broken bleed valve

sully123

hi,

i have a problem with an upstairs rad in my house.

its not heating up.

what ever the problem is the main issue is that the bleed valve is broken.

its cracked and cant be opened.
its an old heavy steel rad off GB pipe.

the house is currently half new/ half old rads.
i know replacing the rad would be the best thing but is there anyway to bleed it for the time being?

cheers

sullzz

sully123 wrote: »

hi,

i have a problem with an upstairs rad in my house.

its not heating up.

what ever the problem is the main issue is that the bleed valve is broken.

its cracked and cant be opened.
its an old heavy steel rad off GB pipe.

the house is currently half new/ half old rads.
i know replacing the rad would be the best thing but is there anyway to bleed it for the time being?

cheers

Is the vent at the back , side , or top of rad , any chance of you throwing up a picture of it , some vents can be replaced

sully123

hi, thanks.

the vent is at the back. about two inches from the wall.

i cant see how it could be removed as it cracked when trying to release it. maybe drilled out.

as i said its an old rad. but perhaps you can still get replacements?

corkgsxr

There's always the option to drill a small hole and put a self tapper in

sully123

corkgsxr wrote: »

There's always the option to drill a small hole and put a self tapper in

i was wondering about that.
i thought it would probably leak, easpecially after a few uses.
i guess i could divise a little washer.

Outkast_IRE

sully123 wrote: »

i was wondering about that.
i thought it would probably leak, easpecially after a few uses.
i guess i could divise a little washer.

I find it does start to leak after a few uses, it would only be a temporary solution that works if you dont need to bleed your rads often

jd80

I take it that the square head of the vent core has sheared off.

However, as suggested can the whole vent be replaced on this rad or is it of the welded in place variety?

Also as suggested, a picture would help

sully123

307.JPG

i took this with a little mirror.
yep welded

jd80

A veha rad by the looks of it

Not so sure if the actual vent is welded in.

If it were, it would be brazed (the vent assembly is brass) and not welded.

That looks more like steel to steel weld 'around' the vent - maybe a heavier piece to take the vent thread

Am I mistaken or do I see a hexagon on the vent - thus enabling removal

Perhaps a clean up with wire brush or steel wool might might make this clearer

sullzz

Your not going to get that vent out , you could drill the rad and use a self tapping screw , but this will eventually leak , or you could tap the rad and fit a new vent

sully123

Hi guys,

Winter is on the way so this issue is back on the table.

I'm going to change the rad to a new one.

so im going to have to connect gb pipe to qualpex at some point.

Not looking forward to this bit.

any advice?

gifted

sully123 wrote: »

Hi guys,

Winter is on the way so this issue is back on the table.

I'm going to change the rad to a new one.

so im going to have to connect gb pipe to qualpex at some point.

Not looking forward to this bit.

any advice?

Find the nearest screwed fitting on the GB pipe to the new rad and swap GB fitting for a copper to female straight (312) or a copper to female elbow (317) whichever is handier to you, screw the female thread side onto the GB thread with Flax and bosswhite or PTFE tape, make sure you put it on clockwise to the pipe as you look at the thread and then connect the qualpex into the compression side with an insert (would recommend copper)

oh and make sure you drain the heating system first :P

sullzz

Are you moving the rad ?
Why do you have to connect the gb to qualpex ?

Dtp79

Best advice would be to get a plumber in!