I bought a small used cast iron radiator about 6 months (about 12 inches
wide by 24 inches high). I finally connected it up to the hot water heating
system in an apartment that I will be renting out.

But, when I went to bleed the radiator, I noticed that the bleeder valve is
in the end of the radiator only about half way up from the floor (about 12
inches up). That means I cannot bleed the air out of the top half of the
radiator. After thinking about it, I figured out that it probably used to
be a steam radiator that had a steam valve at that height. I guess they
replaced the steam valve with a bleeder port and called it a hot water
radiator.

At the top of the radiator on one end in the corner there is a flat head
screw going into the radiator. I am guessing that I could try taking out
the flat head screw and replacing it with a bleeder valve there. Does that
sound about right?

I am hesitant to mess with the screw. I don't know how hard it will be to
get out although my first try broke a screwdriver tip before anything
happened with the screw. I am thinking about heating the screw with a torch
first before trying to get it out.

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

I also thought that "there oughta be something" -- like a piece of small
tubing etc. -- that I could attach to the existing bleeder valve from the
inside that could be fed from there up to the top of the inside of the
radiator. I assume that no such thing exists, but that seems like it would
be a way to bleed the air from the top of the radiator rather than from the
middle.

P.S. I also just posted this question at
http://www.heatinghelp.com/forum-cat.../THE-MAIN-WALL .

On Feb 1, 8:49*am, "Jay-T" wrote:
I bought a small used cast iron radiator about 6 months (about 12 inches
wide by 24 inches high). *I finally connected it up to the hot water heating
system in an apartment that I will be renting out.

But, when I went to bleed the radiator, I noticed that the bleeder valve is
in the end of the radiator only about half way up from the floor (about 12
inches up). *That means I cannot bleed the air out of the top half of the
radiator. *After thinking about it, I figured out that it probably used to
be a steam radiator that had a steam valve at that height. *I guess they
replaced the steam valve with a bleeder port and called it a hot water
radiator.

At the top of the radiator on one end in the corner there is a flat head
screw going into the radiator. *I am guessing that I could try taking out
the flat head screw and replacing it with a bleeder valve there. *Does that
sound about right?

I am hesitant to mess with the screw. *I don't know how hard it will be to
get out although my first try broke a screwdriver tip before anything
happened with the screw. *I am thinking about heating the screw with a torch
first before trying to get it out.

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

I also thought that "there oughta be something" -- like a piece of small
tubing etc. -- that I could attach to the existing bleeder valve from the
inside that could be fed from there up to the top of the inside of the
radiator. *I assume that no such thing exists, but that seems like it would
be a way to bleed the air from the top of the radiator rather than from the
middle.

P.S. *I also just posted this question athttp://www.heatinghelp.com/forum-category/76/THE-MAIN-WALL.

Its set for steam now, the top plug has to come out and will unless it
rusted to bad then you drill and tap the other side, Ive taken out the
top plugs to double vent for steam or use on water, If you leave it
half full it will be less than 50% heat since the top holds water, it
will just feel cold and do very little. If there is alot of paint use
paint remover and a wire brush, try penetrating oil let it sit a day,
then heat the radiator with propane, a big screwdriver to fit tight
and a wrench on the screwdriver usualy makes it work, I havnt had any
that didnt come out.

On Feb 1, 9:35*am, ransley wrote:
On Feb 1, 8:49*am, "Jay-T" wrote:





I bought a small used cast iron radiator about 6 months (about 12 inches
wide by 24 inches high). *I finally connected it up to the hot water heating
system in an apartment that I will be renting out.

But, when I went to bleed the radiator, I noticed that the bleeder valve is
in the end of the radiator only about half way up from the floor (about 12
inches up). *That means I cannot bleed the air out of the top half of the
radiator. *After thinking about it, I figured out that it probably used to
be a steam radiator that had a steam valve at that height. *I guess they
replaced the steam valve with a bleeder port and called it a hot water
radiator.

At the top of the radiator on one end in the corner there is a flat head
screw going into the radiator. *I am guessing that I could try taking out
the flat head screw and replacing it with a bleeder valve there. *Does that
sound about right?

I am hesitant to mess with the screw. *I don't know how hard it will be to
get out although my first try broke a screwdriver tip before anything
happened with the screw. *I am thinking about heating the screw with a torch
first before trying to get it out.

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

I also thought that "there oughta be something" -- like a piece of small
tubing etc. -- that I could attach to the existing bleeder valve from the
inside that could be fed from there up to the top of the inside of the
radiator. *I assume that no such thing exists, but that seems like it would
be a way to bleed the air from the top of the radiator rather than from the
middle.

P.S. *I also just posted this question athttp://www.heatinghelp.com/forum-category/76/THE-MAIN-WALL.

Its set for steam now, the top plug has to come out and will unless it
rusted to bad then you drill and tap the other side, Ive taken out the
top plugs to double vent for steam or use on water, If you leave it
half full it will be less than 50% heat since the top holds water, it
will just feel cold and do very little. If there is alot of paint use
paint remover and a wire brush, try penetrating oil let it sit a day,
then heat the radiator with propane, a big screwdriver to fit tight
and a wrench on the screwdriver usualy makes it work, I havnt had any
that didnt come out.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Make sure that the screw you are planning on undoing at the top is not
one that holds the whole assemblage of individual radiator sections
together.

In article , "Jay-T" wrote:
I bought a small used cast iron radiator about 6 months (about 12 inches
wide by 24 inches high). I finally connected it up to the hot water heating
system in an apartment that I will be renting out.
[...]
At the top of the radiator on one end in the corner there is a flat head
screw going into the radiator. I am guessing that I could try taking out
the flat head screw and replacing it with a bleeder valve there. Does that
sound about right?

Maybe -- if it's the right thread. What will you do if it's not?

I am hesitant to mess with the screw.

You should be.

I don't know how hard it will be to
get out although my first try broke a screwdriver tip before anything
happened with the screw.

Yeah, and it's a damn good thing you did, too.

I am thinking about heating the screw with a torch
first before trying to get it out.

You should be thinking about draining the system first...

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

You're missing something *very* important: right now, the system is hot and
pressurized. What's going to happen if you succeed in getting that screw out?

Leave it alone until May. At the minimum, you need to turn the boiler off, let
the system cool, depressurize it, and drain it down below the level of that
screw, unless you enjoy scalding-hot baths and spewing water all over your
floor.

At this point, you have no idea if the hole that screw threads into is the
right size for a standard bleeder valve or not -- and until you know, you'd
better not have hot water, under pressure, at the level of that hole.

I also thought that "there oughta be something" -- like a piece of small
tubing etc. -- that I could attach to the existing bleeder valve from the
inside that could be fed from there up to the top of the inside of the
radiator. I assume that no such thing exists, but that seems like it would
be a way to bleed the air from the top of the radiator rather than from the
middle.

Think about it a while. That will never work: you'll let air *in*, not out.

On Feb 1, 8:49*am, "Jay-T" wrote:

snip


I am hesitant to mess with the screw. *I don't know how hard it will be to
get out although my first try broke a screwdriver tip before anything
happened with the screw. *I am thinking about heating the screw with a torch
first before trying to get it out.

snip

Next summer, when the system is safe to work on, you can get the screw
out readily with some heat and an impact screwdriver. Spend $7 or so
at Harbor Freight for this: #37530 or pay double that at a hardware
store. Pro mechanics have used these for years, and it surprising that
it is below the radar of so much of the public.

Joe

On Feb 1, 11:21*am, (Doug Miller) wrote:
In article , "Jay-T" wrote:
I bought a small used cast iron radiator about 6 months (about 12 inches
wide by 24 inches high). *I finally connected it up to the hot water heating
system in an apartment that I will be renting out.
[...]
At the top of the radiator on one end in the corner there is a flat head
screw going into the radiator. *I am guessing that I could try taking out
the flat head screw and replacing it with a bleeder valve there. *Does that
sound about right?

Maybe -- if it's the right thread. What will you do if it's not?



I am hesitant to mess with the screw.

You should be.

I don't know how hard it will be to
get out although my first try broke a screwdriver tip before anything
happened with the screw. *

Yeah, and it's a damn good thing you did, too.

I am thinking about heating the screw with a torch
first before trying to get it out.

You should be thinking about draining the system first...



Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

You're missing something *very* important: right now, the system is hot and
pressurized. What's going to happen if you succeed in getting that screw out?

Leave it alone until May. At the minimum, you need to turn the boiler off, let
the system cool, depressurize it, and drain it down below the level of that
screw, unless you enjoy scalding-hot baths and spewing water all over your
floor.

At this point, you have no idea if the hole that screw threads into is the
right size for a standard bleeder valve or not -- and until you know, you'd
better not have hot water, under pressure, at the level of that hole.



I also thought that "there oughta be something" -- like a piece of small
tubing etc. -- that I could attach to the existing bleeder valve from the
inside that could be fed from there up to the top of the inside of the
radiator. *I assume that no such thing exists, but that seems like it would
be a way to bleed the air from the top of the radiator rather than from the
middle.

Think about it a while. That will never work: you'll let air *in*, not out.

"ransley" wrote in message
...
On Feb 1, 8:49 am, "Jay-T" wrote:
I bought a small used cast iron radiator about 6 months (about 12 inches
wide by 24 inches high). I finally connected it up to the hot water
heating
system in an apartment that I will be renting out.

But, when I went to bleed the radiator, I noticed that the bleeder valve
is
in the end of the radiator only about half way up from the floor (about 12
inches up). That means I cannot bleed the air out of the top half of the
radiator. After thinking about it, I figured out that it probably used to
be a steam radiator that had a steam valve at that height. I guess they
replaced the steam valve with a bleeder port and called it a hot water
radiator.

At the top of the radiator on one end in the corner there is a flat head
screw going into the radiator. I am guessing that I could try taking out
the flat head screw and replacing it with a bleeder valve there. Does that
sound about right?

I am hesitant to mess with the screw. I don't know how hard it will be to
get out although my first try broke a screwdriver tip before anything
happened with the screw. I am thinking about heating the screw with a
torch
first before trying to get it out.

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

I also thought that "there oughta be something" -- like a piece of small
tubing etc. -- that I could attach to the existing bleeder valve from the
inside that could be fed from there up to the top of the inside of the
radiator. I assume that no such thing exists, but that seems like it would
be a way to bleed the air from the top of the radiator rather than from
the
middle.

P.S. I also just posted this question
athttp://www.heatinghelp.com/forum-category/76/THE-MAIN-WALL.

Its set for steam now, the top plug has to come out and will unless it
rusted to bad then you drill and tap the other side, Ive taken out the
top plugs to double vent for steam or use on water, If you leave it
half full it will be less than 50% heat since the top holds water, it
will just feel cold and do very little. If there is alot of paint use
paint remover and a wire brush, try penetrating oil let it sit a day,
then heat the radiator with propane, a big screwdriver to fit tight
and a wrench on the screwdriver usualy makes it work, I havnt had any
that didnt come out.

+++++++++

Thanks. Everything you wrote makes sense to me. I can easily do most of it
and hope for the best. I'm not so sure about me doing the drill and tap
part if that becomes necessary since I've never done that before. But,
hopefully I won't need to do that and the screw will come out okay.

"hr(bob) " wrote in message
...
On Feb 1, 9:35 am, ransley wrote:
On Feb 1, 8:49 am, "Jay-T" wrote:





I bought a small used cast iron radiator about 6 months (about 12 inches
wide by 24 inches high). I finally connected it up to the hot water
heating
system in an apartment that I will be renting out.

But, when I went to bleed the radiator, I noticed that the bleeder valve
is
in the end of the radiator only about half way up from the floor (about
12
inches up). That means I cannot bleed the air out of the top half of the
radiator. After thinking about it, I figured out that it probably used
to
be a steam radiator that had a steam valve at that height. I guess they
replaced the steam valve with a bleeder port and called it a hot water
radiator.

At the top of the radiator on one end in the corner there is a flat head
screw going into the radiator. I am guessing that I could try taking out
the flat head screw and replacing it with a bleeder valve there. Does
that
sound about right?

I am hesitant to mess with the screw. I don't know how hard it will be
to
get out although my first try broke a screwdriver tip before anything
happened with the screw. I am thinking about heating the screw with a
torch
first before trying to get it out.

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

I also thought that "there oughta be something" -- like a piece of small
tubing etc. -- that I could attach to the existing bleeder valve from
the
inside that could be fed from there up to the top of the inside of the
radiator. I assume that no such thing exists, but that seems like it
would
be a way to bleed the air from the top of the radiator rather than from
the
middle.

P.S. I also just posted this question
athttp://www.heatinghelp.com/forum-category/76/THE-MAIN-WALL.

Its set for steam now, the top plug has to come out and will unless it
rusted to bad then you drill and tap the other side, Ive taken out the
top plugs to double vent for steam or use on water, If you leave it
half full it will be less than 50% heat since the top holds water, it
will just feel cold and do very little. If there is alot of paint use
paint remover and a wire brush, try penetrating oil let it sit a day,
then heat the radiator with propane, a big screwdriver to fit tight
and a wrench on the screwdriver usualy makes it work, I havnt had any
that didnt come out.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Make sure that the screw you are planning on undoing at the top is not
one that holds the whole assemblage of individual radiator sections
together.

+++++++++

Thanks. I'm sure about that part. It's just a screw that goes into the
corner of one of the sections of the radiator and doesn't go all the way
through to other sections.

"Doug Miller" wrote in message
...
In article , "Jay-T"
wrote:
I bought a small used cast iron radiator about 6 months (about 12 inches
wide by 24 inches high). I finally connected it up to the hot water
heating
system in an apartment that I will be renting out.
[...]
At the top of the radiator on one end in the corner there is a flat head
screw going into the radiator. I am guessing that I could try taking out
the flat head screw and replacing it with a bleeder valve there. Does
that
sound about right?

Maybe -- if it's the right thread. What will you do if it's not?

I am hesitant to mess with the screw.

You should be.

I don't know how hard it will be to
get out although my first try broke a screwdriver tip before anything
happened with the screw.

Yeah, and it's a damn good thing you did, too.

I am thinking about heating the screw with a torch
first before trying to get it out.

You should be thinking about draining the system first...

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

You're missing something *very* important: right now, the system is hot
and
pressurized. What's going to happen if you succeed in getting that screw
out?

Leave it alone until May. At the minimum, you need to turn the boiler off,
let
the system cool, depressurize it, and drain it down below the level of
that
screw, unless you enjoy scalding-hot baths and spewing water all over your
floor.

At this point, you have no idea if the hole that screw threads into is the
right size for a standard bleeder valve or not -- and until you know,
you'd
better not have hot water, under pressure, at the level of that hole.

I also thought that "there oughta be something" -- like a piece of small
tubing etc. -- that I could attach to the existing bleeder valve from the
inside that could be fed from there up to the top of the inside of the
radiator. I assume that no such thing exists, but that seems like it
would
be a way to bleed the air from the top of the radiator rather than from
the
middle.

Think about it a while. That will never work: you'll let air *in*, not
out.

Thanks. I'm not too worried about trying this. The system is not under
that much pressure and the screw is at the top of the radiator, whereas the
existing bleeder valve is halfway up the side of the heater. I can easily
just open the bleeder valve first to relieve any pressure. There are no
radiators above this one or even above the bleeder valve height, so I don't
need to worry about water from above draining out of that bleeder port.

In article , "Jay-T" wrote:

Thanks. I'm not too worried about trying this. The system is not under
that much pressure and the screw is at the top of the radiator, whereas the
existing bleeder valve is halfway up the side of the heater. I can easily
just open the bleeder valve first to relieve any pressure.

That, by itself, will *not* depressurize the system.

There are no
radiators above this one or even above the bleeder valve height, so I don't
need to worry about water from above draining out of that bleeder port.

No, you just need to worry about scalding water under pressure. If you don't
understand what the possible sources of pressure are, you should not be
attempting to do this yourself.

Doug Miller wrote:
In article , "Jay-T" wrote:
[snip]
The system is a low pressure hot water system. It is a one-floor system and
all of the other radiators in the system are on the same floor and are
horizontal metal fin radiators which are close to the floor level, and all
are below the level of the bleeder valve that is half way up on this one
upright cast iron radiator that is in the system. This one upright cast
iron radiator has a shutoff valve.

Please note that this is the first mention in any of your posts of a shutoff
valve for the radiator in question ...

One valve won't help anyway. You need to block both pipes.

My radiators have a valve. They are made to control the flow rate, and
thus amount of heat delivered. They do not provide a tight seal.

--
bud--

"Doug Miller" wrote in message
...
In article , "Jay-T"
wrote:

Thanks. I'm not too worried about trying this. The system is not under
that much pressure and the screw is at the top of the radiator, whereas
the
existing bleeder valve is halfway up the side of the heater. I can easily
just open the bleeder valve first to relieve any pressure.

That, by itself, will *not* depressurize the system.

So, the system being open to atmospheric pressure won't depressurize the
system? -- meaning having the pressure within the system be equal to the
pressure on the outside of the system? You appear to be missing an
understanding of basic physics here.

There are no
radiators above this one or even above the bleeder valve height, so I
don't
need to worry about water from above draining out of that bleeder port.

No, you just need to worry about scalding water under pressure. If you
don't
understand what the possible sources of pressure are, you should not be
attempting to do this yourself.

You appear to be mistaken about how the system actually works. Using your
advice, one would never even be able to bleed the radiators in the system
due to an irrational fear of scalding water under pressure. With all due
respect, you appear to not know what you are talking about here.

On Feb 1, 6:39*pm, "Jay-T" wrote:
"Doug Miller" wrote in message

...





In article , "Jay-T"
wrote:
I bought a small used cast iron radiator about 6 months (about 12 inches
wide by 24 inches high). *I finally connected it up to the hot water
heating
system in an apartment that I will be renting out.
[...]
At the top of the radiator on one end in the corner there is a flat head
screw going into the radiator. *I am guessing that I could try taking out
the flat head screw and replacing it with a bleeder valve there. *Does
that
sound about right?

Maybe -- if it's the right thread. What will you do if it's not?

I am hesitant to mess with the screw.

You should be.

I don't know how hard it will be to
get out although my first try broke a screwdriver tip before anything
happened with the screw.

Yeah, and it's a damn good thing you did, too.

I am thinking about heating the screw with a torch
first before trying to get it out.

You should be thinking about draining the system first...

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

You're missing something *very* important: right now, the system is hot
and
pressurized. What's going to happen if you succeed in getting that screw
out?

Leave it alone until May. At the minimum, you need to turn the boiler off,
let
the system cool, depressurize it, and drain it down below the level of
that
screw, unless you enjoy scalding-hot baths and spewing water all over your
floor.

At this point, you have no idea if the hole that screw threads into is the
right size for a standard bleeder valve or not -- and until you know,
you'd
better not have hot water, under pressure, at the level of that hole.

I also thought that "there oughta be something" -- like a piece of small
tubing etc. -- that I could attach to the existing bleeder valve from the
inside that could be fed from there up to the top of the inside of the
radiator. *I assume that no such thing exists, but that seems like it
would
be a way to bleed the air from the top of the radiator rather than from
the
middle.

Think about it a while. That will never work: you'll let air *in*, not
out.

Thanks. *I'm not too worried about trying this. *The system is not under
that much pressure and the screw is at the top of the radiator, whereas the
existing bleeder valve is halfway up the side of the heater. *I can easily
just open the bleeder valve first to relieve any pressure. *There are no
radiators above this one or even above the bleeder valve height, so I don't
need to worry about water from above draining out of that bleeder port.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Water will drain out, how much depends on the pressure inside and your
set up.I run low pressure anyway, about 12lb for 3 stories. The lower
the pressure the easier it is on boiler sections. You will need to
drain some water out so you dont have a mess and only need enough lb
refill to get the air out, dont work on a radiator pouring out water.
The plug can break off the screwdriver insert and be permanent so
nothing is guarnteed to work. if you drain down until no water is out
the middle then the top will be ok.

In article , "Jay-T" wrote:
"Doug Miller" wrote in message
...
In article , "Jay-T"
wrote:

Thanks. I'm not too worried about trying this. The system is not under
that much pressure and the screw is at the top of the radiator, whereas the
existing bleeder valve is halfway up the side of the heater. I can easily
just open the bleeder valve first to relieve any pressure.

That, by itself, will *not* depressurize the system.

So, the system being open to atmospheric pressure won't depressurize the
system?

Obviously it will *eventually*. In the meantime, though, you're going to have
a fair amount of pretty hot water in your lap unless you figure out what
*else* you need to do to prevent that.

-- meaning having the pressure within the system be equal to the
pressure on the outside of the system? You appear to be missing an
understanding of basic physics here.

You appear to be completely unaware of what pressurizes the system.

There are no
radiators above this one or even above the bleeder valve height, so I don't
need to worry about water from above draining out of that bleeder port.

No, you just need to worry about scalding water under pressure. If you don't
understand what the possible sources of pressure are, you should not be
attempting to do this yourself.

You appear to be mistaken about how the system actually works. Using your
advice, one would never even be able to bleed the radiators in the system
due to an irrational fear of scalding water under pressure.

You appear to be completely ignorant about how the system works. I have no
hesitation at bleeding radiators in an operating system, but I do have enough
sense to not attempt to remove a bleed valve without shutting it down first.

With all due
respect, you appear to not know what you are talking about here.

Like I said -- if you don't understand where the pressure is coming from, you
should not be working on this yourself. You don't appear to understand some
pretty basic concepts here.

Doug Miller wrote:
In article , "Jay-T"
wrote:
"Doug Miller" wrote in message
...
In article , "Jay-T"
wrote:

Thanks. I'm not too worried about trying this. The system is not
under that much pressure and the screw is at the top of the
radiator, whereas the existing bleeder valve is halfway up the
side of the heater. I can easily just open the bleeder valve
first to relieve any pressure.

That, by itself, will *not* depressurize the system.

So, the system being open to atmospheric pressure won't depressurize
the system?

Obviously it will *eventually*. In the meantime, though, you're going
to have
a fair amount of pretty hot water in your lap unless you figure out
what *else* you need to do to prevent that.

-- meaning having the pressure within the system be equal to the
pressure on the outside of the system? You appear to be missing an
understanding of basic physics here.

You appear to be completely unaware of what pressurizes the system.

There are no
radiators above this one or even above the bleeder valve height,
so I don't need to worry about water from above draining out of
that bleeder port.

No, you just need to worry about scalding water under pressure. If
you don't understand what the possible sources of pressure are, you
should not be attempting to do this yourself.

You appear to be mistaken about how the system actually works.
Using your advice, one would never even be able to bleed the
radiators in the system due to an irrational fear of scalding water
under pressure.

You appear to be completely ignorant about how the system works. I
have no
hesitation at bleeding radiators in an operating system, but I do
have enough
sense to not attempt to remove a bleed valve without shutting it down
first.

With all due
respect, you appear to not know what you are talking about here.

Like I said -- if you don't understand where the pressure is coming
from, you
should not be working on this yourself. You don't appear to
understand some
pretty basic concepts here.

I think I'll pass on getting into any further dialogue with you on this one.
It seems like all you want to do is tell me the sky is falling and I don't
know what I'm doing, and that I shouldn't be doing this because I don't know
how the system works. I do know how the system works. I have worked on hot
water and steam radiator systems before -- including changing radiators,
redoing plumbing to systems that had frozen cracked pipes in properties I
purchased, replacing valves, replacing circulator pumps, etc. And, for
whatever it's worth, my undergraduate degree is in physics so I also
understand the science behind it all.

The system is a low pressure hot water system. It is a one-floor system and
all of the other radiators in the system are on the same floor and are
horizontal metal fin radiators which are close to the floor level, and all
are below the level of the bleeder valve that is half way up on this one
upright cast iron radiator that is in the system. This one upright cast
iron radiator has a shutoff valve. It also has the bleeder valve that is
half way up. And, it has the screw at the top that I plan on taking out,
and that screw is at the highest point in the entire system. Right now, the
screw is in an air-only section of the cast iron radiator because the air
cannot currently be bled out of the radiator due to the low placement of the
existing bleeder valve. So, I can easily turn off the heat, turn off the
valve to this one radiator, turn off the refill valve to the system, open
the bleeder valve and drain what little water may come out of it, and then
work on removing the screw at the top and see if there is a way to put a
bleeder valve in where the screw presently is located. Both the science and
the practical engineering aspects of all of this are really very simple.

In article , "Jay-T" wrote:
[snip]

The system is a low pressure hot water system. It is a one-floor system and
all of the other radiators in the system are on the same floor and are
horizontal metal fin radiators which are close to the floor level, and all
are below the level of the bleeder valve that is half way up on this one
upright cast iron radiator that is in the system. This one upright cast
iron radiator has a shutoff valve.

Please note that this is the first mention in any of your posts of a shutoff
valve for the radiator in question ...

It also has the bleeder valve that is
half way up. And, it has the screw at the top that I plan on taking out,
and that screw is at the highest point in the entire system. Right now, the
screw is in an air-only section of the cast iron radiator because the air
cannot currently be bled out of the radiator due to the low placement of the
existing bleeder valve. So, I can easily turn off the heat,

... and the first mention in any of your posts indicating the least degree of
awareness that you need to turn even part of the system off ...

turn off the
valve to this one radiator,

... and the first mention of that ...

turn off the refill valve to the system,

... and the first mention of any awareness that the refill valve even exists,
let alone of the need to close it.

So I think I can be pardoned for assuming that you didn't know what you were
doing -- you certainly gave no indication of it. Quite the contrary, in fact,
since you argued with me when I said it wasn't quite as simple as just
removing the screw...

02/15/2010 -- Here's the final outcome.

I worked on the radiator today. I tried heating the screw etc. and I still
couldn't get it to come out. After cleaning it off, I could see that it was
more like a cylindrical set screw and it was sticking out enough for me to
try using pliers to grab the part that was sticking out and try turning it
that way. That also didn't work, but that revealed that the "set screw" was
somewhat soft and was maybe made of brass.

So, that gave me the idea that maybe I could try drilling into the center of
the screw and then use one of those screw removal tools. I went to Ace
Hardware and bought the screw removal device and also bought a new bleeder
valve.

The screw removal tool worked like a charm -- I just drilled into the center
of the screw, then inserted the screw removal tool and the screw came back
out fairly easily. Then I screwed in the new bleeder valve and bled the
radiator and it's working fine.

Thanks for all of the suggestions and ideas.

"Jay-T" wrote in message
...
I bought a small used cast iron radiator about 6 months (about 12 inches
wide by 24 inches high). I finally connected it up to the hot water
heating system in an apartment that I will be renting out.

But, when I went to bleed the radiator, I noticed that the bleeder valve
is in the end of the radiator only about half way up from the floor (about
12 inches up). That means I cannot bleed the air out of the top half of
the radiator. After thinking about it, I figured out that it probably
used to be a steam radiator that had a steam valve at that height. I
guess they replaced the steam valve with a bleeder port and called it a
hot water radiator.

At the top of the radiator on one end in the corner there is a flat head
screw going into the radiator. I am guessing that I could try taking out
the flat head screw and replacing it with a bleeder valve there. Does
that sound about right?

I am hesitant to mess with the screw. I don't know how hard it will be to
get out although my first try broke a screwdriver tip before anything
happened with the screw. I am thinking about heating the screw with a
torch first before trying to get it out.

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

I also thought that "there oughta be something" -- like a piece of small
tubing etc. -- that I could attach to the existing bleeder valve from the
inside that could be fed from there up to the top of the inside of the
radiator. I assume that no such thing exists, but that seems like it
would be a way to bleed the air from the top of the radiator rather than
from the middle.

P.S. I also just posted this question at
http://www.heatinghelp.com/forum-cat.../THE-MAIN-WALL .

I have a situation with the same scenario and the radiators parts that have the bleeder only allowed water to go into those sections the other sections I would have to put a bleeder valve on each one get the water to come all the way up to it when you try using the steam radiator for a hot water system