I’m replacing a radiator that leaks. So I took the old radiator off and put the new one on. But the tops of the copper pipes are bent towards the wall at the very top and neither the old nuts nor the old compression fittings come off. I can tighten the old nuts onto the new valve and thermostat, but the fittings leak and the whole is obviously under stress. The old radiator won’t go back on and I can’t remove the old valve to fit on to the pipe.
Is there an easy way around this? Fortunately, there’s no need for central heating just yet. I’ve drained the radiator system as much as I can and have stopped the overflow tank from refilling, but there’s plenty of water still in there. I’m almost resigned to calling a plumber.
Well, I’ve turned everything on and up to max, but none of my radiators are getting warm. So it looks like I have a larger problem. I’ve bled them all, of course, but I’ve broken the key, so I can’t rebleed them.
Air is the most likely culprit, get another key and rebleed.
I can’t understand why your plumber didn’t assure that the system was working before they left. Seems like part of the job to me. I wouldn’t be call that plumber again.
Water appeared to be flowing freely through the system, so it seemed to be working. Water takes a long time to heat and it’s Sunday. The water inside the system was fresh, so the water was stone cold. Time spent waiting for the water to heat up means ££££.
Sometimes there is one rad. which never reaches the same temp as the rest due to the peculiarities of the system.
Radiators have different types of valves too, if you have the type with valves at both ends (the most common sort) then the outlet valve is a balancing valve, and needs to be adjusted correctly.
The same applies if there is only one combined valve, there will be an adjusting “screw” to balance the water flow in the rad.
There’s a general “10 second rule” for elec. motors. The casing will be very warm, but you should be able to hold your hand on it for 10 sec. If it’s considerably warmer than that, there’s likely something wrong. In this case, if the motor is overheating, the likely suspect is that the pump is not moving any water and I’m right back to air in the system. When you first started the pump, after refilling the system w/ water, there will be air in other places than the radiators. Even if you bled the rads. on filling, you may need to do it again after the water has circulated for awhile because the air, in other parts of the system, will eventually work it’s way to the highest points. Most of my experience has been w/ steam and it’s been over two decades since I worked in the field, but that’s my best assessment.
It’s a dead (burned-out) pump and apparently the system is rather full of sludge. The plumber has returned and replaced the pump, but he says it might burn out if I leave it on. So it’s currently off. The radiators upstairs now work, but not the ones downstairs. He’s suggesting that a full power flush might be in order. He’s also point out a legal issue with the siting of the boiler (a Potterton Profile 50e) and a performance issue.
