Removing a rad

Eireann81

I need to remove a radiator from a wall in an upstairs bedroom, and I want to cap off the pipes in the corner (circled in the attached photo). I've got a couple of questions:

What's the best way to approach it? I'm worried that a load of water will start spilling out when I remove it.

Will I need to bleed my whole central heating system if I remove that rad?

The rad is cold and has never worked with the heating on. All of the other rads in the house work fine.

Any advice (even if it's to get a plumber in)?

PXL_20231224_131654898~2.jpg

Lenar3556

Are you going to cap off the pipes below the floor or above? Will this room have any radiator at all then?

Draining the system down, at least partially (below the first floor level) would be the best way to do it. There may be some bleeding of radiators afterwards to vent any air.

An experienced plumber might just relieve the system pressure, block any vents and do it very quickly with very little release of water. But it would be safer to drain down if you are doing it yourself.

Eireann81

I'm going to cap them off above the floor at the right-angled joint between the vertical plastic pipes and the horizontal copper pipes. It's a walk in wardrobe so I'll be putting wardrobes in where the rad is now, and that corner will be hidden. There's another radiator in the bedroom. That radiator (or the pipes) don't get hot when I turn on the heating for some reason. Thanks for the reply - what you say makes sense.

monseiur

Have you access to the pipes from the far side of the wall ? If yes - you could temporarily freeze both pipes that side of wall and cut and cap pipes as you describe. This would save you all the hassle of draining the whole system, refilling, bleeding etc. Pipe freezing kits can be hired for roughly €50 per day or a local plumber may have one that you could borrow for an hour.... for the price of a few scoops😊

DublinDilbert

Make sure fresh water can’t enter the system. Turn off both sides of all rads including the one you are removing. Crack one fitting in the corner and bleed off pressure into a container. Once the flow decreases open the fitting completely and pop on a 1/2” cap (make sure it has a rubber seal). Then do the other pipe. Very quick to do, shouldn’t spill much.

Eireann81

Thanks for the replies. I'll give it a couple of days for the Christmas holidays to pass before I go at it in case I end up needing to call a plumber in a hurry. Appreciate the responses.

Eireann81

Thanks again for the suggestions. I turned off all the rads upstairs (downstairs is underfloor in a separate zone), and I loosened one of the nuts. A small bit of water came out, and I capped that off without any drama.

There was a lot of water pressure behind the second nut though. I tried to slowly relieve the pressure, but in the end I just pulled out the pipe and capped it off as quickly as possible. Water sprayed everywhere for about 2 seconds but I was prepared with towels and a basin.

Job done now anyway (see pics below). The pressure in the system went from 1.1 bar to about 0.75 bar, so I topped it up again to 1 bar

I appreciate all the advice given here - I'm glad I gave it a go myself rather than calling a plumber.

listermint

Monitor them for a few days with heating on and off for a few days prior to doing any wardrobe work.

Can still get seeping depending how threads took.