why havn't they implemented a drain hole in the center for easy draining of
them,instead of having bloody water gushing out of one end?

I know you can by a drain tap that fits on before the pipe but if you have
not done the CH installation yourself its a bind trying to catch water in a
receptical very low down.

George wrote:
why havn't they implemented a drain hole in the center for easy
draining of them,instead of having bloody water gushing out of one
end?

I know you can by a drain tap that fits on before the pipe but if you
have not done the CH installation yourself its a bind trying to catch
water in a receptical very low down.

Agreed. Like many things a plumbing it seems a poor design. When I drain a
rad I use a Wickes/Earlex wet/dry vacuum. Muchos quicker & no mess.


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

In article ,
"The Medway Handyman" wrote:

When I drain a
rad I use a Wickes/Earlex wet/dry vacuum. Muchos quicker & no mess.

How?

On Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:37:12 GMT, james head down
on the keyboard, banged out this message:

In article ,
"The Medway Handyman" wrote:

When I drain a
rad I use a Wickes/Earlex wet/dry vacuum. Muchos quicker & no mess.

How?

Sucks it off the carpet probably .. :-)

Mike P

On Feb 21, 4:26*pm, "George" wrote:
why havn't they implemented a drain hole in the center for easy draining of
them,instead of having bloody water gushing out of one end?


Bloody water? :-|


I can't say I've ever found draining a rad particularly problematic.

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
George wrote:

why havn't they implemented a drain hole in the center for easy
draining of them,instead of having bloody water gushing out of one
end?

I know you can by a drain tap that fits on before the pipe but if you
have not done the CH installation yourself its a bind trying to catch
water in a receptical very low down.

As mentioned on earlier occasions, I have made a gadget which can be used to
pump air into a radiator through the bleed screw hole, thus expelling the
water into the F&E tank, leaving very little to drain out. It looks like
this:
http://www.mills37.plus.com/Inflation_tool.jpg

Although mine is a vented system, it would probably also work with an
unvented system if you unpressurised it first.
--
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!

Mike P wrote:
On Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:37:12 GMT, james head down
on the keyboard, banged out this message:

In article ,
"The Medway Handyman" wrote:

When I drain a
rad I use a Wickes/Earlex wet/dry vacuum. Muchos quicker & no mess.

How?

Turn off the lockshield & TRV/whatever, crack open the fitting & suck the
water away rather than try & collect it in a tray. The suction will pull
the water stream sideways, around pipes etc. Just need to judge how much
water is present to avoid vac shutting off.



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

On 22 Feb, 11:37, "Roger Mills" wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,

George wrote:
why havn't they implemented a drain hole in the center for easy
draining of them,instead of having bloody water gushing out of one
end?

I know you can by a drain tap that fits on before the pipe but if you
have not done the CH installation yourself its a bind trying to catch
water in a receptical very low down.

As mentioned on earlier occasions, I have made a gadget which can be used to
pump air into a radiator through the bleed screw hole, thus expelling the
water into the F&E tank, leaving very little to drain out. It looks like
this:http://www.mills37.plus.com/Inflation_tool.jpg

Although mine is a vented system, it would probably also work with an
unvented system if you unpressurised it first.
--

Sounds like a great idea. But considering the complete nightmare
getting air *out* of my system was, I don't think I'll be trying
it! :-)

Jon.

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Tournifreak wrote:

On 22 Feb, 11:37, "Roger Mills" wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,


As mentioned on earlier occasions, I have made a gadget which can be
used to pump air into a radiator through the bleed screw hole, thus
expelling the water into the F&E tank, leaving very little to drain
out.


Sounds like a great idea. But considering the complete nightmare
getting air *out* of my system was, I don't think I'll be trying
it! :-)


There's no need to get any air in the system! You pump air into the dead
space at the top of the rad with both valves shut. Then you crack open one
of the valves, and you can hear the water flowing out. When it stops, you
close the valve again and pump some more air in. When the rad is empty, the
last drop of water - accompanied by a very small amount of air - makes a
rude noise as it goes through the valve. You immediately close the valve and
release the air pressure. You can then safely undo the valve union nuts in
the knowledge that there is very little remaining water to catch.
--
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!

Roger Mills wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Tournifreak wrote:

On 22 Feb, 11:37, "Roger Mills" wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,


As mentioned on earlier occasions, I have made a gadget which can be
used to pump air into a radiator through the bleed screw hole, thus
expelling the water into the F&E tank, leaving very little to drain
out.


Sounds like a great idea. But considering the complete nightmare
getting air *out* of my system was, I don't think I'll be trying
it! :-)


There's no need to get any air in the system! You pump air into the
dead space at the top of the rad with both valves shut. Then you
crack open one of the valves, and you can hear the water flowing out.
When it stops, you close the valve again and pump some more air in.
When the rad is empty, the last drop of water - accompanied by a very
small amount of air - makes a rude noise as it goes through the
valve. You immediately close the valve and release the air pressure.
You can then safely undo the valve union nuts in the knowledge that
there is very little remaining water to catch.

How do you provide the air pressure?


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

On 23 Feb, 00:40, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:
Roger Mills wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Tournifreak *wrote:

On 22 Feb, 11:37, "Roger Mills" wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,

As mentioned on earlier occasions, I have made a gadget which can be
used to pump air into a radiator through the bleed screw hole, thus
expelling the water into the F&E tank, leaving very little to drain
out.

Sounds like a great idea. But considering the complete nightmare
getting air *out* of my system was, I don't think I'll be trying
it! :-)

There's no need to get any air in the system! You pump air into the
dead space at the top of the rad with both valves shut. Then you
crack open one of the valves, and you can hear the water flowing out.
When it stops, you close the valve again and pump some more air in.
When the rad is empty, the last drop of water - accompanied by a very
small amount of air - makes a rude noise as it goes through the
valve. You immediately close the valve and release the air pressure.
You can then safely undo the valve union nuts in the knowledge that
there is very little remaining water to catch.

How do you provide the air pressure?

--
Dave - The Medway Handymanwww.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

what kind of fuken thick ideot are you? you use a foot pump or a fuken
bike pump. Get a brain

On 23 Feb, 00:40, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:
Roger Mills wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Tournifreak wrote:

On 22 Feb, 11:37, "Roger Mills" wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,

As mentioned on earlier occasions, I have made a gadget which can
be used to pump air into a radiator through the bleed screw hole,
thus expelling the water into the F&E tank, leaving very little
to drain out.

Sounds like a great idea. But considering the complete nightmare
getting air *out* of my system was, I don't think I'll be trying
it! :-)

There's no need to get any air in the system! You pump air into the
dead space at the top of the rad with both valves shut. Then you
crack open one of the valves, and you can hear the water flowing
out. When it stops, you close the valve again and pump some more
air in. When the rad is empty, the last drop of water - accompanied
by a very small amount of air - makes a rude noise as it goes
through the valve. You immediately close the valve and release the
air pressure. You can then safely undo the valve union nuts in the
knowledge that there is very little remaining water to catch.

How do you provide the air pressure?

--
Dave - The Medway Handymanwww.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

what kind of fuken thick ideot are you? you use a foot pump or a fuken
bike pump. Get a brain

Repeat, how do YOU get the air in with BOTH valves shut?

cerberus wrote:
On 23 Feb, 00:40, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:
Roger Mills wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Tournifreak wrote:
On 22 Feb, 11:37, "Roger Mills" wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
As mentioned on earlier occasions, I have made a gadget which can
be used to pump air into a radiator through the bleed screw hole,
thus expelling the water into the F&E tank, leaving very little
to drain out.
Sounds like a great idea. But considering the complete nightmare
getting air *out* of my system was, I don't think I'll be trying
it! :-)
There's no need to get any air in the system! You pump air into the
dead space at the top of the rad with both valves shut. Then you
crack open one of the valves, and you can hear the water flowing
out. When it stops, you close the valve again and pump some more
air in. When the rad is empty, the last drop of water - accompanied
by a very small amount of air - makes a rude noise as it goes
through the valve. You immediately close the valve and release the
air pressure. You can then safely undo the valve union nuts in the
knowledge that there is very little remaining water to catch.
How do you provide the air pressure?

--
Dave - The Medway Handymanwww.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -
what kind of fuken thick ideot are you? you use a foot pump or a fuken
bike pump. Get a brain

Repeat, how do YOU get the air in with BOTH valves shut?


Through the bleeding(!) screw?
Are some readers wits so defeated by a good idea when we are given one
that their brains just grind to a halt?
Bob

"Bob Minchin" wrote in message
news
cerberus wrote:
On 23 Feb, 00:40, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:
Roger Mills wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Tournifreak wrote:
On 22 Feb, 11:37, "Roger Mills" wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
As mentioned on earlier occasions, I have made a gadget which can
be used to pump air into a radiator through the bleed screw hole,
thus expelling the water into the F&E tank, leaving very little
to drain out.
Sounds like a great idea. But considering the complete nightmare
getting air *out* of my system was, I don't think I'll be trying
it! :-)
There's no need to get any air in the system! You pump air into the
dead space at the top of the rad with both valves shut. Then you
crack open one of the valves, and you can hear the water flowing
out. When it stops, you close the valve again and pump some more
air in. When the rad is empty, the last drop of water - accompanied
by a very small amount of air - makes a rude noise as it goes
through the valve. You immediately close the valve and release the
air pressure. You can then safely undo the valve union nuts in the
knowledge that there is very little remaining water to catch.
How do you provide the air pressure?

--
Dave - The Medway Handymanwww.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -
what kind of fuken thick ideot are you? you use a foot pump or a fuken
bike pump. Get a brain

Repeat, how do YOU get the air in with BOTH valves shut?


Through the bleeding(!) screw?
Are some readers wits so defeated by a good idea when we are given one
that their brains just grind to a halt?
Bob



I read it as..."How do you provide the air pressure?" ie were do you get the
air to pump it through the rad.
And as stated a foot pump. :-P

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
. ..
George wrote:
why havn't they implemented a drain hole in the center for easy
draining of them,instead of having bloody water gushing out of one
end?

I know you can by a drain tap that fits on before the pipe but if you
have not done the CH installation yourself its a bind trying to catch
water in a receptical very low down.

Agreed. Like many things a plumbing it seems a poor design. When I drain
a
rad I use a Wickes/Earlex wet/dry vacuum. Muchos quicker & no mess.


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



I cannot see why they don't implement an isolating valve on the both rad end
connectors like this...
http://tinyurl.com/2fjx7s
That way when it comes to take the rad off the wall you just turn them in
the shut position,turn of both normal valves and hey presto no damn water on
the floor or back and forth to empty the bowl.

"George" wrote in message
...
I cannot see why they don't implement an isolating valve on the both rad
end
connectors like this...
http://tinyurl.com/2fjx7s
That way when it comes to take the rad off the wall you just turn them in
the shut position,turn of both normal valves and hey presto no damn water
on
the floor or back and forth to empty the bowl.


I bought a pack of those and I've had problems with a couple of them (I'm
guessing its
poor build, not poor use).
The main problem is that they leak after a while, and the leaking comes out
around the
screw that is used to work the valve.
So I won't install these any more.

The other problem is that the innards reduce the (presumed) 15mm pipe to
10mm or less, which I
guess can lead to flow problems as well as encourage water-flowing noise
too.
Much better to have a "full bore" valve instead.

In general I applaud the idea of isolation valves, but I'd recommend
isolating a cluster of radiators.

In my heated conservatory I used those lockshield valves that have an
additional draw-off pipe.
Much easier for drain-down.

Mungo

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


There's no need to get any air in the system! You pump air into the
dead space at the top of the rad with both valves shut. Then you
crack open one of the valves, and you can hear the water flowing out.
When it stops, you close the valve again and pump some more air in.
When the rad is empty, the last drop of water - accompanied by a very
small amount of air - makes a rude noise as it goes through the
valve. You immediately close the valve and release the air pressure.
You can then safely undo the valve union nuts in the knowledge that
there is very little remaining water to catch.

How do you provide the air pressure?

Did you see my earlier post with a picture of my gadget? It has a car-type
Schrader valve at its input end, so you simply pump air in, using a car foot
pump - operated by hand.
--
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!

Chas wrote:
On 23 Feb, 00:40, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:
Roger Mills wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Tournifreak wrote:

On 22 Feb, 11:37, "Roger Mills" wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,

As mentioned on earlier occasions, I have made a gadget which can
be used to pump air into a radiator through the bleed screw hole,
thus expelling the water into the F&E tank, leaving very little
to drain out.

Sounds like a great idea. But considering the complete nightmare
getting air *out* of my system was, I don't think I'll be trying
it! :-)

There's no need to get any air in the system! You pump air into the
dead space at the top of the rad with both valves shut. Then you
crack open one of the valves, and you can hear the water flowing
out. When it stops, you close the valve again and pump some more
air in. When the rad is empty, the last drop of water - accompanied
by a very small amount of air - makes a rude noise as it goes
through the valve. You immediately close the valve and release the
air pressure. You can then safely undo the valve union nuts in the
knowledge that there is very little remaining water to catch.

How do you provide the air pressure?

--
Dave - The Medway Handymanwww.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

what kind of fuken thick ideot are you? you use a foot pump or a fuken
bike pump. Get a brain

Thank you for your considered, comcise & well written reply. I was
wondering small compressor or a foot pump. Oh - and I can spell idiot.



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

George wrote:
"Bob Minchin" wrote in message
news
cerberus wrote:
On 23 Feb, 00:40, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:
Roger Mills wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Tournifreak wrote:
On 22 Feb, 11:37, "Roger Mills"
wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
As mentioned on earlier occasions, I have made a gadget which
can be used to pump air into a radiator through the bleed
screw hole, thus expelling the water into the F&E tank,
leaving very little to drain out.
Sounds like a great idea. But considering the complete nightmare
getting air *out* of my system was, I don't think I'll be trying
it! :-)
There's no need to get any air in the system! You pump air into
the dead space at the top of the rad with both valves shut. Then
you crack open one of the valves, and you can hear the water
flowing out. When it stops, you close the valve again and pump
some more air in. When the rad is empty, the last drop of water
- accompanied by a very small amount of air - makes a rude noise
as it goes through the valve. You immediately close the valve
and release the air pressure. You can then safely undo the valve
union nuts in the knowledge that there is very little remaining
water to catch.
How do you provide the air pressure?

--
Dave - The Medway Handymanwww.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -
what kind of fuken thick ideot are you? you use a foot pump or a
fuken bike pump. Get a brain

Repeat, how do YOU get the air in with BOTH valves shut?


Through the bleeding(!) screw?
Are some readers wits so defeated by a good idea when we are given
one that their brains just grind to a halt?
Bob



I read it as..."How do you provide the air pressure?" ie were do you
get the air to pump it through the rad.
And as stated a foot pump. :-P

Thanks, thats what I was asking. I wondered if a foot pump would be
adequate thats all.

On 2008-02-22 17:48:03 +0000, "The Medway Handyman"
said:

Mike P wrote:
On Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:37:12 GMT, james head down
on the keyboard, banged out this message:

In article ,
"The Medway Handyman" wrote:

When I drain a
rad I use a Wickes/Earlex wet/dry vacuum. Muchos quicker & no mess.

How?

Turn off the lockshield & TRV/whatever, crack open the fitting & suck the
water away rather than try & collect it in a tray. The suction will pull
the water stream sideways, around pipes etc. Just need to judge how much
water is present to avoid vac shutting off.

Visions of Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer's Apprentice.....

A melding of two careers...... :-)

The Medway Handyman wrote:

Thanks, thats what I was asking. I wondered if a foot pump would be
adequate thats all.




IIRC a footpump is designed for car tyres, at around 30PSI. Which is
about 60ft of head...

Andy

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

The Medway Handyman wrote:

Thanks, thats what I was asking. I wondered if a foot pump would be
adequate thats all.




IIRC a footpump is designed for car tyres, at around 30PSI. Which is
about 60ft of head...

Andy

Which is why I operate gently by hand. You only need about 10 PSI.
--
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 23 Feb, 14:13, "Mungo Henning" wrote:
"George" wrote in message

...

I cannot see why they don't implement an isolating valve on the both rad
end
connectors like this...
http://tinyurl.com/2fjx7s
That way when it comes to take the rad off the wall you just turn them in
the shut position,turn of both normal valves and hey presto no damn water
on
the floor or back and forth to empty the bowl.

I bought a pack of those and I've had problems with a couple of them (I'm
guessing its
poor build, not poor use).
The main problem is that they leak after a while, and the leaking comes out
around the
screw that is used to work the valve.
So I won't install these any more.

Me too. The pair I tried were bespoke chrome rad isolation valves
from Screwfix; looked nice and neat and would have been terrific had
they done what it said on the tin. However mine leaked right from the
off, so I had to dump them, which necessitated taking the rad off
*again* and tweaking the pipework to fit, so I wasn't best pleased.
Never tried them again...

David

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
George wrote:


I cannot see why they don't implement an isolating valve on the both
rad end connectors like this...
http://tinyurl.com/2fjx7s
That way when it comes to take the rad off the wall you just turn
them in the shut position,turn of both normal valves and hey presto
no damn water on the floor or back and forth to empty the bowl.

It would have to be in the tail - between the rad and the valve - to act in
the way you describe. I've seen tails with drain points in them, but I can't
recall seeing any with service valves. Of course, someone may know
differently!

The downside of this arrangement is that a large rad full of water would be
bl**dy heavy to lift off and carry outside.
--
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!

Roger Mills wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
George wrote:

I cannot see why they don't implement an isolating valve on the both
rad end connectors like this...
http://tinyurl.com/2fjx7s
That way when it comes to take the rad off the wall you just turn
them in the shut position,turn of both normal valves and hey presto
no damn water on the floor or back and forth to empty the bowl.

It would have to be in the tail - between the rad and the valve - to act in
the way you describe. I've seen tails with drain points in them, but I can't
recall seeing any with service valves. Of course, someone may know
differently!

Yes I do! (see other post). These were definitely a Screwfix thing, but
AFAICS they've discontinued them (unsurprisingly...)

David

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Lobster wrote:

Roger Mills wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
George wrote:

I cannot see why they don't implement an isolating valve on the both
rad end connectors like this...
http://tinyurl.com/2fjx7s
That way when it comes to take the rad off the wall you just turn
them in the shut position,turn of both normal valves and hey presto
no damn water on the floor or back and forth to empty the bowl.

It would have to be in the tail - between the rad and the valve - to
act in the way you describe. I've seen tails with drain points in
them, but I can't recall seeing any with service valves. Of course,
someone may know differently!

Yes I do! (see other post). These were definitely a Screwfix thing,
but AFAICS they've discontinued them (unsurprisingly...)

David


Right! If the balls were as reliable as those in their cheapo service
valves, it may explain why they've stopped doing them. [I've had several
service valves fail. They don't leak, but they just don't turn off - which
rather defeats the object of them! The screw turns, but the ball apparently
doesn't.]
--
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!