Lucus rad removal

Brian Macdonald_3

I am a homeowner with a house similar to yours. First read the section on hot water heat in "Heating Q and A" on the pipe to the left of this page. You should then have at least a basic idea of what kind of system you have and how it works. As to removing rads I have done several and this is what I think. They are HEAVY!! Be prepared. To be safe I drain all the way down - 10 or 30 or 100 gal. of water is a big mess to clean up. Most rads have unions very near the rad connecting them to each pipe. Remove as much paint from the seams of the union nuts as possible before trying to turn it. I also put some paint stripper on the seams of the nut to soften the paint that has seeped into the joint. Heat is also an option if the nuts are really stuck but remember that some paint strippers are flammable. Once the union nuts are loose the rad should slide out from between the unions. Getting them out is the easy part. Getting them back in without leaking is tough. The union faces are usually too corroded to seal up again. I just replace them which opens up a new can of worms in getting the old ones off without damaging the pipe, and getting the new fittings to seal to old pipe. It is nice to have working hand valves though! Here are some tricks that might help. If keeping the old unions a thin gasket can be made to go between the mating faces of the union. Thin sheets of lead, neoprene, or perhaps an RTV Silicone (Think automotive formed in place gasket material) are some options. If trying to put new fittings on old pipe lots of teflon tape with pipe dope on top is an option. I use the automotive FIPG. Note that fully threaded pipe can bottom out in some Angle valves and 90* unions so check carefully before assembly. I have more rads that I wish to remove someday so any other ideas, suggestions or comments are definately appreciated.