Had to drain down CH system today to fit a new 3port valve, bloody annoying!
Anyhow I have a slim-line single convector rad in the hallway where the Square of the bleeder core is broken off, and the radiator construction is such that there is no room between the bleed valve itself and the body of the rad to get a socket on it to unscrew the whole unit.
Any tips, or will I have to replace the whole rad?!
On top of this, the whole thing has afew coats of paint on it!
TIA
Tim..
Drill through the centre with the right drill to fit the largest screw extractor yo can get in there.
OR
Just leave it and fit a new bleed screw in the other unused port on the radiator.
Bob
I don't quite understand what you mean. presumably the manufacturer must have been able to get a socket on the bleed unit when screwing it in?
Any chance of uploading a photo somewhere, and posting the URL here, so that we can see what you mean?
The broken bleed screw pin is probably made of brass, so won't be too hard to drill. You may be able to drill a small hole through the middle, and use a small stud extractor to wind it out. I'm sure that you can buy replacement pins - or, at least, replacement bleed assemblies, and use the pin out of one.
Bob, you are a bloody genius! I have the same problem & that never occurred to me!
Lateral thinking!
You mean the bleed screw is recessed into a sort of shroud in the steel at the end of the rad?
Maybe you could bodg^H^H^H^Himprovise an alternative bleed point at the other end of the rad (or the back surface at the top) by drilling & tapping another hole & fitting a brass screw with perhaps a tapering slot filed along its length so that it seals with a washer between the screw head and the metal. Or BES do some bleed valve assemblies which you might be able to fit.
May just be easier to replace the rad if it's not too big & expensive & odd-sized.
Sadly , there isnt one. neither is there a lockshield valve either- just a single turn off.
Tim..
I'll try to upload a photo in the morning.
Many thanks, Tim..
You can certainly do that on rads which have a screwed blanking plug at the other end. But not all rads do - some are welded up solid at the opposite end from the bleed screw. I have a mixture of both types in my house!
I get the impression that this is a roll-top radiator not one with a hole at each corner.
I don't know whether I am missing something here or not, but why not just use a radiator Allen key which is recessed on one end to unscrew the whole bleed valve unit. The end is drilled to fit over the actual bleed screw.
HTH
John
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