Radiator on/off valve leak

Reyman

I've been turning on and off some of my radiators lately because of the high cost of gas. I notice most of them are now leaking slightly at the top of the valve (the part the cover fits over). Is there any easy way of fixing this - preferably without draining down the whole system?

ART6

Tighten the gland nut until the leak stops. The nut is the hexagonal brass one on the valve spindle. Don't tighten it too much or the valve will become too stiff to turn.

Reyman

Hi Art: I tried tightening the upper smaller nut, but it still leaks. It's worse when the radiator's off.

If I leave the radiator on all the time the leaking seems to stop

ART6

Reyman wrote: »

Hi Art: I tried tightening the upper smaller nut, but it still leaks. It's worse when the radiator's off.

If I leave the radiator on all the time the leaking seems to stop

One possibility - a friend of mine discovered that-- opening the valve with a tight gland caused the cap of the valve to unscrew partly. Below the gland nut is the much larger valve cap. Make sure that is tight. The leaking might well stop with a hot rad because thermal expansion closes the leak.

Reyman

Just for the record I sorted out my leaking radiator valve after reading up on it.

Procedure: Screw down fully the valves at both ends of the radiator. Undo the gland nut (small one) and remove (there will be no leak if the valve remains closed). Take out the valve, screwing it clockwise if necessary. There are two red o-rings on the valve. They wear out if you're turning on/off the rads a lot.
Replace them and reassemble, screwing the valve anticlockwise until the upper o-ring is below the surface. Replace the gland nut.

NB. This applies to Belmont radiator valves. Some other valves don't have o-rings and you need to apply 5-6 turns of PTFE to the valve body and then push the tape well down with a small screwdriver[/SIZE]

Traditional

Radiator valves are not meant to be turned on and off all the time , like kitchen taps , you should invest in thermostatic valves as then you can really control the heat , which ever ones are leaking you should replace with the thermo valves as they are designed for that.our plumber fits them reasonable . under fifty a set .

Micky Dolenz

Traditional wrote: »

.our plumber fits them reasonable . under fifty a set .

:eek: they cost about €12 for a TRV pack, thats a nice little earner.