2 days to Xmas - radiator leaking! Help please

simonhgreen

Hi all

The title says it all.

I discovered a wet patch on the carpet (no, not me!) and it seems the rad is leaking.

It seems to be coming from the joint where one of the taps joins the rad at the bottom.

Can someone tell me if it's a matter of getting two wrenches, holding both the horizontal nut (under the tap) and the vertical nut (going into the rad) and turning them clockwise?

Any hope would be much appreciated otherwise it looks like a damp Xmas for us.

Thanks

uncle_buck_3

Yes your correct...try giving the nuts a nip up.

tomstickland

Yes, do them a bit tighter. If that fails, then you'd have to drain the system down and then remove the leaking part and refit with new PTFE sealing tape.

robnye

tomstickland wrote:

Yes, do them a bit tighter. If that fails, then you'd have to drain the system down and then remove the leaking part and refit with new PTFE sealing tape.

you should be able to just drain down the radiator with the leak, by turning of both valves and then undoing the leaking joint,

unless the leak is the wrong side of the valve, ie not the side next to the radiator.

alanobrien

If tightening it doesnt work (it should) as a temporary fix you could try a little silicone on the joint or some plumbers sealing compound.

This is the 2 part compound which you mix together and
wrap around the joint. Most DIY sheds do it.

Either should get you through xmas at least.

Nile

I'd like to thank you all for helping our member simonhgreen.


I hope he has a dry (except for booze of course:D ) Christmas.:xmassign:
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.:rudolf:

simonhgreen

Hi all

Thanks for your help, but it looks as if it's a slightly different problem.

Now I can have a proper look it appears that the leak isn't coming from the nuts under the tap or going into the rad.

The water is actually coming from the top of the tap.

If I shut the rad off by turning the tap clockwise the leak stops, and when I open the rad by turning it AC I the water flows.

I took the plastic top off the tap to confirm it & sure enough when I turned the brass nipple thing AC the water came out.

Does this mean anything to anyone & can you please offer any advice.

Thanks very much

derrick

With the plastic cap off, is there a hexagonal nut? if so tighten clockwise gently with the valve slightly open this should stop it, do not overtighten as you might strip the nut.

simonhgreen

Thanks Derrick.

I've played about with it a bit & oddly enough the water now comes out if I try to close the tap completely or open it up completely, but about halfway it seems to have almost stopped.

Is this to be expected or do I have a bigger problem than a loose nut (in every sense of the word)?

Thanks

derrick

Depends on the type of valve, some have 'o' rings and these can become worn, if not then with the valve closed, you can completely undo the hex nut, wind and push down PTFE tape onto the spindle, then replace hex nut,not overtight

simonhgreen

Thanks very much.

It appears to have stopped now so I'm going to leave well alone.

I need to get the boiler serviced in a couple of months so I'll get them to have a look at it just to confirm it's OK and not likely to do it again.

Thanks to Derrick & everyone who has enabled me to have a less-moist Xmas than I feared!