Leaking valve on sun rad

Tom E

I can't tighten the union on the shutoff valve on the recessed radiator in my kitchen. It leaks condensate. If I were to repipe the radiator, do I have to include a shut off valve at the radiator...do I need one at all?

jumper

no

No, in my opinion,unless you anticipate the room becoming overheated. Valves are a source of troubles. That's where air comes from in both steam and hot water heating systems. And on steam systems the valve is a good place for condensate to block steam flow.

icesailor

Leaking Unions:

In my experience, you will have one heck of a time finding a union/valve that is an exact replacement to what you have. I have almost always had success with getting the union apart and carefully sanding the crust from the faces of the unions from evaporation. Then, slathering a good clean pipe joint compound on BOTH surfaces (like Rectorseal #5) and making it up again.

If you try this, for added success, get a very small NEW can of #5 and don't use old stuff. You don't know what debris is in a used can.

In the last 5 years, any radiator that I tried to repair with new, I couldn't find "New" that fit or was a poor replacement for the old.