Need advice on fixing leak in hot water system

David Churches

I want to know if I can replace a radiator valve without draining the entire system; the system has no valves that would allow me to isolate the problem radiator.
There is a leak in the valve stem of one of the radiators.

I have temporary fix by tightly wrapping graphite packing around the stem. I applied a hose clamp to contain and further compress the packing.

For the week we were out of town, we lowered the thermostat to 60. Family checked on the status of the leak every couple days. It remained dry. It started to leak again after we raised the temperature so I feel like we must fix it now. Since we live in Minnesota, the plan was to wait till we could shut the system down.

Is there a way to do this without bringing the entire system down -- no heat, drained radiators, etc? The plumber we had in to estimate the fix, it came in over $1000: this is to remove and replace one simple valve.

Am I a fool to try this myself (I am not a plumber, just practical, homeowner experience)?

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

[Deleted User]

Work with the plumber...

Offer to drain and refill the system FOR him, and see what happens to the price. Any time we have to work on one of these systems, it is VERY labor intensive to drain and refill. The labor to physically change out the valve is not that bad, its the labor of standing around waiting for the system to refill so you can bleed the air all out prior to fire that kills ya.

Just a thought.

ME

PS, Remember, Cornfucscious say Best time to fick a reaky loof is when the sun is shining...

ME

David Churches

Duh-uh

Great idea, and thanks Mark... why didn't I think of that?! Maybe because I fear that refilling the system is trickier than it seems. I have read as much as I can find about it. Please tell me if I have it approximately right: starting at the lowest floor of the house and working to the highest

1) Open all radiator vents. (I assume that means the basement, where there is at least one radiator)

2) Fill the system until water flows from the vents, then close all the vents.

3) Open all the vents on the next higher floor (first). Repeat the procedure until all the floors & radiators are done.

4) Fire up the boiler.

Is that it? Is there any trick to making sure I don't get pockets of air trapped that will cause problems later? Other than something breaking/ new leak etc, is there anything that could make it all go south and make me wish I'd never started?

Thanks again for your help. I will try to find someone in our area (Minneapolis) who seems qualified and will work with me.