Re: Removing a Radiator (for good)

[Richard]

Hi Kate I think from your description you have been given a device to cap the valve of the radiator. So in other words you will still have the two valves in situ. What you need for a permanent seal is to remove the valves and go back to the plumber merchant and ask for a 15 mm Speedfit connection and a blanking plug. You push the blanking plug on one end of the connection and the other end you just push on the pipe you want to seal. I hope this description helps. There are other methods which require solder or big spanners etc but this is the easiest in my opinion for the DIY plumber. Regards Richard

Hey folks - thanks in advance for any help you can offer. > > I'm removing a radiator, hopefully. My central heating system runs > off the coal fire. > > I think I've worked out how to remove the radiator ok, but I'm unsure > about sealing up the pipes when I've done this; I want to remove the > radiator for good. > > I've been to the plumbers' merchant for something to seal off the > pipes and they gave me something which seems to be composed of a > collar and a cap which screws into it. In between the collar and the > cap there is a washer-type-thing shaped lik a hula hoop (kp variety!). > > What I want to know is... > 1) Will this nut thing fit onto the horizontal part of the fitting, > or do I have to remove the valve and put it on the vertical part of > the pipe? > > 2) How does this but thing stay attached to the pipe? I don't have > to weld it or anything do I? > > Cheers. > > SadKate***

[Bob Eager]

On Sun, 3 Aug 2003 16:27:21 UTC, "Richard" top posted:

No, I think she's been given a compression fitting to cap the actual pipe. The 'hula hoop' is the olive.

Kate, you need a bare pipe end to fit that. So you need to cut the pipe off square, anywhere you like; then clean up the rough end. The collar goes over the pipe (threaded part towards the cut end) and then the 'hula hoop' (commonly known as an 'olive'). Screw the cap on finger tight, then another quarter turn tighter using two big spanners. Don't tighten too much. The idea is that the olive bites into the pipe and makes a metal-to-metal seal; too tight and the seal fails. You can always tighten a bit more later if it isn't tight enough.

May just be easier to get something to screw into the end!

[SadKate***]

Do the valves screw off/on Richard?

Ta.

[SadKate***]

Ah that makes sense and it sounds ideal. I'd like to pare back the plumbing as much as possible.

Do I have to drain the system then? Can I just be quick and have something ready to stick in the hole?

[BigWallop]

If you've been given something like this:

you'll have to drain the system down and cut the pipes back where they will not be seen. Fit the compression stop end by slipping the threaded nut (the completely open thing with a screw thread in it) over the pipe first. Then place the olive washer (the hula-hoop) over the pipe and then the stop end cap itself.

Tighten them by hand until they grip quite firmly together and make sure you give the whole thing a little tap on the end to make sure it is correctly and fully on the pipe. Take two spanners which fit the size of the heads (the hexagonal bits) and tighten them up firmly but not over tightened.

Start to fill the system back up, which gives a good opportunity to give the pipes a good flush out as well, and watch for any leaks. If you see any little dribbles, just give the fitting a little more tightening to stop it. Da Da your jobs done. Now sit back and have a cuppa' tea and relax.

[SadKate***]

Brilliant help folks, thanks a lot.

For the record, what I have is one of these:

I guess I have to drain the system. Just off to work out how to do that...

[Roger Mills]

Yes!

You're very unlikely to be quick *enough* if you haven't done it before (and even if you have) - with the result that you will cover your carpet with evil black gunge which never comes off!

Roger

[Rod Hewitt]

"Roger Mills" wrote in news:bgjn34$hop$ [e-mail]:

Recently had to remove an old water tank which, even after fully draining, had a layer of rusty yuck at the bottom and open connections on the sides and bottom. I just bunged a few corks in so that I could carry it outside. Worked a treat. I cannot see why doing the same here would be problematical. Just need a cork of the right size. (For the water tank I used some champagne corks - fitted exactly!) If you are blanking it off I cannot see any problem with doing this, then fitting the proper fitting with the cork still in place. However, if there is a downside to doing this, I expect to be told very quickly by one of the contributors.

Rod

[SadKate***]

Is it a lot of black gunge? - like, is it the whole system worth - because I'm doing it on a tiled floor, so I'm not too worried.

[Mark]

I've only a concrete floor at the moment and when I took the downstairs radiators off they were fully of black sludge (cup full at least). It is horrid stuff to get off anything, as it's concrete I just washed as much as I could off but anywhere it spills it stains, especially when not paying attention and the radiator you are carrying is slopping the stuff all over the house as you carry it out. ;-)

I'd get a pipe cutter as well, only just bought one today and it is a doddle to use.

Mark S.

[Roger Mills]

The problem is that, cutting a pipe in situ is not easy to do - because you probably can't get a pipe cutter in, and will have to resort to a hacksaw. This being the case, you will have to clean up the cut end of the pipe - removing burrs with a file etc. - before being able to fit a blanking fitting. While you are doing all that, the system is busy emptying itself all over your floor!

You could try the following: [not sure whether you have already removed the radiator, so will assume you haven't]

• turn off both radiator valves

• drain the radiator by undoing each union (between valve and rad) in turn, opening the bleed screw to let air in, and catching the water in a small bowl placed under the union

• once the radiator is virtually empty, lift it off its brackets and upend it into an old bowl to catch the black gunge which collects in the bottom

• stuff kitchen roll into its open ends to stop anything else coming out while you carry it out of the house

You now need to be able to shorten the pipes which still have valves on the end, with the minimum of spillage:

• find the header tank which feeds the heating system

• it should have a feed pipe at the bottom, below the water level. Bung a co rk in it.

• it should have an expansion pipe looping over the top of the tank. Bung a cork in the end of that

• turn off both valves of all other radiators in the house - counting and recording the nunber of turns on each lockshield valve so that you can put it back to the same postion

• open each radiator valve in turn (from the removed radiator) and catch any water which comes out - shouldn't be too much if you have sealed the tank properly

• NOW you can cut the pipes off and fit blanking fittings

Finally, don't forget to remove the corks, and to turn the other rads back on - resetting the lockshields to their original positions - and make sure that the ball valve is working to enable to system to refill properly.

HTH, Roger

[SadKate***]

Ouch this IS turning into a bigger job than I thought! =(

OK, I may well be clutching at straws here, but I wondered one other thing...

Rather than all the sawing and stuff, when I've taken the rad off the wall, shouldn't I be able to unscrew each valve off the pipe leaving the bottom part of the fitting (which looks the same as the bottom part of my end caps) and screw the end cap on there?

Cheers. K***

[BigWallop]

Yes you can use this method, but be aware that the pipes under the floor may well be unsupported and if the sections above the floor level are bumped or stood on, then it may cause the pipe underneath to sheer off and cause leaks.

It's better if you can get to the sections of pipe underneath the floor and cap them from there. There will also be more room for manoeuvring a pipecutter under the floor void. It's a bigger job, but if you don't intend to put a radiator back in that spot in the foreseeable future, then it is safer in the long run to drain the system down and do the job right.

[P.A.Osborne]

I went for the super quick option when I removed a radiator in the bathroom and inadvertantly cut through the rad pipe on the wrong side of the valve....

Usefully the speedfit stop-end was within reaching distance.

Laughed - ha I was crying. :-)

--Paul

--praying for lots of rain so I can test out the newly repaired roof...

[SadKate***]

I've tried every excuse, but I'm just going to have to do this right, eh?

Thanks for all your help folks!

Kate***