radiator leak from valve All aspects of plumbing questions and answers, help, tips and information

[trainee]

Hi

My mother slipt and fell on the radiator last night and it has been leaking very slowly from the bottom of the valve. does this mean i will have to drain the system and replace the valve. is there a short cut? the rad is downstairs in the hallway and we have a combi boiler which is upstairs in the airing cupboard. The radiator is very old and the pipework is twisted and bent (but it was like this before she fell on it!)

Thanks in advance for your help.

[nitro23456]

try tigthening the nut

[chris_on_tour2002]

it might just be a case of nipping up the compression nut a little tighter with a spanner.

if this does not work then it will mean a drain down and ptfe the thread (at the very least) or better still replace the valve (which you may as well do as you are draining down anyway). and if it's an old system it's a good opportunity to flush the system and add cleaner/inhibitor.

[trainee]

Thanks for your replies. Much appreciated. I'll try tightening the nut first and go from there...

Cheers

[htg engineer]

"ptfe the thread" why ? pointless exercise.

You need to apply the PTFE tape to the olive - this makes the watertight seal not the threads of the fitting.

Many plumbers put PTFE tape on the threads of compression fittings, haven't a clue why, waste of time and PTFE !!!


htg

[C23kW]

it's simple.....kill the batman! lmao
nar try tightening nut and if it makes it worse, turn lecky off, drain system, and replace valve.
remember to PTFE is atleast 15-20 times lol

C23kW