On 19/12/2012 16:33, BartC wrote:
Tried to remove a radiator for flushing, but the nuts attaching it to
the valves are encrusted in several layers of paint.

Chipped some off but wouldn't budge (not without it breaking something).
(And I think I turned them the right way..)

Any ideas on how to free them up? Almost resigned to just replacing the
radiator and the valves as well, but I don't want the bother of draining
down the system.


You only *think* you turned them the right way? Check your thoughts
against newshound's reply!

Once have have made sure that you really know the *right* way to turn
them, you will need a spanner with a long handle in order to get
sufficient leverage. Make sure that the spanner is a tight fit, because
you don't want it to slip under load. But if that's *all* you do, you'll
find that the valve will also rotate, and will bend - or even break -
the copper pipe, with undesirable consequences. So you need to hold the
valve with something else, to stop that happening. I sometimes grip the
body of the valve with a Mole Wrench, applied from above, so that the
stem of the valve goes inside the wrench (but isn't gripped by it). I
use tape or rag on the valve body before applying the wrench, to avoid
damaging the chrome. It sometimes helps to have two people if possible -
one holding the valve and the other turning the nut.
--
Cheers,
Roger
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