Moving pipes for rads

[600rob]

The downstairs floor of my place has 10mm copper pipe going to and from the radiators

On each rad the pipes comes up from the floor and are set in concrete.

Unlike pipe work fitted under floor boards there's little to no free play to help adjust the valve postion wheh removing and connecting rads.

Obviously i wouldnt go mad with moving these around but id like to get a good understanding of how delicate 10mm pipework set in concrete is and how much i can move it around for rad removal and refitting without upseting anything.

The pipes going to a few of the existing rads already look fairly bent out of shape where the rads were previously installed.

The last thing i want to do is inadvertently cause a major upset to any of the pipe work.

Advice much appreciated

 

[flameport]

10mm copper is soft and will bend easily.
However once it has been bent it work hardens, and this gets worse each time it is bent, until it fractures.

Therefore if they haven't been bent already - not a problem moving them.
If they are already bent and twisted all over - breakage is highly likely even with a small amount of movement.

 

[600rob]

Thats what i was thinking.

Other than being very careful what other solutions are there?

Is it possible to heat the pipe up and allow slow cooling in order to anneal it? To reduce the risk of fracture?

Pipes arent bent at 90 degree angles or any thing but some are far from dead straight...heres an example

DSC_1018

• 600rob
• 13 Aug 2017

 

[Hot&Cold]

Microbore set in concrete,try not to move the pipes to much or at all.There may be corrosion unseen and the pipe could snap off.

Saw one of those 10mm pipes snapped off at floor level,it was hit whilst a carpet was being vacuumed by a professional cleaner getting a house ready to be re let what a fecking mess.

Rad snaps or similar covers could be slipped over the pipes to give the impression the pipe is straight,still naff thou.

Are you changing the rads or just decorating ?

 

[terryplumb]

the pipe in your photo does not look more than 4 or 5 inchs long ,from floor to valve , and does not look as though it is deformed , albeit its not straight but a bit "wavey ". if you are only concerned about how much you need to " flex " it to reconnect to a radiator that has been removed for decorating ,and is going back on in its original position , i wouldn't worry ,as the stress on the pipe is minimal. just be very careful ,gently does it !!

 

[aaamusements]

Pipes set in concrete fill me with dread, for very good reason!
We've dug up the living room floor twice now, and if it starts leaking again under there we'll have to just reroute all the pipes to drops from upstairs.

 

[600rob]

Are you changing the rads or just decorating ?

New rads, new trvs/valves and decorating

 

[Hot&Cold]

New rads, new trvs/valves and decorating

Your a brave man just have respect for the microbore very thin fragile pipe and you will be ok just dont move the upstand radiator feeds.They may be in a duct or wrapped but they are always a weak point.

The new radiators could be sized to fit comfortably in between the pipes and radiator extensions used to make up any length short fall,instead of altering the microbore pipes.

happy plumbing

 

[600rob]

Your a brave man just have respect for the microbore very thin fragile pipe and you will be ok just dont move the upstand radiator feeds.They may be in a duct or wrapped but they are always a weak point.

The new radiators could be sized to fit comfortably in between the pipes and radiator extensions used to make up any length short fall,instead of altering the microbore pipes.

happy plumbing

Cheers mate.

Will go very easy with the pipes.
Got the new rads are sized smaller so should be able to make up the shortfall with extension tail to minimise the amount ill have to move the pipes.