to a very weak (cracked plasterboard) stud wall held together with tiles!

Just re-filled the system with inhibitor and got a very small leak where the
valve fits into the radiator (Which I tightened as much as I dared). Not
yet fired it up. Can I expect the leak to slowly seal itself with deposits
or is it a drain and remove job? I thought the leak might actually get
worse when the rad is hot, but I don't want to risk taking off the rad again
as the wall is suspect and I might get cracked tiles.

Do small leaks seal themselves in time? I could tie a rag to the valve and
let the water evaporate - it's not enough to drip...

Ron

On 2007-09-18 16:08:55 +0100, "Big Ron" said:

to a very weak (cracked plasterboard) stud wall held together with tiles!

Just re-filled the system with inhibitor and got a very small leak where the
valve fits into the radiator (Which I tightened as much as I dared). Not
yet fired it up. Can I expect the leak to slowly seal itself with deposits
or is it a drain and remove job? I thought the leak might actually get
worse when the rad is hot, but I don't want to risk taking off the rad again
as the wall is suspect and I might get cracked tiles.

Do small leaks seal themselves in time? I could tie a rag to the valve and
let the water evaporate - it's not enough to drip...

Ron

You might be lucky, you might not. Given the situation, perhaps
leaving it a week with a container underneath and seeing what happens
would be reasonable. You don't say whether the radiator is upstairs
or down, but at any rate you could drain much of the water into
containers and salvage a reasonable proportion. For a repair, more
PTFE tape or some PTFE sealing liquid on the threads.

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Andy Hall wrote:


You might be lucky, you might not. Given the situation, perhaps
leaving it a week with a container underneath and seeing what happens
would be reasonable. You don't say whether the radiator is upstairs
or down, but at any rate you could drain much of the water into
containers and salvage a reasonable proportion. For a repair, more
PTFE tape or some PTFE sealing liquid on the threads.

Does PTFE sealing liquid work the same way as Loctite? If so, can you later
undo things on which it's been used?
--
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!

Big Ron wrote:

Just re-filled the system with inhibitor and got a very small leak where
the
valve fits into the radiator (Which I tightened as much as I dared). Not
yet fired it up. Can I expect the leak to slowly seal itself with
deposits
or is it a drain and remove job?

[snip]

Do small leaks seal themselves in time? I could tie a rag to the valve
and let the water evaporate - it's not enough to drip...

I had one like that after replacing a few valves with TRVs. Initially I had
some leaks but following advice to a post I made here I managed to get them
all to seal nicely except one. I tied a bit of rag round the pipe to
evaporate the drips until I had time to go to Screwfix for some Fernox leak
sealer. It stopped dripping on its own accord shortly after getting the
sealer and before I got round to adding it to the system.

--
Mike Clarke

On 2007-09-18 17:26:35 +0100, "Roger Mills" said:

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Andy Hall wrote:


You might be lucky, you might not. Given the situation, perhaps
leaving it a week with a container underneath and seeing what happens
would be reasonable. You don't say whether the radiator is upstairs
or down, but at any rate you could drain much of the water into
containers and salvage a reasonable proportion. For a repair, more
PTFE tape or some PTFE sealing liquid on the threads.

Does PTFE sealing liquid work the same way as Loctite? If so, can you later
undo things on which it's been used?

No it doesn't really. It hardens to a rubbery compound and the items
can still be easily undone. The feel is very similar to that of
loosening joints made with PTFE tape.

Big Ron wrote:
to a very weak (cracked plasterboard) stud wall held together with tiles!

Just re-filled the system with inhibitor and got a very small leak where the
valve fits into the radiator (Which I tightened as much as I dared). Not
yet fired it up. Can I expect the leak to slowly seal itself with deposits
or is it a drain and remove job? I thought the leak might actually get
worse when the rad is hot, but I don't want to risk taking off the rad again
as the wall is suspect and I might get cracked tiles.

Do small leaks seal themselves in time? I could tie a rag to the valve and
let the water evaporate - it's not enough to drip...

Ron


Ron,

can't you turn both the valves off, and remake the joint with some PTFE
in it? You'll only lose a rad's worth of coolant that way.

Andy

"Andy Champ" wrote in message
...
Big Ron wrote:
to a very weak (cracked plasterboard) stud wall held together with tiles!

Just re-filled the system with inhibitor and got a very small leak where
the valve fits into the radiator (Which I tightened as much as I dared).
Not yet fired it up. Can I expect the leak to slowly seal itself with
deposits or is it a drain and remove job? I thought the leak might
actually get worse when the rad is hot, but I don't want to risk taking
off the rad again as the wall is suspect and I might get cracked tiles.

Do small leaks seal themselves in time? I could tie a rag to the valve
and let the water evaporate - it's not enough to drip...

Ron
Ron,

can't you turn both the valves off, and remake the joint with some PTFE in
it? You'll only lose a rad's worth of coolant that way.

Andy

That makes sound sense, Andy, but without draining down at least partially
(upstairs rad) I'd get a rad full of coolant all over my new bathroom floor.
How would you go about catching it as you release the valve seating from the
rad? I'd imagine it could be very messy.

Ron

"Big Ron" wrote


That makes sound sense, Andy, but without draining down at least partially
(upstairs rad) I'd get a rad full of coolant all over my new bathroom
floor. How would you go about catching it as you release the valve seating
from the rad? I'd imagine it could be very messy.

Plenty of towels round the base of the feed pipe and under the joint.
Scrap bit of lino (8-10" long) with long slot in one end lodged around the
feed pipe under the valve and positioned to catch discharge from the joint.
Bottom edge of lino strip in suitable shallow bowl.
Close both rad valves and carefully crack joint between valve and rad.
Open joint enough to get strong trickle flow, slacken bleed nipple in rad
top.
Allow rad to drain, emptying bowl as required.
Remove rad very carefully and tip remaining contents into bowl (plenty of
towels to ensure black sludge doesn't stain anything important).

HTH

Phil

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Andy Hall wrote:

On 2007-09-18 17:26:35 +0100, "Roger Mills"
said:

Does PTFE sealing liquid work the same way as Loctite? If so, can
you later undo things on which it's been used?

No it doesn't really. It hardens to a rubbery compound and the items
can still be easily undone. The feel is very similar to that of
loosening joints made with PTFE tape.

Ta!

What are the relative merits of liquid vs tape in terms of:
* ease of use
* effectiveness in creating leak-proof joints
* ability to get a tight joint at a desired orientation (e.g. outside tap)?
--
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!

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
TheScullster wrote:

"Big Ron" wrote


That makes sound sense, Andy, but without draining down at least
partially (upstairs rad) I'd get a rad full of coolant all over my
new bathroom floor. How would you go about catching it as you
release the valve seating from the rad? I'd imagine it could be
very messy.
Plenty of towels round the base of the feed pipe and under the joint.
Scrap bit of lino (8-10" long) with long slot in one end lodged
around the feed pipe under the valve and positioned to catch
discharge from the joint. Bottom edge of lino strip in suitable
shallow bowl. Close both rad valves and carefully crack joint between
valve and rad.
Open joint enough to get strong trickle flow, slacken bleed nipple in
rad top.
Allow rad to drain, emptying bowl as required.
Remove rad very carefully and tip remaining contents into bowl
(plenty of towels to ensure black sludge doesn't stain anything
important).
HTH

Phil

I fund that the foil dishes of the type used for takeway food are very good
for catching and/or directing the water into a bowl 'cos you can bend them
to fit round the pipe one end and with a spout the other end.

The alternative is to pump air in through the bleed screw and expel the
water up into the F&E tank. I made a device for doing this, using a schrader
valve from an old car tyre and other bits and bobs - piccy at
http://www.mills37.plus.com/Inflation_tool.jpg
--
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 Wed, 19 Sep 2007 17:21:58 +0100, Roger Mills wrote:

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Andy Hall wrote:

On 2007-09-18 17:26:35 +0100, "Roger Mills"
said:

Does PTFE sealing liquid work the same way as Loctite? If so, can
you later undo things on which it's been used?

No it doesn't really. It hardens to a rubbery compound and the items
can still be easily undone. The feel is very similar to that of
loosening joints made with PTFE tape.

Ta!

What are the relative merits of liquid vs tape in terms of:
* ease of use
* effectiveness in creating leak-proof joints
* ability to get a tight joint at a desired orientation (e.g. outside tap)?

The resin wins in all aspects.
It does not fray as it comes of the reel. you can use it where tape is not
best practice [1] e.g. on olives.
For the latter pipe sealing cord e.g. loctite 55 ( very similar to dental
floss ) is very good even allowing you to undo the joint slightly and
still seal.



[1] OK I accept that some people like to use tape on olives and I don't
want to start a pointless 'my way best cos it is' holy war.

--
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

On 2007-09-19 17:21:58 +0100, "Roger Mills" said:

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Andy Hall wrote:

On 2007-09-18 17:26:35 +0100, "Roger Mills"
said:

Does PTFE sealing liquid work the same way as Loctite? If so, can
you later undo things on which it's been used?

No it doesn't really. It hardens to a rubbery compound and the items
can still be easily undone. The feel is very similar to that of
loosening joints made with PTFE tape.

Ta!

What are the relative merits of liquid vs tape in terms of:
* ease of use
* effectiveness in creating leak-proof joints
* ability to get a tight joint at a desired orientation (e.g. outside tap)?

On threads that are relatively coarse like radiators and outside taps
it's a bit easier and more predictable.

Too much PTFE tape and it rides out of the thread and leaves not enough
in there to seal. Not enough and there's not enough (IYSWIM)