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Angle steam radiator valve leaking

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daveamir
daveamir Member Posts: 69
in Strictly Steam
Hey guys, the top portion were the knob turns on my Angle steam radiator valve is leaking steam. I’ve seen someone unscrew the top of theirs once and apply some type of glue to stop the leak on theirs. Would this be the best route, which product would you recommend thanks!

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  • nicholas bonham-carter
    nicholas bonham-carter Member Posts: 8,576
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    If you can tighten the top nut a bit under the handle, that may compress the packing which makes the seal.If not then it may need to be repacked, so let us know how successful it was for more information.
    Your system may also be operating with too much pressure, and need advice for that.—NBC
    daveamir
  • gfrbrookline
    gfrbrookline Member Posts: 753
    edited December 2019
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    If tightening the nut does't work you can try repacking it with this product from Amazon, BrassCraft Mfg SF1336 Rope GRAPHITE TWIST PACKING 3/32X25 X 24 . I have had good luck with it. Back the bonnet nut off raise it up and wrap the stem 3 or for turns, tighten the bonnet back up and you should be good. Found the instructions on a youtube thread from This Old House.

    My local contractors are unwilling to repack a valve, they just want to replace them so they don't have a repeat call if it doesn't work. The problem I have recently discovered is when they replace the valve the feed pipe is going out of round so the new valve leaks from the bottom so they have to come back anyway.

    The picture I have attached is from a radiator valve that was replaced about 10 years ago and has probably been leaking since it was replaced. So the moral of story is there are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches.
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 9,639
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    You can get string packing at virtually any hardware store.

    If they are crushing the pipe they are almost certainly using the pipe wrench improperly.
    KC_Jones
  • nicholas bonham-carter
    nicholas bonham-carter Member Posts: 8,576
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    They may not have changed the spud at the same time as the valve.
    They all have different angles on the mating faces.—NBC
    Hap_HazzardGordo
  • gfrbrookline
    gfrbrookline Member Posts: 753
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    @mattmia2 and @nicholas bonham-carter , Agreed on both statements. Unfortunately it is located in an apartment so it went unnoticed.
  • daveamir
    daveamir Member Posts: 69
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    Hey I compressed the nut on top with a wrench it’s wiorking for now thanks guys
  • daveamir
    daveamir Member Posts: 69
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    Hi guys it started to leak again can I use something like JB Weld I’m afraid I might unscrewing improperly I figured that might be safer
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 9,639
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    No. unscrew the nut on the top, it should be relatively easy with a crescent wrench, add some string packing, a little at a time if a few turns aren't enough, you want the threads on the nut to catch well before you try to compress it with the nut. If that little bit isn't enough, you can unscrew the packing nut and add a little more. You shouldn't have to make it super tight to get a seal.

    If you put JB weld on it you at best will have to remove it to fix it properly and at worst will have to replace the valve which is much more difficult project than just adding some packing.

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