radiator valve leaking - repair or replace?

demamey

In our old house we have two kind of newly leaking radiators valve. They are not leaking from the top, but from the middle it seems?
I originally figured it to be un-fixable and bought a new valve, but I could not remove the old radiator valve from the main pipe. I know I can buy penetrating oil and try again in a week or so.
but now I am thinking - perhaps I was wrong and this can be fixed somehow?

Here is how the leak looks live: https://youtu.be/da4Z0bNkZOw

Thank you!

demamey

oops, one more question - how bad is this for the boiler if I leave these radiators on for about a week? is there any temporary fix that I can until I replace the valve (if replacement is necessary).

Thank you!

BobC

The top part of that valve will unthread. You can try putting a wrench on that big square part and try to tighten it, don't go crazy with force or you will break it.

The only temporary fix I can come up with would be to get a large adjustable radiator clamp and some rubber to put under it. Femco is the common name for them



Measure the diameter you need and cut this down to fit. One other possible fix would be some silicone tape with an adjustable clamp tightened over it. A decent hardware store would have either.

Bob

MilanD

I second Bob's suggestion. You may try loosening the square nut first, then tighten.

If you will be replacing the valve, in the meantime, you may try some 2 part steal eppoxy and force it into the area leaking, then wrap with flex rubber wrap (both you can find in Ace type hardware store, big box don't carry it around here), then clamp it with an appropriate sized steel clamp, like the one on Bob-suggested Fernco.

http://www.essentialhardware.com/oatey-25515-wet-set-epoxy-232587.html

http://www.landfallnavigation.com/rescuetape.html

I have successfuly stopped pin hole leaks on steam pipes this way.

In the meantime, wrap a smaller towel rag around it to soak up water coming out. Heat of the pipe may be enough to dry it as it's leaking and not go down the pipe and make the carpet, floor, subfloor, and ceiling below soak that water. You may fashion some kind of aluminum foil skirt below the rag to catch any overage of leaking water if there is any, or a shallow Tupperware dish and use rag to direct any drippage into it...

For what it's worth, to get that valve off you will need a large pipe wrench. Lowe's sells 24" aluminium ones for under 25 bucks. Get two for the opposing force on the pipe. Penetrating oil is also a smart thing to use. If that doesn't work, you may need some breaker bar over the wrench for leverage.

Only other caveat: spud sticking out if the radiator, part on the new valve that is in the union, might be slightly different and not seat properly in the new valve. Probbably it will be fine, BUT, if it too needs replacing, you will need a so called spud wrench to tighten the new spud into the radiator. (supplyhouse.com and search "spud wrench"). Old one may give you some resistance coming out, use penetrating oil and scrape out any paint that's around the spud on the radiator. Destroying it in the proccess is fine, but the new one has to be tightened in with a spud wrench or risk damaging the spud. If you look at that part, you will see 2 notches sticking out inside the spud. Anything that can rotate the spud from within can be used, and thus, there is the spud wrench.

Just be careful the radiator doesn't fall down on you as you are working on it while it's disconnected.

And finally, this will lose a lot of water for the system. Make sure you watch water level in thr boiler and add water as necessary. This may be every few days, if not daily.

MilanD

When done with replacing the valve, just make sure radiator is again pitched to valve, as this is 1 pipe steam rad.

MilanD

If you do as Hat suggested above, do get a good and large adjustable wrench, don't use the pipe wrench on the bonnet. You may need pipe wrench on the valve housing for countering the force, and maybe even a breaker bar on the adjustable wrench. I once replaced innerds of a similarly constructed trap (hoffman 17c), and it took a 3ft pipe on the wrench to get it to back out. Just don't use the same when tightening it. Regular force of a 12-14 inch wrench should be enough to sufficently tighten it back up, without damaging it.

demamey

Thank you all so much!
I am out all day today, but tomorrow I will try some of your great suggestions and I will be sure to let you all know how it went. Thank you!!!!!

Fred

What is the Pressure running on that system? Do you have a 0-3PSI gauge on the boiler? I have seen valves seep like that when the pressure gets up around 4 or 5 PSI. Before you try to open that up, check to make sure the system pressure is where it should be, that the Pressuretrol is reasonably accurate and that the pigtail under the Pressuretrol is not clogged.

demamey

Wow, you guys totally saved me.
I cannot even express how much happiness I felt when I realized that I do not need to change the valve, and that I could fix it myself, due to help of the kindness of people around the country!
All I had to do is twist the top square part on both leaking radiators. That completely stopped the leak in one radiator, and almost stopped it in the other. So, on the second one, I removed the top part, cleaned both, and noticed that there is a little "black round plastic piece" that probably was soft at some point and became totally rough. Since I had just uses Teflon tape on some of our vents, I decided to try and used that instead of silicone (which I didn't have), I put a little bit of that, screwed it back on, and no more leaks!
Yay!!!!

Regarding the pressure, I have it set to 2 with 1.5 substraction differential. However, my pressuretrol and gauge on this almost new boiler are the ones that go to very high pressure. Do I need to replace them? Is this a project I can do myself?
Many many many thanks. You guys have made a real difference in my life. Not only I saved money that I didn't have anyway, but I had a feeling of accomplishment, and I felt supported but the humans of this world.
Thank you BobC, MilanD, Hatterasguy and Fred!

Fred

You can check the pigtail (looped pipe) under the Pressuretrol and make sure it is not clogged. If it is, it will not let the Pressuretrol see the actual pressure and allow the pressure to run high. Remove the Pressuretrol , using a wrench on the hex fitting that mounts the Pressuretrol to that pigtail and blow into the pigtail. If it is clogged, you may be able to blow it open. If it is really clogged, you may have to take the pigtail off and clean it out.

jackwhyte

Just an FYI on replacing very old steam radiator valves. I bought an 1883 Brownstone in NY/NJ area 15 years ago, and the steam system was probably installed around 1917. (The house was originally heated with coal fireplaces.) Most of the valves, I believe, were the originals, and their leaking had ruined plaster on ceilings, etc. I went to the Steam Supply store here and they told me how to get those old valves off. What you do is you take a hack saw and saw into the valve from top to bottom on its side being very careful not to saw into the threads on the steam pipe it is screwed on to. Once you've done that, you can use a pry bar to loosen the valve where you sawed and it pops right off. I didn't have to replace any steam pipes, even though they're probably just as old, and for 15 years I've been solid until this week. Just replaced one and plumbers tape I put on originally made it possible to get it off without damaging the pipe. Also replaced my pressuretrol and gauge because I suspect valves were being ruined by too much pressure. Boiler now shutting off at 3psi and the amount of money in gas I will save will pay for the new pressuretrol very quickly.

ethicalpaul

Try to get it to shut off at 1.5psi

Hap_Hazzard

Is it old thread revival day or what?