Disconnecting radiator

[Kevin Brady]

I would like to disconnect a ground-floor radiator and cap of the flow and return pipes, without turning off or isolating the pipes.

I hoped I could simply cut the pipes with a cutter, and secure a compression 'dead-end' fitting, or even isolating valaves - albeit getting a bit wet in the process. Is there still likely to be a lot of pressure in the flow if the central heating is turned off (i.e. in summer) that would not allow me to get the fitting over the pipe, once I've cut it.

The central heating system is off a back-boiler in the living room, cyclinder in bathroom and header tanks in loft (one for water, other for c.heating top-up)

Once the extension is built, I'll get a plumber to extend the pipe to the new location, but would rather not have to pay a huge sum, simply to have the pipe cut and sealed to allow removal of radiator.

All suggestions gratefully received. Cheers

[Mr Fizzion]

There is plenty of pressure (from the F&E tank - the small tank in the loft and the higher radiators and pipe work) and you will flood the place if you take the radiator off.

Do this: Go into the loft and tie some string around the ball c*ck arm in the F&E tank - then tie the other end of the string round something suitable so the ballcock cannot "sink". [Alternatively you might be lucky and there might be a gate valve to the F&E you can turn off]

Then you have to find the draincock - somewhere near the lowest point of the system. Mine for example is sticking out of an airbrick into the conservatory. Connect a bit of garden hose to it and use a jubilee clip to keep it in place. Open the draincock and allow all the water to flow out down the hose and into the drain. While it's flowing out check in the loft to make sure the ballcock really is secure.

When it's all gone you can take the radiator off. Make sure you add some anticorrosion inhibitor when you refill the system.

Mr F.

[Chris Bacon]

How much pipe have you got to play with? You could probably crimp the pipe, cut above the crimp, and attach the fitting.

[Kevin Brady]

If I drain the system as descibed, will I need to bleed all the radiators once it is filled again - will I have to do anything to the boiler/pump to get all working again? If not, then this seems a fairly simple exercise - I should have done it ages ago!

[Mr Fizzion]

Yes you will have to bleed them, though this is hardly difficult.

You don't need to do anything else except remember to close the draincock! :-)

Mr F.

[Kevin Brady]

Cheers Mr F - that's Saturday morning taken care of. (I think I'll print this off as a reminder).

[Kevin Brady]

It just occured to me - the radiator I intend to remove is on the end of a run - rather than cap the f & r pipes, do I need to connect the together, thereby closing the 'circuit'? or is this not necessary since they are at the end of a 2-pipe (F&R) system?

Thanks once again.

[Mr Fizzion]

Someone with more expertise might care to comment, but I would say that one would never have a system topology where one would have to connect the two radiator pipes together. Otherwise if you turned off the end radiator, you'd be b******d.

The flow and return pipes are normally a complete loop themselves with branches off to each radiator.

Mr F.

[John Rumm]

There will still be a path for the water through the other rads. In fact if you joined them you would probably mess up the ballancing since you would create a very low resistance flow path.

[John Laird]

No they are not. Think of them more like the rails of a ladder, with the radiators running across like rungs. At one end you have the boiler, at the end usually a radiator rather than plugged ends - they are certainly not joined. That would form a short-circuit. Any radiator can be shut off or removed without the need to do anything to the rest of the circuit (minor rebalancing aside.)

[Rob Horton]

I froze my pipes when I did a similar thing in my house. Those freezer kits from the sheds do actualy work. However, not wanting to pay about £10 a pipe, I got the wife to bring home a load of dry ice from work. Cut some notches in an icecream container (empty) so that the container would fit around the pipe and filled it with the dry ice. Wrapped a towel around it for insulation and gave it about 15 minutes. You really need to pack the icecream container full of dry ice. Cut the pipe and fitted an end cap. Altough a better idea might be a gate valve. It's more convenient when you come to do some work later on. Eg you can drain the water out of the pipe in a controlled manner.

Oh, don't juggle with the remaining dry ice whilst waiting for the pipes to freeze. Have a party instead and use it as a special effect :)

[Christian McArdle]

A gate valve would not be appropriate. Gate valves do not entirely turn off and will dribble continuously. A ball valve would be better, but a compression end cap much better still, as it will more reliably hold back the water and it is no hassle to remove when you decide to extend.

Christian.

[Kevin Brady]

Thank-you everyone. I now feel up to a task that would probably have cost me £60 of someone else's time. Once again the Forum system demonstrates its worth.

Cheers guys

Kevin Brady Oxford, UK

[Matt]

......and if there is any left over don't be tempted to take it on a plane and flush it down the toilet.