Imperial to metric radiator conversions.

[John Rumm]

Other valves are available - it was just one that had a decent picture to illustrate the point.

[Robin]

That's not very old but I expect you'd get a quick ID if you post a link to a photos.

[Roland Perry]

In message <$[e-mail]>, at 20:02:01 on Sun, 3 Oct 2021, Tim Lamb [e-mail]> remarked:

I suppose I could squirt some WD40 onto them, but the plunger(s) currently resist any attempt to budge them.

[Roland Perry]

In message [e-mail], at

06:50:04 >> In message [e-mail]>, at 17:30:51 on Sun, 3

[John Rumm]

Yup, lube, then taps on the valve with a light hammer - or grips on the pin itself if it is stuck down.

[Roland Perry]

In message [e-mail]>, at

10:37:14 >> In message <$[e-mail]>, at 20:02:01 on

Silly question - if it's stuck "shut" is that up or down?

[Robin]

down

[Robin]

looks to me to be bog standard. Compare the photos at Screwfix of e.g. the current Honeywell there or the £10 Myson.

[Roland Perry]

In message [e-mail], at

11:56:07 >> In message [e-mail], at

I'll be picking up my "free" Drayton ones tomorrow. So can compare.

(Unlike "Go Compare" which don't seem o want to do energy switching at the moment).

[alan_m]

Lump hammer

Better off using a real oil and leaving it a day after application.

[alan_m]

+1

It looks fairly compact on the plumbing side so similar/same size as modern equivalents.

When I replaced some very old valves, possibly 30 years old, they were much more bulky.

[John Rumm]

Down is shut - no flow. Typically they are spring loaded so that the valve should move to the full open setting if left to its own devices. The TRV head has a wax capsule "motor" that expands at it gets hot, and pushes down on the pin, closing off the flow. However after a summer of being held closed, they can get stuck that way.

(some valves also come with a decorating cap, that screws onto the valve base in place of the TRV head and clamps the pin down - cutting off the flow making it easier to drain and remove a rad without doing the whole system... (a 5p stuffed under the normal TRV will usually do the same job"))

[Roland Perry]

In message <lIidnaZXgrPNtMb8nZ2dnUU78V [e-mail]>, at

17:18:23 >> In message [e-mail]>, at

It's been stuck at least a year I'm think (SWMBO opined today "I wondered why that room was so cold last Winter").

A squirt of WD40 this morning, and it's now popped up!

Ah yes. I think I have a couple of those somewhere. A grey, domed, plastic thing.

[Andy Burns]

I had some of that type, certainly pre-1990.

[John Rumm]

Handy - work it up and down a few times to make sure it is good and free

- and it should be fine for the rest of the heating season.

Yup, like a threaded blanking cap...

[Tim Lamb]

Mine were horizontal so *in*. Pair of pliers with care:-)

>

[newshound]

They stick in the summer. I normally make sure all mine are fully open (i.e. hottest setting) at the end of the heating season so that the springs push the pin to its maximum distance out. That way, the tap with the hammer is operating against the stiction and it becomes obvious when they are free: you should be able to see them move in and out when you push them. You will need to use a hard object, they are too stiff to push with a finger. If they stick when fully closed then you are tapping against a stop. I don't use WD40, I assume the pin operates through an O-ring and sticks on the "wet" side, so the lubricant will be stopped by the seal.

[Roger Hayter]

For future reference people must be discouraged from turning them fully off, especially for the summer. This seems to be a major cause of sticking. There is no great point in turning them off at all when the heating is off, and they can be adequately turned down to the little frost sign, or even "1" where they are not going to come on until the room is pretty cold, colder than it is likely to get in a heated house. Thermostats in general are a major cause of confusion to those not acquainted with control systems, unfortunately.

[Roger Hayter]

And with the modern type of radiator tail, available in any reasonable length (possibly with the aid of a hacksaw and file) to match radiators somewhat smaller to the pipes.

[Tim Lamb]

Snip

Umm. Mine got to about 15 years and started sticking despite being left on the Winter setting.