bleed screw snapped

[bob the plumber]

as above? any tips on getting the bloomin thing out as its built onto the rad? radiator cost £500 so cant imagine the customer will want to replace it. They did it not me

I have thought about either drilling it out with a small metal bit but this could damage the thread of the rad

or

hitting it with a flat screwdriver to somehow create a groove in it to be able to take it out with a flat screwdriver?

thanks in advance for the advice

bob

 

[SimonJohns]

Get a screw remover. That should do the trick

 

[bob the plumber]

a screw remover??

 

[SimonJohns]

http://www.langtoninfo.co.uk/showitem.aspx?isbn=5029594289979

 

[bob the plumber]

thanks simon, are they actually any good?

 

[Dannypipe]

Only good if you are patient and don't run the drill quickly. Plus you will need to be pushing quite hard.

I've had mainly success with them, but the set I've got is a little better quality than the Rolson one.

From Screw Fix....

Trend Pro Grabit Screw and Bolt Remover 2 Pieces

 

[Best]

Suppose if screw remover fails, hopefully it won't, you could always drill it out & tap it for a brass bolt. Any of those very tight air screws are best removed & carefully cleaned of any paint, that some of the new rads have in them. Makes a big difference. Also a very slight touch of copper grease on threads of screw helps forever.

 

[MattWeth]

Be very careful using stud extractors - generally thought of as the tool of the devil in engineering. If you snap one off (which is easy to do in the small sizes) you need to get the remains spark eroded out as they're too hard to drill (obviously next to impossible and not worth it on a rad).

I'd centre punch the remains of the air screw accurately and drill it out carefully working up in drill sizes until you're nearly at the threads. Then use a fine pick to remove the remains of the screw. You're going to have to be careful not to drill into (or even through) the bleed screw seat. I've done this loads of times over the years on motorbikes - not too hard after a bit of practice.

It's going to be much easier to do this with the rad off the wall where you can attack it comfortably.