Want to remove radiators but still have hot water from combi

drg0nz0

Hi,

I want to prepare the walls in almost all my rooms for painting/repairing behind radiators. I am thinking of paying a plumber to come in to drain the central heating system so I can take off the rads (I have some weird old Glowworm boiler and not 100% familiar with plumbing in the new flat, rather have a pro drain it than myself).

Anyway, while I decorate, I want to have hot water to wash and shower - so my question is - is it possible for my combi boiler to still produce hot water when the CH system is empty?

I have read somewhere advice to go where the first boiler was attached and cap that pipe off, then re-pressurise the boiler (so instead of the whole old CH system, the boiler is basically connected to 3-4 metres of copper pipe with a dead end). Does this make any sense? Would I need to cap off both where the CH water left AND entered the boiler?

Many thanks in advance for any advice.

cyclonebri1

All the rads should be close able, hence removable, just leaving any water to pass through the pipework under cooling or if turned on accidentally.

IE, if you cam shut each rad off at the valves, you don't need a plumber.

You do need to know how to fill and bleed the system on completion however.

drg0nz0

Thanks for your reply. Forgive my ignorance... I understand that rads can be closed off and water can still travel around the pipework, but if I fully *remove* a rad, I have to first drain the whole system down, right? I can't just remove rads one by one as water will shoot out of the opened pipes (I do not want to mess with those clamp things from Dragons Den that claim to do that). And I do need to remove them to get rid of wallpaper, paint and fill dents in plaster behind them.

So to rephrase my question, with the central heating system drained and all radiators removed, what steps do I need to take to make my combi boiler still work and produce hot tap water?

SailorSam

If you're going to leave the valves attached to the pipes don't forget there's going to be dregs of dirty water inside the radiator which will come out when you try to move it ...... you'll need to get blanks to on there, so it's either that or leave the switched off valves on the radiator and get blanks for the pipes.

cajef

You don't drain the whole system down, you close the lockshield valves at either side of the radiator then remove the radiator leaving the valves closed, be prepared for water to drain out of the radiator when you remove it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p61w6B7D2C8

drg0nz0

Aaahhh... *lightbulb moment* Thank you very much, and for the video too. That will definitely be simpler and cheaper. I will take a look tonight. Thanks again!

Myser

If you have a few radiators to remove for decorating, have a look at the Radclamp by ABD Tools:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6PytKMYFIQ

southcoastrgi

Myser wrote: »

If you have a few radiators to remove for decorating, have a look at the Radclamp by ABD Tools:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6PytKMYFIQ

that is the biggest load of crap i have ever seen, i would put £500 on that rad being completely empty when he lifted it off the brackets, there is no way he lifted that size rad off of the wall that easy with it full of water, plus if i went into the merchants & asked for a "rad wench" they would be :rotfl:on the floor before i got to the counter

Leif

southcoastrgi wrote: »

i would put £500 on that rad being completely empty

I wondered if it was empty as I saw no dribbles when he loosened the couplings. Obviously he could not carry it if full. Doh!!! I can barely carry the things when empty.

Myser

southcoastrgi wrote: »

that is the biggest load of crap i have ever seen, i would put £500 on that rad being completely empty when he lifted it off the brackets, there is no way he lifted that size rad off of the wall that easy with it full of water, plus if i went into the merchants & asked for a "rad wench" they would be :rotfl:on the floor before i got to the counter

I think it's a great invention that avoids having to drain a radiator/system. Here is a better video which shows it being used with freezer spray on the radiator pipes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpW91mO2NIM

I also thought the Rad Wrench is a brilliant idea as it prevents any scratching/marks to the valve body when using a normal wrench/pump grips without a cloth:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppTq87QR8RA

southcoastrgi

yes i agree partly about the rad wrench but it is two fixed sizes & trv's are all diff sizes so it's not a one tool fits all, i have a look at the other vid in the morn