Brass fittings

[850Rick]

You can't have two ends open rick because air will go in though one end and push all the water out the other if one end is open atmospheric pressure is stoping the water escaping the one open end because it has no where to go it just stays in the pipes.

So bunging both ends makes the trap in theory?

 

[850Rick]

Your college teachers must never have removed a rad in their life!
Lift it off the brackets & lower it to the floor.....? Firstly, you risk flooding the place & damaging the pipes & secondly, not all pipes will have movement to allow the rad to be raised while still attached to them!

No isolate the valves both sides crack the nuts both sides a little lift the rad of the brackets and lower it to the floor remove the nuts fully lift the rad up so the tails are at the top and pour water into a bucket.Ive seen it done with lcs and i built it and my brackets was on lock down lol.The teacher removed it because there was some one else waiting to have ago

 

[Dannyparty92]

You bung the vent and the feed because feed will push water though the open end flooding the place and the vent will push air in the pipes also resulting in flooding the place. When you bung a system you stop any water or air getting in the system because that will push water out the open end.

 

[Dannyparty92]

You can't just lower it on the floor you will get black water everywhere you need to empty the remaining contents into a bucket.

 

[SimonG]

It's all practise and experience. To start with do it how you're comfortable. Once you've had a couple of bad experiences with open vented drain downs chasing air locks about, that's when you realise that many a time a drain down is not the way to go. I remember going to a house on a Sunday morning, not long after I started on my own, trv leaking, had a quick look and it had split the olive, but it was a funny 1/2 olive and rubber o ring. So thought no problem I'll drain it and change the valve. Twenty minutes later I'm filling the system up thinking champion. Four hours later I'm still trying to fill the system up and get all the rads working.

 

[850Rick]

You can't just lower it on the floor you will get black water everywhere you need to empty the remaining contents into a bucket.

So you would leave the rad mounted in position isolate valves,undo the trv and drain into a bucket then remove radiator?

 

[850Rick]

It's all practise and experience. To start with do it how you're comfortable. Once you've had a couple of bad experiences with open vented drain downs chasing air locks about, that's when you realise that many a time a drain down is not the way to go. I remember going to a house on a Sunday morning, not long after I started on my own, trv leaking, had a quick look and it had split the olive, but it was a funny 1/2 olive and rubber o ring. So thought no problem I'll drain it and change the valve. Twenty minutes later I'm filling the system up thinking champion. Four hours later I'm still trying to fill the system up and get all the rads working.

How did you chase the airlock out in the end?

 

[Dannyparty92]

Yeah rick don't want to mess the custards carpet up. Iv had an airlock on a sealed microbore system before i just filled the system up to under three bar that sorted it! Then drained down back to 1.5 when all the rads where hot. If a open vented rick you could blow down the vent use a wetvac to blow down the vent open the bleed tapping on a rad and open the valves.

 

[SimonG]

How did you chase the airlock out in the end?

Back filled with mains, disconnecting pipes and pulling water through em, turning pump on and off and a lot of patience. It's easier with an oil boiler as you can boil it out with a bit of practise.

 

[Mike Jackson]

Your college teachers must never have removed a rad in their life!
Lift it off the brackets & lower it to the floor.....? Firstly, you risk flooding the place & damaging the pipes & secondly, not all pipes will have movement to allow the rad to be raised while still attached to them!

I've used this method quite a few times where there is a bit of movement in the pipes. Just shut off the valves, slightly loosen the nuts, lift the rad off the brackets and lay it down. Undo nuts completely and stand rad upside down, fingers over ends and take it outside to empty it. Nice quick way of swapping rads as long as you have a few towels to catch any spilt water as you take it off.

 

[850Rick]

Yeah rick don't want to mess the custards carpet up. Iv had an airlock on a sealed microbore system before i just filled the system up to under three bar that sorted it! Then drained down back to 1.5 when all the rads where hot. If a open vented rick you could blow down the vent use a wetvac to blow down the vent open the bleed tapping on a rad and open the valves.

3 bar frigging hell lol Thats guaranteed to getting the water going round lol

 

[850Rick]

Yeah rick don't want to mess the custards carpet up. Iv had an airlock on a sealed microbore system before i just filled the system up to under three bar that sorted it! Then drained down back to 1.5 when all the rads where hot. If a open vented rick you could blow down the vent use a wetvac to blow down the vent open the bleed tapping on a rad and open the valves.

Im yet to buy a wet vac are they expensive?

 

[Howsie]

40 quid ish from wickets

 

[850Rick]

Back filled with mains, disconnecting pipes and pulling water through em, turning pump on and off and a lot of patience. It's easier with an oil boiler as you can boil it out with a bit of practise.

Not sure what you mean by back fill.College would have another word for that lol

 

[PlumbBobBob]

no, wickes do one about £40 or less i think

 

[850Rick]

40 quid ish from wickets

Are they a henry product?

 

[PlumbBobBob]

40 quid ish from wickets

beat me to it lol

 

[SimonG]

Hose pipe onto heating drain off and fill it with mains water until it's filling the expansion tank. Really a two man job or stand outside and watch the overflow.

 

[850Rick]

Hose pipe onto heating drain off and fill it with mains water until it's filling the expansion tank. Really a two man job or stand outside and watch the overflow.

I can see why plumbers snatch.Ive a lot to learn lol

 

[850Rick]

I need to remove my rad from my bedroom because some numpty that lived in the house before us stood on the radiator while throwing things out of the window and pulled a rad bracket out of the wall.The problem is i have a low lying window ledge and the radiator sits low to the floor so i think getting a bucket in there will be near impossible lol

 

[PlumbBobBob]

I can see why plumbers snatch.Ive a lot to learn lol

indeed, why drain down and possibly get an air lock on refilling when you can snatch it.

 

[PlumbBobBob]

I need to remove my rad from my bedroom because some numpty that lived in the house before us stood on the radiator while throwing things out of the window and pulled a rad bracket out of the wall.The problem is i have a low lying window ledge and the radiator sits low to the floor so i think getting a bucket in there will be near impossible lol

you can use something like a sandwich box or anything that will fit under the valve, and just drain down a bit at a time.

 

[Dannyparty92]

I purchased something called an easydrain I think it's called. And it consists of a shallow tray and some bits of plastic each with different size holes in for various size pipes and you clip around the rad pipes and put the tray underneath its pretty useful. Yeah maybe one day I will get some snatch! But at the moment I feel confident in draining rather drain and chase air locks out than bung and make one little mistake and mess the carpet up.

 

[PlumbBobBob]

i find the icecream tubs from tesco (other suppliers are available) work fine. i used to use the trays that fresh pasta comes in, but found them too flimsy.

 

[Dannyparty92]

Yeah cheap and does the job .

 

[dancinplumba]

I purchased something called an easydrain I think it's called. And it consists of a shallow tray and some bits of plastic each with different size holes in for various size pipes and you clip around the rad pipes and put the tray underneath its pretty useful. Yeah maybe one day I will get some snatch! But at the moment I feel confident in draining rather drain and chase air locks out than bung and make one little mistake and mess the carpet up.

yeah, sigh, me too

 

[Best]

i find the icecream tubs from tesco (other suppliers are available) work fine. i used to use the trays that fresh pasta comes in, but found them too flimsy.

Metal trays salvaged out of the bottom of old cookers are handy & nice & low to get below low rads.

 

[850Rick]

I purchased something called an easydrain I think it's called. And it consists of a shallow tray and some bits of plastic each with different size holes in for various size pipes and you clip around the rad pipes and put the tray underneath its pretty useful. Yeah maybe one day I will get some snatch! But at the moment I feel confident in draining rather drain and chase air locks out than bung and make one little mistake and mess the carpet up.

That didnt make sense to me that lol

 

[Dannyparty92]

Google easy drain its a yellow tray with four yellow plastic pieces.

 

[PlumbBobBob]

seen them on ebay

 

[Dannyparty92]

Very useful things!

 

[R1CKY]

Use an empty inhibitor bottle, lay it on its side and cut a section out of it to catch water in.

 

[850Rick]

Use an empty inhibitor bottle, lay it on its side and cut a section out of it to catch water in.

Cheers mate

 

[850Rick]

If we drop the pressure on the combi to do a snatch changing the rad valve.How would i do it when there is a cylinder involved.Do i close the gate valve on the cylinder and the tank in the atic?

 

[kay-jay]

No. On an open vented system you use bungs on the feed and expansion pipes to create the vacuum.