Leaking Towel Rad ...

[Arfa Daily]

I've just fitted a chrome ladder-type towel rad as part of my bathroom refit. Right angled valves onto pipes that I've chased into the wall. No problems with any of that, but I've got a slight weep from the tails where they screw into the rad. I wrapped the threads with what I thought was an appropriate amount of PTFE tape before fitting the tails, and pulled them up (needs a bloody great allen key) as tight as seemed reasonable.

It's only a small weep, resulting in a single drip perhaps every 10 minutes. The heating system is off at the moment, and has been all summer, so it's all cold, and any water pressure is static only, so I'm thinking if I power back up, this problem is only going to be worse. I've looked very carefully, and the water is definitely coming down from where the tail enters the rad, not welling up from the tap to tail union. Both sides are doing it , but one about twice as much as the other.

So what's the answer ? More tape ? Pull the tails up a bit tighter ? Some different thread sealer ? Obviously, it's a pain in the arse to have to keep draining the rad, and taking it back off the wall, so a 'guaranteed fix-in-one' would be nice, if anyone's had this problem, and sorted it.

TIA

Arfa

[David Hansen]

On Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:28:49 +0100 someone who may be "Arfa Daily" wrote this:-

It might, to begin with. Then it is likely that the leak will seal itself.

I would catch the drips and see what happens. With luck nothing else needs to be done as the drips will probably stop in a while.

[Andrew Gabriel]

IME, it varies considerably with different radiator makes how many PTFE turns to use. I started with 10 turns. In a few cases, this wasn't enough, so I stripped it all off and rewound with 15 turns. With it being a whole new install, I could pressure test sections with air and using gas leak detector spray, which made finding and fixing leaks easy with the system all still dry. It's harder when you're modifying a system.

So, I would redo the connections with more PTFE tape. There are liquid versions of it which some people claim is easiler to use, but I've never used it myself.

[The Medway Handyman]

The answer is more tape and pull the tails in tighter, but as you say a PITA. Why not just inject a leak sealer into the rad?

[Bob Mannix]

If there is enough PTFE tape on they shouldn't need a lot of force to tighten enough. It sounds from what you say you are putting a lot of force on, ergo there isn't enough PTFE tape. The threads are (or should be) tapered and quickly tighten onto the PTFE. If they are tightening metal to metal they wont seal.

There may be another problem but I would just put a lot more PTFE on!

[Arfa Daily]

Yeah, I considered that - you could get it in through the bleed hole - and I also considered just leaving it as David Hansen suggested. However, on balance, I decided that as it was a new-fit, and the bathroom is still in a considerable amount of disarray, the best thing is to have it back off the wall, and do the job properly. It's a bit annoying really, as it's the last place that I expected to have a problem with a leak. It's incredibly difficult to get the pipes lined up exactly when bringing them up the wall, and I thought that I might have 'misalignment' leaks when I came to mating the taps with the tails, but no, that bit seems quite watertight. Still, first thing this morning, I have re-drained the rad, and left it on the wall dripping away into a bowl. Later, when it's just about dry, I'll drag it off the wall, and have the tails back out, and retape them. Do you reckon it's worth putting just a 'wipe' of silicone sealer on the innermost part of the threads as a bit of 'belt and braces' ?

Now, I wonder if the bloody window fitters are going to turn up this morning to replace the unit they cracked when fitting it, and to put the right obscure glass in the garage window ... :-\

Arfa

[Arfa Daily]

Thanks for the advice Bob. That's what I'm gonna do. Let you all know how I get on ...

Arfa

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Yup.

With plenty PTFE you can use the tails to adjust the fit to the valves slightly - they don't have to be tightened up till they groan, and still won't leak.

The one sealer I wouldn't be without is Fernox LS-X. But shouldn't be needed here.

[Arfa Daily]

Mission acomplished. Rad back off the wall. Tails back out and previous tape removed. Bit of fine emery run around internal threads in rad, as they felt a little 'sharp', and had made a bit of a dog's dinner of the original tape. Re-taped with rather more than I first used, and put back in and whacked up to the 'just pinched' point. Rad remounted and connected and filled. This morning, still completely dry at all joints. Just need to put heating on for a couple of hours today to let everything get nice and hot, and if all ok, which I'm now confident it will be, tomorrow, the couple of boards that I've got up where I made the changes to the pipework, can go back down.

Thanks all for the suggestions on how to sort this problem. Bang on, as always. d;~}

Arfa