I have a radiator in my hall which I turned off last year, for a reason. It kept leaking. I foolishly forgot this and went to turn it on yesterday and now can't get it to stop leaking no matter how hard I turn the tap towards the "-".
I've narrowed it down to coming out of the bit which the tap fits on to: the white arrow is where the leak is coming from:
I was advised by some people not quite as clueless at plumbing as me to unbolt the bolt on the left perpendicular to the radiator, but when I started doing that water went everywhere so I don't want to persist really as I'm not even sure that was the correct advice.
Any advice is very welcome please! I will happily seek a pro
Best on this ocassion to get a plumber in as the system will have to be drained down if the valve isn't working. A plumber will be able to solve any problems when refilling the system and add the necessary chemical treatments. Some plumbers may be able to freeze the pipes, eliminating the need for a drain down.
Easiest thing to do is attempt gland packing as already mentioned
Most full proof thing to do is change the valve. A drain down for a leaking valve is quite a faff and so freezing - if poss is prefered.
If the leak is bad enough the water will be moving from the pipe too fast for a freeze to work but you may be able to lessen this sufficiently by letting off excess pressure (bung feed and vent in f+e tank if a vented system first) and/or smearing some lsx round where the leak is immediately after drying with a rag.
A freeze and changed valve - even allowing for removing paint from pipe and draining rad - shouldn't take more than 1-2hrs. A drain down - depending on system and luck - could take most of the day or more.
If you decide not to attempt a fix yourself and don't know any recommended plumbers tell us where you're from and you might get someone on here to pop round.
I was advised by some people not quite as clueless at plumbing as me to unbolt the bolt on the left perpendicular to the radiator, but when I started doing that water went everywhere
In answer to your question about freezing the pipes, this would be the preferred method, but not every plumber carries the expensive pipe freezing equipment. There are DIY freezing cans, but these have mixed results/reviews.
Still think you should get someone locally to have a look at it for you or as Watertight says, request someone from this forum that lives near by.
Please don't attempt repairs or try to dismantle valves or pipework unless you know what you are doing. Could end up a costly mistake and one which your house insurance company might not look to favourable at.
Valve is cheap type & I find leak if used much. A little Ptfe in packing does the job but I would change valve eventually. A pro can even change valve on live pipework when system cold no problem but not for DIY folk & there's a risk to carpets, etc, so not recommended!
It's not a packing nut.
Tightening that nut will do nothing.
You could try and replace the O ring but I've found that doesn't work.
I would replace this valve with one that has a packing nut as they can be repaired easily time after time.
hi trying doing as suggested, let me know how it goes thanks
ps remember all mechanical can be repaired its not a sealed unit your working on hence the reason for the nut i have repaired at last count 1234567890 million of these thats why i dont do any work now.
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