The joint between the radiator and the valve is leaking slightly. I have already tightened it as far as it will go. If I drain the radiator, unscrew the joint and put some fernox sealant on the olive and perhaps some ptfe tape on the threads will that provide a good seal? Is there a better way or easier options?
Tres.
I always think it's best to put a couple of wraps of PTFE on the threads of these fittings, not so much jointing compound because it hardens to much to allow for removal when servicing or replacing, but definitely PTFE tape.
You really mean the joint between the rad and the valve, not the valve and the pipe (don't you?!). If it's a TRV, or a manual valve with a 15mm compression joint (nut the same size as the one on the pipe) then it'll have an olive on a short stem (the 'tail') which is screwed into the rad; if it's a usual manual valve its nut will be bigger than that on the pipe and the joint will be a sort of domed end on the rad tail mating with a chamfer on the valve. (Actually compression olives and the mating surfaces on the fittings work in the same way: a section of a sphere mating with a conical section.)
Anyway in either case PTFE tape on the threads is a chocolate teapot :-)
If the ball&cone joint is leaking then silicone (Fernox LS-X or bog standard bathroom sealant) will work until you distrurb the joint after the silicone has set. A non-setting compound like boss Green or slow-setting, hardening like Boss white is what you need. If you have a 15mm olive type I'd use Boss Green as it's easy to apply round the cone and pipe, but for the bigger valve I'd use Boss White.
-- John Stumbles
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
-+ The most dangerous component in a car is the nut that holds the steering wheel
Tres,
Once you'e gone to the bother of draining it down I'd put a new fitting on - they are very inexpensive. Should use ptfe tape between radiator body and stem, and a smear of bosswhite or similar on mating conical surfaces of the fitting.
I bought a bottle of PTFE paste years ago which is very good in this situation - but it does seem to get everywhere !
Andrew Mawson
Thanks for the info everyone - I'll get some bosswhite and have a go. As a bodger I try not to replace anything.
PS. Doesn't BW EVER go to bed? :-)
Tres.
ROFL !!!
Weird shift work. But the little lady seems to like it when I'm on these shifts. I've never figured out why though. :-))
Don't forget to fit a NEW olive!
New olives are soft (annealed) and are hardened when the joint is tightened. Tightening the joint distorts the olive to make it fit around the tube and between the conical faces of the fitting.
Hmmm, how do you get the olive off a rad tail? You'd be better off fitting a new tail (if you've some kicking around from past valve replacements).
If God had intended us to replace olives every 5 minutes He wouldn't have given us Boss White :-)
-- John Stumbles
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
-+ The most dangerous component in a car is the nut that holds the steering wheel
I refer the honourable gentleman to a product I raised the profile of recently on this forum:
They do a 22mm one as well if anyone is interested:
He is actually a sophisticated computer program on an old mainframe at Berlin University. He is an automatic Internet search engine that answers queries on Usenet. I believe he won the Turing test last year.
Christian.
the links seem broken...
Can anyone point me at some others to these products ? Did searching the tool-up.co.uk website, but it's difficult when you don't know what it is you are looking for...
Junior hacksaw. Cut into the olive with the blade held at a slight angle to the pipe, until you're nearly, but not quite, through. Then insert a flat bladed screwdriver into the kerf and twist - the olive will ping open. The skill is in learning to cut far enough through the olive without marking the pipe, but it's not difficult IME.
Hmm, they've removed those web pages. Naughty boys.
Try these instead:
PoP
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.