Stuck lockshield valve

[asalcedo]

One of the radiators in my house has stuck lockshield valves on both sides.

It does not have a TRV, only lockshield valves.

One valve is rusty and I do not want to risk touching too much.

The other one looks clean but it is completly stuck, it won't open or close.

At the moment both are fully open, but I need to be able to close at least one.

I have put some WD-40 in the union of the shaft and the body of the valve but it has not made a difference.

Apparently someone tried to close it with pliers before because the top of the shaft has lost most of the square shape.

It is difficult to access the valve and it is difficult to apply a tool properly to transfer enough force.

I want to avoid removing the valve because that would require draining the system, obviously, but also, and more importantly, it would require a lot of work breaking some woodwork what is boxing up the pipes and valves.

Any ideas of how I can close that valve?

Thanks,

Antonio

[The Medway Handyman]

Short sharp shock often works. Get an adjustable or mole grips really tight on it & whack with a hammer. Known as percussive maintenance.

[Frank Erskine]

You could try some penetrating oil such as Plus Gas.

Sometimes a sharp smack with a bit of wood will loosen a sticky TRV.

[asalcedo]

I have tried a vertical hammer blow. No difference.

I have also filed the spindle to give it a square shape to use a radiator tool. No luck either.

Here is the photo.

'Valve.jpg - 0.23MB'

someone help me locate a similar valve so that I can replace the head gear?

Thanks,

Antonio

[John]

Has it got a gland nut that can be loosened? If so, I would suggest loosening this and then repeating the Plus Gas.

[Michael Chare]

That might allow you to turn the spindle.

For that you would need to drain the system!

The body of the valve does not look very healthy. That would make me suspicious of everything, particularly the inside of the radiators!

[Martin Pentreath]

I don't want to worry you, but just to warn you in case ...

My first ever DIY "issue" when I bought my first ever flat (13 years ago) was a stuck lockshield valve (I didn't even know what it was called in those days). The night after I moved into the place with my new ownerly sense of self-importance I got out my new pliers, took off the plastic cap and tried to turn the metal shaft with a bit of force. The spindle suddenly turned and water started to trickle up from around its base and run down the pipe and form a puddle on the floor. I knew absolutely nothing about plumbing and in the end, after a lot of wet towels and a less-than-impressed girlfriend, I had to call out an emergency plumber and pay about =A3150 for him to turn off the stopcock to the header tank and drain the system and leave me in the cold. At those prices I was happy to put on an extra jumper and learn how central heating worked so I could put it right myself. That's where my dislike of plumbers started and my tendency to fix my own heating.

Anyway, just be aware that there is an outside chance that the valve can fail and cause you grief. Clearly you know a lot more than I did

13 years ago and you'll know how to do a quick drain down yourself. Incidentally, a bit of heavy-gauge polythene sellotaped tighly round the upright copper pipe is a great way for directing trickling water into a tray.

Cheers!

Martin

[The Medway Handyman]

Why should that cause a dislike of plumbers? The guy has come out on an emergency call, possibly out of hours & sorted the problem.

I'm reminded of the old story about the Victorian gentleman who was aghast at a bill for 10s 6d for changing a tap washer & asked for an itemised bill. The plumber sent a revised bill in which said;

"Tap washer 6d, knowing how to change it 10s."

You have to pay for others knowledge & experience, it doesn't come to them for free. Apart from which, it's taught you a valuable lesson. I reckon the plumber has done you a favour.

[Martin Pentreath]

Agreed - =A3150 well-spent. The alternative was slowly flooding the two flats below. Unfortunately the lesson he taught meant I never used his services again. Looking back in the archives I just noticed it was six months after his visit that I found this place.

Incidentally, (and going completely OT) I'm quite interested in the psychology of DIY. I know in my case it's not so much wanting to save money as needing to understand how the things around me are put together, combined with a bit of perfectionism and not trusting other people to do things right.

Cheers!

Martin

[The Natural Philosopher]

The latter is important.

I am a lazy person. I work incredibly hard so that I never have to do a job twice.. ;-)

A professional is someone who likes to get paid to do the same job over and over again.

Go figure :-)

[The Medway Handyman]

I think I'd get bored if I did that, spending day after day just plumbing or whatever. I really like the variety of this handyman lark.

[John Rumm]

Have you tried heating the top bit with a blowtorch? That will often shift sized things.

[asalcedo]

Yes, I did that and I think that that was what made the difference.

Next time I will try that first.

Although I did not put too much heat, I did take the precaution to wet the solder joints below.

The valve is working fine now.

I am fully aware of the risks I took by hammering a bit, playing around with the nuts, using force, heat etc.

I did that only because I saw that the valve is of good quality and it was in good condition.

I would not have touched a rusted valve, like the one on the other side of the same radiator, or a lower quality one.

Many thanks to you all.

Antonio

[John]

Mmmm! But isn't there a danger of melting the o-ring?

[John Rumm]

That bit ought to be in contact with the water. Its just the shaft and thread mechanism that you need to heat.