When you don't paint behind your radiators in 80+ years

SteamedInWharton

I decided to paint my house this winter since I was tired of seeing the same beige walls. I bought my house from a flipper who decided to paint the entire house Glidden Tea and Honey, a beige that doesn't seem to know whether it wants to be beige or orange or pink. Good riddance.

However, the flipper skipped painting behind the radiators and also skimped out on refinishing the floors underneath them. Seeing the state of the walls behind the radiators, I decided that this job would be done right and I started removing radiators so things could get cleaned up.

Here are some pics of before and after. The green paint and trim is apparently original. The beige is recent and the blue is new.

So far I've only removed 16-section radiators. I have not even tried the 40-section units. That's a two man job. I'm trying to put them back on and misaligned them so while the union tightened, it still leaked. Fun!

Fred

Very nice! W@hen you reconnect those radiators, rock them a little as you tighten the nut. That helps it to seat and align properly.

EBEBRATT-Ed

@SteamedInWharton , looks good. Get some 2 x 4 and some 1 x 4 blocks blocks and a crowbar and a few pieces of steel at least 3/16 thick. Then you can pry 1 end up and slip the steel plate under 1 set of legs at a time. Then it will slide away from the wall easily so you can paint.
A little caution and you won't get hurt

SteamedInWharton

Thanks guys. My painter is doing a good job both with the painting and the plaster patching. I've been staggering when I remove radiators so I can still have heat in certain rooms and he's been very patient with me, going back in and touching up in a room he's already painted.

I have off on Friday so I'll probably coordinate some of the bigger radiator removals with him then. The rads ("National Art Radiator") are similar to Arcos/Burnham Slenderized: 19" high, 4 thin tubes (4.75" wide), and 1.5" sections. I did some research and similar radiator types are 7.25 lbs/section. That means a 40 section will be 290 lbs.

He did suggest laying a pipe wrench on the floor as the leverage point for the prybar so I don't damage the wood floor.

Another problem is tightening and loosening the union nuts. My 24" pipe wrench has the right jaw size but sometimes the wrench is too big and can't clear the floor or wall depending on the angle. If a radiator is easy to loosen, then the clearances are wrong for getting the wrench to bite when tightening it or vice-versa. My 14" wrench sometimes helps in the tight spots but doesn't seem to go around the nut flats as easily.

BTW, will pipe dope (I bought some Megaloc) help on the spud/tailpiece face when seating?

EBEBRATT-Ed

Sometime your better off with a smaller wrench with a "cheater pipe" over the handle, smaller jaws, same leverage.

One trick that almost always works with unions. If you put a wrench on it and can't loosen it, get a hammer and give it a few raps around the union. It will then usually come apart easily.

I prefer "never seize" you can get it at an auto parts store. But if you have Mega Lock go with that

nicholas bonham-carter

For lubrication of the union while reassembling, dishwashing liquid is best, as it contains no particles which will prevent a perfect metal to metal contact between the faces. Rock the radiator as you tighten to achieve the perfect contact. Use never-seize only on threads.--NBC

SteamedInWharton

OK. Somewhere I thought I saw mention of doping the metal face of the tailpiece, but that would prevent the metal on metal contact you suggest.

Some updates:
In my back bedroom (the room from the pics above). I have reinstalled both radiators. One still leaks but the other is fine. A second attempt at aligning the leaker and tightening it failed.

In my living room, the two 16-section units have been removed and the wall has been patched but not painted. However, when I leak tested the other radiators, I shut as many valves as I could as it's rather warm right now. I still heard the large living room radiator hissing, even with its valve shut. I'm guessing it's completely failed. That means I'll have to have the whole system off, or I'll need to replace the valve and spud.

Question: will a 1-1/4 pipe cap thread over the union threads on the valve or are the union threads "special?"

Fred

The union has a flare on both ends. No cap will fit over it. More often than not, steam valves will leak steam into the radiator even when closed. On a one pipe system, the valves should always be left fully open unless for the rare occasion when you need to disconnect a radiator. Even then the boiler should be shut down for safety sake.
No dope of any kind should be used on the coupling end of the union, between the valve and the connecting spud. As has been said, maybe a little dish washing liquid rubbed on to create a slicker connecting surface. Rock the radiator a little when turning the union not. That helps to align the connection. Those that still leak, take them apart and clean any dope you used off.