Just wanting to check something RE: radiator re-fitting

JustAnotherSaver

We have 3 radiators that we'll need to remove in order to strip wallpaper & then obviously re-wallpaper.

I spoke to a fella at work who does a fair bit of decorating as i'd never done it before & he told me what to do. I jumped on YouTube for a visual & noticed a difference in the video to what he told me - it was the use of a jointing paste.

I went back to him & his precise words were ... "ball-ox, you don't need it".

In the first video around 1:50 they use this stuff:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eopRvzv2ZYE

But in another video they show the way this lad told me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MYF34BMGhY

Minus the paste.

Now it would make sense to me that it'd be better to use paste than not.

Q1) What's suitable stuff? I've heard of "Boss White" so i assume that stuff? http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw=plumbers+compound&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.Xplumbing+compound&_nkw=plumbing+compound&_sacat=0

Q2) & this is the one that's made me make the thread as i just want to check - when applying the paste, do you smear it on both connectors, left & right of the radiator or just the one that goes on to the control thing?

Thumbnails of ours just in case they differ so much:




Don't want to put it on one if they both need but don't want to put it on both in case you're not supposed to.

phill99

I never use boss white. I always use PTFE tape. Wrap it round BOTH nuts.

Lgas

Same, you want to wrap the PTFE around the olive, where it makes contact with the valve. I never use jointing compound on rad valves.

southcoastrgi

you shouldn't need paste or ptfe tape on the olives

diywhynot

Loctite 55 works for us.

JustAnotherSaver

Ahh the old classic - split opinions. I take from this thread that there is no right/wrong then it seems (as in a reply to the do i/don't i).

I spoke to another lad at work who's recently done his house & just told him what i was going to be doing. He told me to stay well away from removing radiators unless i've got plenty of £££ for a plumber. He said YouTube videos make things look dead simple & they're probably doing the removal on a radiator that's been on the wall 5 seconds. My radiator has probably been on there 10 years he says (example figure) & it will likely be a nightmare to remove.

Whether he's a scaremonger-er or not i don't know. He's known what he was talking about with some stuff but with others i know he's been poorly informed.

I also don't have a clue what olives are, besides the obvious ones, so i threw it into google: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=radiator+olives&client=firefox-a&hs=xvC&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=eg3pUo7eHNGIhQeynYCIBQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=934 nothing definitive there.


I'll buy some of this PTFE tape & see how we get on. I wonder why it wont have been used on ours before previously? Maybe they were of the mind like some of you here & the chap at work - that it isn't needed.


What about the guy i spoke to today - is he talking BS about it'll be a nightmare if it's been on the wall for years & years?

For the record, i'm not dilly dallying, i'm 1) trying to learn 2) avoiding damage (& therefore needless cost).

diywhynot

Any plumbing job can be a nightmare if
1. You don't have the correct tools.
2. You don't have the correct materials.
3. You don't have the requisite skills.
4. You can't make up your own mind how/whether to do the job yourself or decide when it is best to GSI.;)

greyteam1959

And don't forget that if your heating system has not been drained for many years the water in the radiators could be absolutely black filthy.....so be prepared.

anotherbaldrick

mervyn11 wrote: »

And don't forget that if your heating system has not been drained for many years the water in the radiators could be absolutely black filthy.....so be prepared.

Yes take note of this , the problem will be as you lift the radiator off the wall filthy black slime will run out of the end connection which is lowest. This stuff is iron oxide , the product of oxygen in the water and the steel construction of the radiator, it's death to any carpet it gets on. Two people and a large bowl are called for.

A.Penny.Saved

It might be worth you getting some shut off valves for the radiator and add them so that the radiator can be removed without draining. However the radiator will be very very heavy when full of water so you would need a couple of strong people. Something to consider so that future re-decoration is easier. Once you see the black water coming out of your radiator, you might appreciate shut off valves, especially if it ends up on your carpet!

JustAnotherSaver

Well based on the video, we have the right tools & materials but it's the skill that is lacking.

As for drainage time - it's a question i can't answer i'm afraid. We haven't done it, but then we've only had the house 2-3 months.

thanks anotherbaldbrick - as without that i would've thought dirty water - so what. The living room has no carpet, but the bedroom does & it's one we'd prefer to keep.

If by shut off valves you mean http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/plumbing-central-heating/central-heating-fittings/caps/PlumbSure-Brass-Blanking-Cap-12-7mm-Female-11477784?skuId=11988491 then i've bought some. If you mean something else then i don't know what you mean.

I might just say sod it at the weekend & have at it. The worst that can happen is water goes everywhere i suppose, but then i'm getting a bit P'd off waiting so we'll see what happens. It'll either work or it'll end up a mess.