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Radiator Pressure test. Good or bad?
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LeviW
Member Posts: 3
Hi All, I pressure tested a radiator that was removed from my 1907 home by a previous owner. It's been sitting in the garage for several years in a very dry climate. I air tested the unit up to 35psi. I let it sit for 1 hr and it dropped to 31psi. When I checked it about 10hrs later it was at 13psi. It was leaking from several places including the plugs used to pressurize it. I was told that our water pressure should be 45-60psi.
So my questions:
I used air for the test. will hot water cause the paper seals to expand thus stopping the leaks?
Should I test it with water?
The pictures below show the bubbles from soapy water. and the pressure gauge.
Thanks,Levi
So my questions:
I used air for the test. will hot water cause the paper seals to expand thus stopping the leaks?
Should I test it with water?
The pictures below show the bubbles from soapy water. and the pressure gauge.
Thanks,Levi
0
Comments
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Probably not paper seals -- much more likely push nipples.
Air is OK for a pressure test, but... are you planning to use this on a hot water system? If so, it should hold at 15 psi. On the other hand, if this is steam it only needs to hold 1 to 2 psi. The water pressure in your house is not relevant.Br. Jamie, osb
Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England1 -
Gotcha. It's a hot water system0
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did I mess up the seals buy testing at 35psi?0
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I think those have right left threaded nipples so there would probably be a gasket of some kind. You could stand that beast on end fill it with water and put some pressure to it.Miss Hall's School service mechanic, greenhouse manager,teacher and dog walker0
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Cheer up. Probably not.LeviW said:did I mess up the seals buy testing at 35psi?
Br. Jamie, osb
Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England0 -
Do you have a clue as to where it was in the home? Why it was removed? And what replaced it?
Curious as to why it was removed. Maybe you are discovering the reason.0 -
Unless it’s a 3 story building or you need to run 200f+ water temps, 10-15psi is plenty pr sure. that’s all we run on a industrial boiler with piping 25’ off the ground.0
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