# Do Honeywell zone valves go bad over time?



## rvtgr8 (Dec 16, 2010)

I just added a zone to my system.  I had the foresight to plumb in an extra zone for an upcoming attic refinishing project.  The problem began when the zone valve failed.  The rubber stopper that is rotated by the thermostatically controlled motor had actually (for lack of the correct term) corroded in place.  Not only that, but it seemed to have almost becomes slightly elliptical in shape, causing it to act like a stopper.  Do these things happen with valves sitting in water without being actuated?  Is it possible that zones that receive little use during the heating season can begin to fail?  I have two zones that appear to be showing signs of reduced flow.  Could sticking valves be the culprit?
By the way, the house is very toasty and it is only 20 degrees outside with wind.  My propane guy must miss me.


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## Nofossil (Dec 16, 2010)

rvtgr8 said:
			
		

> I just added a zone to my system.  I had the foresight to plumb in an extra zone for an upcoming attic refinishing project.  The problem began when the zone valve failed.  The rubber stopper that is rotated by the thermostatically controlled motor had actually (for lack of the correct term) corroded in place.  Not only that, but it seemed to have almost becomes slightly elliptical in shape, causing it to act like a stopper.  Do these things happen with valves sitting in water without being actuated?  Is it possible that zones that receive little use during the heating season can begin to fail?  I have two zones that appear to be showing signs of reduced flow.  Could sticking valves be the culprit?
> By the way, the house is very toasty and it is only 20 degrees outside with wind.  My propane guy must miss me.



I have well over 120 zone valve years of experience at this point. I've had two mechanical (gearing) failures and one limit switch failure so far. Haven't seen what you're talking about, but it wouldn't surprise me.


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## in hot water (Dec 17, 2010)

That sure sounds like a fluid quality issue, or extreme overheating when installing.  Honeywell is one of few that still uses an EPDM, or some composite product, ball.  The problem can be that it gets an imprint memory on the ball.  The ball is free to rotate on the stem, so it can close off at different positions.  When the ball gets the seat imprint, it can fail to shut off completely and you get leak by potential.

More noticeable, of course when they shut off against high pressure, like high head pump/ zone valve installations.

There were some knock off zone valves from China on the market.  We cycle tested them to failure and sent all the rubber components to labs for testing,you can really cheapen the components, machine quality and life span of a product if that is the goal 

I would have the fluid tested that sound like a possible cause of the ball deforming and deteriorating.  Is it glycol?

hr


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## rvtgr8 (Dec 17, 2010)

Well, there is no glycol in my system but the knock off situation might be a possibility.  I went to a reputable plumbing supply house and talked to a seemingly knowledgeable fellow.  Before I had actually opened the valve body, he predicted that the ball would be stuck saying in essence that if one of these valves sits in water, but not cycling open and shut, the valve would be shot.  I purchased a replacement valve, fully expecting that I would have to cut the old valve out and solder in the new one.  Since the body of the valve was the same, I opened it up and the ball was misshaped and stuck.  I finally dislodged it, cleaned out the body and replaced the guts with the ones from the replacement valve.  It worked perfectly, but the fact that it had become distorted bothered me.  As you pointed out, I would have expected a hydronic valve from Honeywell to have kept its shape.  The water temp has never been over 150 degrees and never had glycol so perhaps it was a knockoff.  That said, my original set of valves all were purchased from the same place.  I wonder if I am going to see other problems.  As always, you guys are the best! :cheese:


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## Dave Hamburger (Oct 21, 2013)

YES...they go bad!

I have 2 zones, and both valves, which look to be genuine honeywell, have gone bad. 
They each lasted about 10 years in use.  The ball/guts was completely disintegrated.
I'm pissed....took me a long time to figure this out, messing about with the power head etc.
Plus, you can't buy just the guts....I have to buy a whole valve just to replace the little ball...cost me $150 each!

Also, what do I do when they stop selling these things....I expect my hydronic heating system will last my lifetime, if I have to replace every 10 years, thats a real pain.


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## heaterman (Oct 21, 2013)

All I will add is that we have quit using HW zone valves due to failures of all types.  

We have dozens of systems out there with ancient Honeywells that just keep on chugging a long. When we do have to replace one, it seems the new ones fail too consistently for my taste. We've been using Taco "Zone Sentry" valves with pretty good success for the last few years.


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