal with the more modern Teflon cord sold these days. Have you tried tightening the nut around the valve stem thus compressing the existing packing?

TDD

[dpb]

On 3/14/2012 5:16 AM, harry wrote: ...

Don't know for sure; can't tell easily given age and location and small size.

I'm not willing to do much more than look w/o a backup plan in place first as it's highly likely given the age disturbing it at all will cause more significant leakage before the fix if possible to get it disassembled at all.

Another less critical application and sure...

[dpb]

...

No discernible pedigree...it dates from pre WWII; I recall the heater was in the bathroom of the house while growing up before the remodel that installed central heat (that was in early 50s; the house was bought and moved to the farm in '43 when ground it was on prior was taken for the Army Air Force base west of town that was a B17 training facility...the chances of an in-stock replacement are, I think, nil, at this point as there's none of the old HVAC/plumbing places that have been around very long still open here; the hardware place yesterday's rummaging episode was in is the only one that was still here when was a kid.

I'll ask the guy who does my HVAC stuff if he's got any source but it's not likely methinks...

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[dpb]

On 3/14/2012 6:58 AM, The Daring Dufas wrote: ...

See above to Harry--I'm not getting very investigative until do have a set of pieces that can be sure will serve. It's small enough and difficult enough to get a view of under the handle and behind the heater I'm not positive how the stem seal is attached at this point. It's _not_ just an external nut like a hose bib is clear...looks like may be a recessed slotted retainer. Given its age, who knows how "growed together" it will turn out to be and how soft the brass is...

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[The Daring Dufas]

If you could post a picture to one of the photo sharing sites it may help us understand what you have. I feel like the blind guy someone tried to describe an elephant to. ^_^

TDD

[dpb]

On 3/14/2012 10:33 AM, The Daring Dufas wrote: ...

If push comes to shove...

Got to thinking, perhaps I can adapt one of the gas logs-type pilot-generator valves and get a better end result in that the pilot then would actually also go off if the wind, say, blew out the pilot sometime while weren't around for a spell...

I've decided to go ahead and disassemble and see what I can tell, then go from there...

[The Daring Dufas]

Johnstone Supply sells the type gas valves for gas logs and gas heaters.

TDD

[Larry W]

Does the pilot have a thermocouple shutoff sensor or could one be installed? I've purchased universal replacement gas control valves from Grainger and MSC that have not been difficult to fit to old gas space heaters. You may need some elbows or other fittings.

[dpb]

On 3/14/2012 4:09 PM, Larry W wrote: ...

No, it doesn't but I've found a new old-stock White Rodgers TC-input level of the right configuration and plan on ordering it. Can surely jury-rig the TC mount somehow.

That finally dawned on me I was trying to solve the wrong problem--instead of trying to fix/repair what I had/have, get the solution to the problem from the git-go. :)

Great minds and all that rot...

[dpb]

On 3/14/2012 12:28 PM, The Daring Dufas wrote: ...

Thanks; hadn't run across them before. Looks like good place to have link to.

In the looking stumbled across a NOS pilot safety valve on eBay for a good price; it's on its way as we speak. Will have to manufacture a TC bracket mounting arrangement of course when it gets here...

I'll try to update when get it back online altho doesn't look like it'll be needed again this spring from the looks of things at the moment. _WAY_ too warm this early for the winter wheat; but there's almost always a spell of warm weather out here before a last killing frost that does in all the fruit trees, etc., but the really important thing is whether the wheat breaks dormancy and then gets hammered or not...

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[dpb]

On 3/16/2012 9:37 AM, dpb wrote: ...

...

All's good... :)

Amazingly, the overall length of the safety valve was identical to that of the old wild-pilot valve assembly so didn't have to modify piping at all.

Bought a new pilot burner at local HVAC dealership; had to modify its mounting significantly to place it in the right location and then redrill new mounting holes for the required orientation. A new line for the pilot bent to shape and voila! works like a champ.

This will be good; having the safety valve means can not worry so much when wind blows as the if it does manage to knock the pilot out the gas will go off instead of staying on as would before. Hadn't ever happened, but...

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