Leaking Radiator

Homer_home

hopperdennis said:

Homer_home said:

hopperdennis said:

Homer_home said:

What heating system do you have vented or sealed?

Gosh I don’t even know the answer to that, rather embarrassingly! It’s a glow-worm water gas boiler. Does that make any difference as to the radiator ‘temporary’ repair methods?

Why I ask is if it's vented and your temporary "fix" doesn't hold and you're out when it fails or the leak gets worse then you are coming home to a flooded house

If it's sealed then the water loss will be minimal and it's not such an issue 

Either way a pin hole in a rad is bad news , the rad needs replacing or isolating as you are clearly not plumbing savvy I suggest you get in a plumber or a mate who is handy with the tools to help you as you can easily make things worse

How can you tell if the boiler is vented or sealed? I agree it’s maybe best to isolate then as will be replaced eventually in the near future. Will follow the advice above re.TVR and is unsuccessful I’ll get a plumber in

Does your boiler have a pressure gauge on the front of it?

hopperdennis

Homer_home said:

hopperdennis said:

Homer_home said:

hopperdennis said:

Homer_home said:

What heating system do you have vented or sealed?

Gosh I don’t even know the answer to that, rather embarrassingly! It’s a glow-worm water gas boiler. Does that make any difference as to the radiator ‘temporary’ repair methods?

Why I ask is if it's vented and your temporary "fix" doesn't hold and you're out when it fails or the leak gets worse then you are coming home to a flooded house

If it's sealed then the water loss will be minimal and it's not such an issue 

Either way a pin hole in a rad is bad news , the rad needs replacing or isolating as you are clearly not plumbing savvy I suggest you get in a plumber or a mate who is handy with the tools to help you as you can easily make things worse

How can you tell if the boiler is vented or sealed? I agree it’s maybe best to isolate then as will be replaced eventually in the near future. Will follow the advice above re.TVR and is unsuccessful I’ll get a plumber in

Does your boiler have a pressure gauge on the front of it?

Yes it does, a small digital meter that shows the bars (pressure) and temp when switched on 

hopperdennis

Here is the picture of the TVR: 
I can’t seem to pry it off 

hopperdennis

Rodders53 said:

Plumber Mait is a non-setting compound and completely the wrong stuff, even for such a temporary 'bodge'.

Epoxy putty (2-part mix) might do it.  Milliput even says it can be applied under water... https://www.milliput.com/
Roughing up the surface and degreasing is still a good idea.

The proper answer is to fit a new radiator with new lockshield and TRV, of course.

Sounds like I’ve jumped in on the plumbers mait recommendation too quick! What is actually for then?

neilmcl

hopperdennis said:

Here is the picture of the TVR: 
I can’t seem to pry it off 

OK, as we've already said, you shouldn't be trying to "pry it off", you need to unscrew the knurled collar nearest to the pipe connection, you need to turn it anti-clockwise (toward you) and you'll probably need a spanner as it's covered in paint. TBH I think it's a waste of time trying to stop the leak, the TRV is covered in paint and will need replacing and the radiator has been stripped of it's paint anyway by the looks of it. Just isolate the whole thing and remove it. Can we see a pic of the lockshield valve on the other side of the radiator please? 

knightstyle

Just to say that I once repaired a pin !!!!!! hole in a radiator by...
1. get a small piece of soft wood, matchstick, lollypop stick or similar, sharpen to a point and tap gently into the hole.
2. that should stop the leak so now roughen the surface round it and smear on some epoxy adhesive.

nofoollikeold

The only thing I use Plumber's Mait for is sealing basin and bath wastes. A "sausage" of the stuff between the flange of the waste and the upper side of the appliance creates, in my opinion, a much better seal than the rubbish washers usually supplied, and accommodates difference between the plane of the waste fitting flange and the plane of the waste hole and surround.  

hopperdennis

neilmcl said:

hopperdennis said:

Here is the picture of the TVR: 
I can’t seem to pry it off 

OK, as we've already said, you shouldn't be trying to "pry it off", you need to unscrew the knurled collar nearest to the pipe connection, you need to turn it anti-clockwise (toward you) and you'll probably need a spanner as it's covered in paint. TBH I think it's a waste of time trying to stop the leak, the TRV is covered in paint and will need replacing and the radiator has been stripped of it's paint anyway by the looks of it. Just isolate the whole thing and remove it. Can we see a pic of the lockshield valve on the other side of the radiator please? 

Yes, agreed! I should isolate the whole thing, now how do I do that ha? Other lockshield valve is as anti clockwise as it will go. I’ll take your advice re. unscrewing the knurled collar, can I confirm what one is that exactly and one that’s done, what do I then do?

Jeepers_Creepers

neilmcl said:

hopperdennis said:

Here is the picture of the TVR: 
I can’t seem to pry it off 

You have a 'sealed' - pressurised - system since it has a pressure gauge. That is good news; should your rad burst, only a limited (but still wet...) amount of water will come out. (A 'vented' system would keep refilling and not stop...)

The idea with the TRV is so see if it's working. So, first turn the 'head' until at max temp setting - this will release pressure on the pin of the valve and make it a little easier to remove. Now use an adjustable wrench on the knurled collar on the left at the bottom of the 'head'. Usually this is part of the head. so is undone anti-clockwise as you look down from the top of the head. I haven't seen that style of TRV before, tho', and there's a chance (I think) that the knurled collar is actually part of the valve body. If so, then it's unscrewed 'clockwise' as you look down from the top of the head!

Try anti-clock first. If it turns a wee bit but feels as tho' it's getting tighter, then try t'other way... Is should become loose and be turnable by hand after a bit. The TRV head should then come off, and you should see a metal pin stickiung out of that valve body. 

Try firmly pushing that pin down in to the body - use something solid 'cos it'll hurt yer thumb. It should be smoothly pushable down and stop firmly when it bottoms out, and then pop up smoothly when released.

Now look inside the TRV head at the bit that makes contact with that pin - does it move up and down as you turn the head setting? It should. 

If all appears well, then it might be a case of that it 'works' ok but is not capable of pressing down on that pin firmly enough to shut off the flow 100%.  In this case you may need - as a bodge - to find something solid that'll sit on that pin top to act as a spacer that'll allow the head to press down a bit more tightly. This would need to be around 3mm thick, I guess. It has to be solid, flat at each end and not any wider diameter than the spindle - that'll test you. If you find something, attach it to the spindle top with glue...

Replace head, tighten collar, and screw head down to fully off. Open bleed screw and see if water stops to flow out of it in a few seconds. If it doesn't, then one valve is still allowing water past.

neilmcl

hopperdennis said:

neilmcl said:

hopperdennis said:

Here is the picture of the TVR: 
I can’t seem to pry it off 

OK, as we've already said, you shouldn't be trying to "pry it off", you need to unscrew the knurled collar nearest to the pipe connection, you need to turn it anti-clockwise (toward you) and you'll probably need a spanner as it's covered in paint. TBH I think it's a waste of time trying to stop the leak, the TRV is covered in paint and will need replacing and the radiator has been stripped of it's paint anyway by the looks of it. Just isolate the whole thing and remove it. Can we see a pic of the lockshield valve on the other side of the radiator please? 

Yes, agreed! I should isolate the whole thing, now how do I do that ha? Other lockshield valve is as anti clockwise as it will go. I’ll take your advice re. unscrewing the knurled collar, can I confirm what one is that exactly and one that’s done, what do I then do?

The lockshield valve needs to be turned clockwise to close it. Can you share a picture of it because I'm not sure you fully understand what you need to do.