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..

"Tim.." wrote in message
...
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

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Tim.. wrote:

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..

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.
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

Bob Minchin wrote:

Just leave it and fit a new bleed screw in the other unused port on
the radiator.

Bob, you are a bloody genius! I have the same problem & that never occurred
to me!

Lateral thinking!


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

On Fri, 05 Jan 2007 21:46:28 +0000, Tim.. wrote:

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.

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.

"Bob Minchin" wrote in message
...

"Tim.." wrote in message
...
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.

Sadly , there isnt one. neither is there a lockshield valve either- just a
single turn off.

Tim..

"John Stumbles" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 05 Jan 2007 21:46:28 +0000, Tim.. wrote:

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.

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.

I'll try to upload a photo in the morning.

Many thanks, Tim..

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
The Medway Handyman wrote:

Bob Minchin wrote:

Just leave it and fit a new bleed screw in the other unused port on
the radiator.

Bob, you are a bloody genius! I have the same problem & that never
occurred to me!

Lateral thinking!


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!
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

On Fri, 05 Jan 2007 22:35:57 +0000, Bob Minchin wrote:

"Tim.." wrote in message
...
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.


I get the impression that this is a roll-top radiator not one
with a hole at each corner.



--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at http://www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html
Choosing a Boiler FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/BoilerChoice.html
Gas Fitting Standards Docs he http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFittingStandards

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.

http://www.plumbworld.co.uk/241-16143 or
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...99934&id=11467 or
www.bes.ltd.uk part number 4846.

HTH

John