In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Peter Weilbacher wrote:

Hi all,

before calling up a plumber I thought that I might give it a try here.

Two of my radiators are leaking through the thread of the opening at
the top. I don't know what this type is called so I put up a picture
at

http://mysite.freeserve.com/weilbacher/DCP03563.JPG [34kiB]

I thought I could open it, smear some grease or some special glue on
the thread and then close it again to seal the leak. The question is
what type of stuff do I use and where do I get it? The guy at the
small local DIY store didn't have a clue. The next bigger one is
Homebase and there usually nobody has a clue -- in which department
would I look there?

Perhaps someone here has a hint how to open it without getting the
whole room wet. It is a bit difficult to get a bucket between the
radiator and the wall...

Presumably there are 4 of these threaded bosses on the radiator - with
radiator valves and pipe connections on the bottom ones. The top ones will
have a blanking plug one side and a bleed screw on the other side.

If you turn off both radiator valves **, you can slacken or remove the upper
plugs with very little spillage of water - but use some old towels anyway in
case any nasty black gunge comes out. Once you have removed the plugs, clean
up the threads with a wire brush, wind a fews turns of PTFE tape (obtainable
from a plumbers merchant) round the threads, and screw them back in. This
should fix the leaks. If it doesn't, take them out again, remove the
shredded PTFE and smear some Plumbers Mait on instead.

** One of these will be a lockshield valve for which you will need a spanner
or pair of pliers. If the system has been balanced, this may be only partly
open. Count the number of turns required to close it, so that you can
restore it to the same position.

--
Cheers,
Set Square
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