Leaking Radiator

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27 Jan 2005
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Got a bit of a problem with radiators today. Yesterday they were on but today they're not. We still have hot water, so I presume an air lock someware even though no more air will come out of the radiators.

Anyway, one radiator is quite leaky around the spindle at the top, and just wondered how to go about fixing this?

It is in the off position at the moment, but still leaking.

Any plumbing geniuses here?



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I had this happen, I just used a pair of pliers to tighten the bolt (The bit you turn for on and off) if you do this it should stop the leaking.

Jcb33.
 
I had this happen, I just used a pair of pliers to tighten the bolt (The bit you turn for on and off) if you do this it should stop the leaking.

Jcb33.

That would be the first thing to do, however if you are saying it is leaking near the spindle then that probably won't work, soyour rad valve probably needs changing and you will have to drain the whole system out to do that. Not a very hard job but draining and filling system up can take a while.
 
Close the valve on the other side as well as that one. Take radiator off, drain radiator and put it outside. Get some freeze spray freeze the pipe below the leaky valve, take it off and put a new one on. Make sure you get the right size valve. Freeze spray will freeze the pipe for long enough to do the repair.

That will cost you about £10 for the freeze spray and valve. Plummer will charge you £100. Thats assuming you have the tools. Dont forget ptfe tape.
 
Dont forget ptfe tape.

You dont need PTFE!!!! :mad:


There's an o-ring in that valve and now you've desturbed it its leaking, turning both valves off should stop the leak.

You can also try turning the valve on and off a few times, bed the o-ring back in or shift any crud thats making it leak, may work to stop most of the leak. Or open it all the way works sometimes too, bit of a knack to these things that only comes with experience!

You could very well get some freeze spray and change the valve yourself, you dont need to drain and remove the rad though. If the ice plug melts though you're screwed. We have an electric pipe freezer as the cans just aren't reliable enough.

You can also get plugs that you plug the cold feed and expansion with, this holds the water in a vacuum so swapping a rad valve is easily done. This is assuming you have an open vented system, if you have a pressurised system its even easier as you just have to let the pressure off.

Now as long as you manage to contain the water you'll get while changing the valve you're good, things can easily go wrong though and there's a lot of water in that pipe and it'll cost more than a plumber to repair the damage it causes if it leaks.

Basically its easier said than done and its very easy to get out your depth very quickly.

Oh, and if any of your rads suddenly stop working its not too likely to be an air lock and you wont remove the air by venting the rads anyway, it'll end up in a rad after you've shifted it from the place it was locked.

;)
 
someone said it'll cost 100 to fix, i'd say thats a rip off, a valve shouldnt cost any more than 5 quid and to change it shouldnt take any longer than an hr.. if anyone thinks it'll take hours, they dont know what they're doing..

i could change the valve within 5 minutes if you were happy for it to be worked on live..

their is no point in trying to repair it when valves cost little
 
Ive swapped valves on tank fed systems live before, when Ive really been short on time!!

I wouldn't do it by choice though, only need a little snag and you're in trouble. For 5 mins plugging the tank up (tank fed) or draining the pressure off into a bucket (pressurised) its not worth the risk.

If its pressurised you wouldn't change it live anyway!

:)
 
its very likely that its not a pressurised system, just by looking at the age of the valve and lots of random air locks he's got..

i could be wrong tho, he's better off paying a plumber, if you find a good one, they really arent too expensive, unless you're using bushmins plumber :/
 
The valve isn't that old really, no union and no packing gland just an o-ring. Its just plastered in paint and looks old!

Doesn't really mean its a new system either though, cant tell from a little pic..

Being a plumber myself I wouldn't advise people to plug tanks etc, its fine if it works but you need to know if it hasn't. Gets a bit damp then....

And yea, with travel (depends how local your plumber is), getting your kit in, doing the job and testing it, cup of tea and a clear up id say an hour easily. So about £50 + parts.

Id pay that to keep my house dry and have a job done by a professional. Depends if you can find a good plumber though, dont go for the cheapest!
 
The valve isn't that old really, no union and no packing gland just an o-ring. Its just plastered in paint and looks old!

Doesn't really mean its a new system either though, cant tell from a little pic..

Being a plumber myself I wouldn't advise people to plug tanks etc, its fine if it works but you need to know if it hasn't. Gets a bit damp then....

And yea, with travel (depends how local your plumber is), getting your kit in, doing the job and testing it, cup of tea and a clear up id say an hour easily. So about £50 + parts.

Id pay that to keep my house dry and have a job done by a professional. Depends if you can find a good plumber though, dont go for the cheapest!
 
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why be a d**k and then ask for no ill feelings ? are you on drugs..

do you think 50 quid is a lot to pay ? i dont.. someone has to drive to the property and spend time sorting the problem.. 50 quid isnt all profit, its tax, diesel, tools, running a business..

stop being an idiot, i'd said fair enough, speak up, if he had said 250 quid..
 
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