Disconnect Radiator w/o Draining System?

Jerry_15

Maybe, if they're on the top floor. Guess you'll find out when you break the unions if you got enough, oh yeah, turn off the power and feed valve first, sometimes they bleed through slowly if it's not a ball valve, you might have a soggy surprise in the middle of the night. Good luck.

Kevin_55

Disconnect Radiator w/o Draining System?

We have a hot water heating system. I would like to disconnect and remove a few of the radiators to paint them. Is it possible to close the individual radiator shut-off valves and remove them without needing to drain the entire system? Thanks.

Steamhead (in transit)

Drain it

that's the only way you'll avoid a flood. Even with the radiator shutoff closed, you'll still have water coming from the return connection. Shut off the power to the boiler first, and leave the system drain open with a hose on it leading to a floor drain or similar place. That way if the feed shutoff valve leaks, the water should drain.

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Unknown

I agree

More than likely the valves won't hold and it'll turn into one sloppy mess . That is , if there's valves on each supply and return ?

Like Frank said , shut the feed valve , drain the boiler and keep it open to drain . And make sure the power to the boiler is off . To drain the rads , open the bleeder valves and alomst all the water will siphon to the boiler .

Dennis

Don't do it!

disconnecting those rads may open a can of worms, most likely you will never get the union to seal again.

We have a saying around our company "Never touch an old valve". Just go ahead and turn that 70 year old rad valve, see if the packing doesn't start leaking. What if the house has settled around that heavy radiator.

That paint job isn't going to look so good to you, when the plumber has to chip it up when replacing the valve and 90 fittings.

Unknown

That's for sure. Had one once where the HO opened the valve and the nut was painted to the stem so it spun off when he turned it. Naturally he didn't have a clue,until a few hours later when it was raining in his living room. Soggy mess is a mild way to put it.

Jerry_15

All true. I won't pull an old rad without replacing the valve and draining the system, but then I'm not trying to save a buck.

Eric Johnson

paint it where it is

I've done it both ways, and it's much easier to clean and paint the radiator where it sits. That's not to say that it's easy, but you can get excellent results with regular Rustoleum if you take the time to mask everything off and ventilate the room before getting started. Your paint job will look great for decades. Be sure to wash the rads with a soap or solvent that will get rid of grease and wax, or the spray paint won't adhere properly.

If you still want to remove the rads, then drain the system like everyone else said. It's a lot easier than repairing and replacing damaged ceilings and floors.

Jerry_15

It's a lot of work no matter how you slice it, but I'll give you a killer tip. Most times by me the rads are on hardwood floors so first thing I tip them a little and put a piece of sticky back felt that comes in a roll from the supply house underneath each of the feet. Now it will slide around like a seal on ice, and stop condensation from staining the floor, without changing the height. The rest of the roll works great under furniture, and especially hardwood rocking chairs on fir/pine floors. Just snip it to size with scissors, peel and stick, you can't even see it, it lasts forever, and doesn't come unglued (unlike some of us). Check it out