Tightening a steam radiator to its valve and insulating pipe question

bbillcee

Ok I now this question might sound stupid but how tight do you normally make the radiator to the valve? Is it as tight as possible? I recently removed a radiator while getting the floors repaired and when I first put it back I tightened it up with a 12 inch channel lock then went to a 2 ft pipe wrench. It’s pretty tight but if I put a 3 ft on it I can probably go more( this is the one I needed to use to take it off) I think the 3ft is overkill but what do u guys think? I definitely don’t want to leak on the new floor but don’t want to snap anything either! Second question, when I got the boiler replaced a bunch of years ago I had all the asbestos removed. I put back new insulation on the pipes except for about the first 6 ft  coming directly out of the boiler. The part of the basement doesn’t have any radiator so I was thinking maybe that would give it a lil bit of extra heat down there but think now maybe I should insulate it?? 

Ironman

Is this steam or hot water?

I would clean the mating surfaces with a Scotchbrite pad and apply a little Teflon paste or silicone grease to them before re-assembly.

Tighten it enough to where it doesn’t leak. Since you didn’t specify the pipe size, it’s hard to know how big of a wrench to use.

Steam mains should be insulated to prevent condensation in them.

Jamie Hall

To add a bit to @Ironman , the radiator connections to the piping are unions -- or should be -- and unions don't seal on the threads. They seal on the mating surfaces of the unions. As he said, these must be clean, but not scratched, to seal. More to the point, they must be aligned -- vertically, horizontally, and angularly. Don't try to take up misalignment with them. Once that is done, all that is needed is for the union nut to pull the joint together tightly. In most cases, hand tight plus no more than a half a turn -- well, perhaps 3/4 on a big one -- is ample.

If it still leaks, take it apart again, clean it some more, check your allignment, and try again.

There is a very real risk of cracking the union nut by being a gorilla, and then you're done.

bbillcee

Thx guys, it’s one pipe steam. I cleaned it up and put a bead of pipe dope on the mating surface…. I’ll have to remember to look next fall for leak 😂