I've been putting this job off for years. There's a leaking fitting on one of my central heating radiators and I'm not sure how best to go about fixing it. I've got as far as cutting away the boxing to see what's going on. See photo at: http://i66.tinypic.com/erwqcp.jpg

The telescopic fitting "B" leaks, despite various efforts at bodging it, and needs replacing with something. The nasty bodge "A" also needs doing properly. Pipe "E" rises out of a concrete floor and is already quite short so I don't want to mess with it too much for fear of ending up having to replace a buried pipe.

My thought had been to cap off the top of T fitting "D", put a compression T fitting in pipe "F" and then bring a pipe from that up and around (through 90 degrees) into the radiator using a straight valve. My worry is that there might not be enough movement in pipe "F" to allow the T fitting in. Hope this makes sense.

Any bright ideas please?

On Wednesday, 12 September 2018 15:29:16 UTC+1, tonkski wrote:
I've been putting this job off for years. There's a leaking fitting on one of my central heating radiators and I'm not sure how best to go about fixing it. I've got as far as cutting away the boxing to see what's going on. See photo at: http://i66.tinypic.com/erwqcp.jpg

The telescopic fitting "B" leaks, despite various efforts at bodging it, and needs replacing with something. The nasty bodge "A" also needs doing properly. Pipe "E" rises out of a concrete floor and is already quite short so I don't want to mess with it too much for fear of ending up having to replace a buried pipe.

My thought had been to cap off the top of T fitting "D", put a compression T fitting in pipe "F" and then bring a pipe from that up and around (through 90 degrees) into the radiator using a straight valve. My worry is that there might not be enough movement in pipe "F" to allow the T fitting in. Hope this makes sense.

Any bright ideas please?

use a site that doesn't royally screw with browsers and you'd get more asssitance.

On 12/09/2018 18:31, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Wed, 12 Sep 2018 09:19:36 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On Wednesday, 12 September 2018 15:29:16 UTC+1, tonkski wrote:
I've been putting this job off for years. There's a leaking fitting on one of my central heating radiators and I'm not sure how best to go about fixing it. I've got as far as cutting away the boxing to see what's going on. See photo at: http://i66.tinypic.com/erwqcp.jpg

The telescopic fitting "B" leaks, despite various efforts at bodging it, and needs replacing with something. The nasty bodge "A" also needs doing properly. Pipe "E" rises out of a concrete floor and is already quite short so I don't want to mess with it too much for fear of ending up having to replace a buried pipe.

My thought had been to cap off the top of T fitting "D", put a compression T fitting in pipe "F" and then bring a pipe from that up and around (through 90 degrees) into the radiator using a straight valve. My worry is that there might not be enough movement in pipe "F" to allow the T fitting in. Hope this makes sense.

Any bright ideas please?

use a site that doesn't royally screw with browsers and you'd get more asssitance.

If you mean Tinypic, I did give up using it to post images, a while
ago, because it no longer worked for me, although I've had no problems
with it as a viewer and saw the OP's image easily enough.



Returning to the topic.

If it were my problem, I'd drain enough of the system so I could strip
the parts down.

The fitting which screws into the rad, and the lockshield valve,
replace. Carefully remove the 'olives' from the other joints and replace.

Re-assemble, checking joints aren't stressed.

Refill, bleed the system, check for leaks.



--

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On Wednesday, 12 September 2018 15:29:16 UTC+1, tonkski wrote:
I've been putting this job off for years. There's a leaking fitting on one of my central heating radiators and I'm not sure how best to go about fixing it. I've got as far as cutting away the boxing to see what's going on. See photo at: http://i66.tinypic.com/erwqcp.jpg

The telescopic fitting "B" leaks, despite various efforts at bodging it, and needs replacing with something. The nasty bodge "A" also needs doing properly. Pipe "E" rises out of a concrete floor and is already quite short so I don't want to mess with it too much for fear of ending up having to replace a buried pipe.

My thought had been to cap off the top of T fitting "D", put a compression T fitting in pipe "F" and then bring a pipe from that up and around (through 90 degrees) into the radiator using a straight valve. My worry is that there might not be enough movement in pipe "F" to allow the T fitting in. Hope this makes sense.

Any bright ideas please?

You may well find the radiator also needs replacing.
Something like this should help.
https://www.columnrads.co.uk/radiato...lve-extensions

Brian Reay wrote:

Carefully remove the 'olives' from the other joints

Hoping that someone hasn't overtightened and crushed them in an attempt
to stop the leak

tonkski explained :
The telescopic fitting "B" leaks, despite various efforts at bodging it, and
needs replacing with something. The nasty bodge "A" also needs doing
properly. Pipe "E" rises out of a concrete floor and is already quite short
so I don't want to mess with it too much for fear of ending up having to
replace a buried pipe.

So far as I know, B does not telescope.

If that valve and its opposite number at the other end of the radiator
can be persuaded to shut off enough, then you might manage the task
with just that radiator drained down. Fit a new B, with a good smear of
Plumbers Mait on the thread and the mating surface.

If the either valve fails to seal, then you will have to drain down, so
may as well fit a replacement valve plus B. Don't forget to add
inhibitor.

Thanks Harry. I think I can shut the valves off sufficiently. I'm not sure what B is, but it looks like it has been bunged into the radiator rather than using a proper screw-in fitting. I'm not sure a new B will fit in the space allowed by the valve if done properly.
The radiator is a replacement put in by a plumber a few years ago.

On 12/09/2018 15:29, tonkski wrote:
I've been putting this job off for years. There's a leaking fitting on one of my central heating radiators and I'm not sure how best to go about fixing it. I've got as far as cutting away the boxing to see what's going on. See photo at: http://i66.tinypic.com/erwqcp.jpg

The telescopic fitting "B" leaks, despite various efforts at bodging it, and needs replacing with something. The nasty bodge "A" also needs doing properly. Pipe "E" rises out of a concrete floor and is already quite short so I don't want to mess with it too much for fear of ending up having to replace a buried pipe.

My thought had been to cap off the top of T fitting "D", put a compression T fitting in pipe "F" and then bring a pipe from that up and around (through 90 degrees) into the radiator using a straight valve. My worry is that there might not be enough movement in pipe "F" to allow the T fitting in. Hope this makes sense.

Any bright ideas please?

I would suggest replacing the valve completely, and if necessary get a
stem extension to allow it to reach the rad from its current location.

You can replace the tail screwed into the rad with an extension tail -
these normally have a rubber O ring that seals against the surface of
the rad rather than the more traditional taper fitting that needs PTFE
tape on the threads. That gives you a protruding stub of 15mm pipe. Most
modern rad valves expect to seal onto a pipe (the supplied tails being
nothing more than a threaded taper fitting fixed to a short length of
pipe). So you can discard the short stub that comes with the valve, and
use the longer one instead.

e.g.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/drayton-t...v-15mm-x/89224

and

https://www.screwfix.com/p/chrome-ra...x-2-pack/10954






--
Cheers,

John.

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tonkski wrote :
Thanks Harry. I think I can shut the valves off sufficiently. I'm not sure
what B is, but it looks like it has been bunged into the radiator rather than
using a proper screw-in fitting. I'm not sure a new B will fit in the space
allowed by the valve if done properly.
The radiator is a replacement put in by a plumber a few years ago.

It looks like the perfectly standard part, which comes with the valve,
from what I can see in the photo.

Carefully remove the 'olives' from the other joints and replace.

......should be fun trying that...tee hee

The radiator is a replacement put in by a plumber a few years ago.

get a new radiator they are dirt cheap ........speshly at screwfix

Harry Bloomfield wrote:

It looks like the perfectly standard part, which comes with the valve,
from what I can see in the photo.

Not to me, It looks like a modern 'stem' that ought to screw into the
radiator has instead been used backwards screwed into the union coupling
of an old style valve, then 'sealed' into the radiator with gunge ...

Thanks John. I hadn't realised that.

I think I'll drain down and replace the valve and tail as you suggest.

I'll replace olives if they are willing to come without a struggle or I can easily cut / split them without damaging the pipes.

Thanks everyone. I get great help on here every time.

On 12/09/2018 20:11, John Rumm wrote:
On 12/09/2018 15:29, tonkski wrote:
I've been putting this job off for years. There's a leaking fitting on
one of my central heating radiators and I'm not sure how best to go
about fixing it. I've got as far as cutting away the boxing to see
what's going on. See photo at: http://i66.tinypic.com/erwqcp.jpg

The telescopic fitting "B" leaks, despite various efforts at bodging
it, and needs replacing with something. The nasty bodge "A" also needs
doing properly. Pipe "E" rises out of a concrete floor and is already
quite short so I don't want to mess with it too much for fear of
ending up having to replace a buried pipe.

My thought had been to cap off the top of T fitting "D", put a
compression T fitting in pipe "F" and then bring a pipe from that up
and around (through 90 degrees) into the radiator using a straight
valve. My worry is that there might not be enough movement in pipe "F"
to allow the T fitting in. Hope this makes sense.

Any bright ideas please?

I would suggest replacing the valve completely, and if necessary get a
stem extension to allow it to reach the rad from its current location.


Why replace the valve? If the problem is at the radiator tail - maybe
just replace that? The existing tail looks most odd to me.

Not replacing the valve would save draining the system down . . .


--
Cheers, Rob

Manikin of mirth ... was thinking very hard :
Carefully remove the 'olives' from the other joints and replace.

......should be fun trying that...tee hee

You make a saw cut across the olive, in line with the pipe, just deep
enough to get a sharp screwdriver in. If made deep enough, twisting the
driver breaks the olive. If not too tight, you might be able to get a
pair of pliers behind the olive and tap it off with a hammer.

"Harry Bloomfield" wrote in message
news
Manikin of mirth ... was thinking very hard :
Carefully remove the 'olives' from the other joints and replace.

......should be fun trying that...tee hee

You make a saw cut across the olive, in line with the pipe, just deep
enough to get a sharp screwdriver in. If made deep enough, twisting the
driver breaks the olive. If not too tight, you might be able to get a pair
of pliers behind the olive and tap it off with a hammer.

yip...hard work

On 12/09/2018 20:48, tonkski wrote:
Thanks John. I hadn't realised that.

I think I'll drain down and replace the valve and tail as you
suggest.

I'll replace olives if they are willing to come without a struggle or
I can easily cut / split them without damaging the pipes.

The new valve will come with new olives. The only place there might be
cause to reuse one is if you re-use the old backnut form the existing
valve to fit the new one. Note however there is no guarantee that the
thread will match, or the length of protruding pipe will not be too long
for the new valve. So you may well have to pull or split that olive.



--
Cheers,

John.

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\================================================= ================/

On 12/09/2018 21:06, RJH wrote:
On 12/09/2018 20:11, John Rumm wrote:
On 12/09/2018 15:29, tonkski wrote:
I've been putting this job off for years. There's a leaking fitting
on one of my central heating radiators and I'm not sure how best to
go about fixing it. I've got as far as cutting away the boxing to see
what's going on. See photo at: http://i66.tinypic.com/erwqcp.jpg

The telescopic fitting "B" leaks, despite various efforts at bodging
it, and needs replacing with something. The nasty bodge "A" also
needs doing properly. Pipe "E" rises out of a concrete floor and is
already quite short so I don't want to mess with it too much for fear
of ending up having to replace a buried pipe.

My thought had been to cap off the top of T fitting "D", put a
compression T fitting in pipe "F" and then bring a pipe from that up
and around (through 90 degrees) into the radiator using a straight
valve. My worry is that there might not be enough movement in pipe
"F" to allow the T fitting in. Hope this makes sense.

Any bright ideas please?

I would suggest replacing the valve completely, and if necessary get a
stem extension to allow it to reach the rad from its current location.


Why replace the valve? If the problem is at the radiator tail - maybe
just replace that? The existing tail looks most odd to me.

Not replacing the valve would save draining the system down . . .

The main difficulty with the existing valve is it uses the traditional
cone joint style of fitting. Most tail extensions won't have that
fitting, and will expect the valve to have a 15mm compression fitting on
the rad side as well as the pipe side.



--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On 12/09/2018 22:24, John Rumm wrote:
On 12/09/2018 21:06, RJH wrote:
On 12/09/2018 20:11, John Rumm wrote:
On 12/09/2018 15:29, tonkski wrote:
I've been putting this job off for years. There's a leaking fitting
on one of my central heating radiators and I'm not sure how best to
go about fixing it. I've got as far as cutting away the boxing to
see what's going on. See photo at: http://i66.tinypic.com/erwqcp.jpg

The telescopic fitting "B" leaks, despite various efforts at bodging
it, and needs replacing with something. The nasty bodge "A" also
needs doing properly. Pipe "E" rises out of a concrete floor and is
already quite short so I don't want to mess with it too much for
fear of ending up having to replace a buried pipe.

My thought had been to cap off the top of T fitting "D", put a
compression T fitting in pipe "F" and then bring a pipe from that up
and around (through 90 degrees) into the radiator using a straight
valve. My worry is that there might not be enough movement in pipe
"F" to allow the T fitting in. Hope this makes sense.

Any bright ideas please?

I would suggest replacing the valve completely, and if necessary get
a stem extension to allow it to reach the rad from its current location.


Why replace the valve? If the problem is at the radiator tail - maybe
just replace that? The existing tail looks most odd to me.

Not replacing the valve would save draining the system down . . .

The main difficulty with the existing valve is it uses the traditional
cone joint style of fitting. Most tail extensions won't have that
fitting, and will expect the valve to have a 15mm compression fitting on
the rad side as well as the pipe side.


Ah OK, got it, thanks - out of my field of experience!


--
Cheers, Rob