Questions about repairing radiator leak with J-B Weld

Sus

Fyi, I'm posting this on behalf of a friend who tried to submit her questions - she's having computer issues and doesn't know if it went through. So if you see the same post, it's hers. Please feel free to answer to either post.



My friend lives in an apartment building and won't be able to shut off her heat. She intends to shut the valve for the radiator with the leak. The problem is the leak is located near the valve. When the building heat is on, the area around the leak and valve stays warm, though the rest of the radiator is still cool to the touch. She wants to know if you need the area to be completely cool for the J-B Weld to cure properly. Or can cure properly with the area warm for stretches of time during the lengthy cure process?



Also, she wants to know which product would be best for her to use, especially since her building radiator is on for most of the day.



Lastly, she wants to know if you really need to file the area where the leak is. The leak is in a place where it'll be hard to file so she was hoping to omit that step.



Any advice would be helpful.



Thanks.

nicholas bonham-carter

valve leak

post a picture of the valve, as i am sure this is a tightening repair rater than glopping over with JB-weld.--nbc

Sus

Picture of the leaky radiator

Here's the requested pix. She took a pix of the area where the leak is. She already started scraping off the paint. The leak is by the joint/screw thing in the middle or rather where the screw meets the pipe on the right-side.



Does the screw thing need to be tighten? If so, in what direction? We didn't even think it was possible to tighten it.

nicholas bonham-carter

leaking union

i think you are referring to the union nut roughly in the middle of the picture.

you will need a big crescent wrench with probably an 18-24 in. length. turn it so that the flats move down as you turn the nut. it may only need a quarter of aturn. rock the radiator slightly as you turn it.

if it still won't seal, then the joint will have to be completely unscrewed, and the mating faces cleaned with wire wool, and reinstalled, with pipe dope on the faces.--nbc

Sus

About the leaking union

Thanks! Yup, where the pipe connects to the union nut is the location of the leak. She doesn't have a large wrench and will have to purchase one tomorrow. Hopefully, it'll solve her problem.



I do have a question for you. Is it any way possible the leak might be the result of a hole by the union nut? Or is this definitely a case of a rusty union nut that needs to be cleaned and screwed back on? I think she's planning to purchase the J-B Weld in addition to the wrench and I would prefer she didn't if there really was no chance of a hole to patch.



Also, the reason why she's tackling it herself is she's not entirely confident that her super will fix it properly or use the right material. She figured that cleaning and applying J-B Weld was within reach of her ability.

nicholas bonham-carter

large wrench

try buying that wrench at harbor freight, or better yet, get the super involved [or the owner]. i don't think jb-weld is needed in this case.--nbc

Hap_Hazzard

It's not rusty.

These fittings are made of brass. Sometimes they're nickel plated on the outside. It's unlikely that there's a hole, but it is possible that it's cracked, so I would recommend you call the super. If you try to tighten it they will claim you broke it. If it's cracked they'll just have to replace the valve. It's not a big deal; it's just a real pain to get the spud out of the radiator.

Sus

Thanks.

She'll involve the super, though she doubts anything will come of it. The owner is not very good about anything that will involve money, even if it's necessary, and the super is constrained in his options and ability to fix things properly. I guess it's time for her to move when her lease is up.

nicholas bonham-carter

Lax maintenance

Let the owner know that money is being wasted by imperfect maintenance. Tell the super that when everything goes bad with the boiler, that he will be to blame, as this is a "no cost repair".--NBC

Sus

Unlikely the landlord will pay more to fix leaky radiator properly

Unfortunately, this is the NYC rental market and what passes for common sense doesn't always apply when landlords make decisions about repairs. My friend at least likes her landlord who is willing to fix things promptly, just very cheaply and in the process not well. I (and other friends) have had nightmare landlords who took forever to repair small problems. In my case my landlord decided half-way through my lease that she wasn't interested in being a landlord and having to deal with tenants but yet had no issue with collecting rent every month.



There are amazing landlords and supers in NYC, but there seem to be as many if not more landlords and supers who are not. Sadly, it's hard to know if you'll end up with a good landlord and super and in an apartment building with considerate neighbors and soundproofing until after you move in. Moving apartments not to mention finding a reasonably priced apartment is challenging and expensive in NYC, especially if you don't make a lot of money or have a trust fund. Which stinks for us tenants.



Sure it should be common sense on the part of the landlord to spend a little more now rather than spending more money and time unnecessarily to fix the same problems which sometimes become even bigger problems, but many don't and many who do know don't want to part with the additional cash.

Hap_Hazzard

It's really up to the super.

The super needs to keep records to show that doing things cheap costs more, and it's really in his interest to push for doing things right because, ultimately, that's how he shows that he's providing value--not by putting in more hours endlessly fixing things halfway, but by preventing loss through bad maintenance and increasing renter satisfaction. If he does the right things and documents what he does, he's constantly building a case for raises. If he doesn't he's building a case for being replaced by cheap labor.