Help & advice needed radiator and pipes

[bikeit]

I have a small radiator in the hallway, 19 inches wide it is situated between the bathroom door architrave and the boxed in pipes which runs from ceiling to floor, but i got the architrave replaced to a wider one and now the pipe which fits onto the left radiator valve will not sit tight to the wall to screw onto the valve, if i replace the radiator to a smaller one, can the copper pipe be cut and re soldered to suit the new size radiator if the central heating system is totally drained,
i know it would be a lot easier to cut a check out of the new architrave to accommodate the pipe but i don't want this as it would look crap.

 

[kirkgas]

yes it can be altered, but something to consider if fitting a narrower rad is to perhaps fit a taller one one a double panel/ double convector to make up the heat lost by fitting narrower rad

 

[bikeit]

Kirkgas i was thinking about fitting a double radiator, but will the plumber be able to cut and resolder the old pipe if the system is drained, he said that he may be only able to use compression joints but the look totally crap on surface mounted pipes

 

[bikeit]

bump

 

[tamz]

will the plumber be able to cut and resolder the old pipe if the system is drained, he said that he may be only able to use compression joints but the look totally crap on surface mounted pipes

A "real" plumber will be able to do anything you like with your pipes

 

[bikeit]

The plumber i use has been in the trade over thirty years. but for some reason he is dead against soldering pipes which had water in them

 

[tamz]

The plumber i use has been in the trade over thirty years. but for some reason he is dead against soldering pipes which had water in them

Obviously they need to be empty

 

[bikeit]

Yea i know they need to be empty, thus totally draining the central heating system

 

[tamz]

Then no problem with soldering if they are empty.

 

[JPC]

The plumber i use has been in the trade over thirty years. but for some reason he is dead against soldering pipes which had water in them

bizzare plumber !!

 

[bikeit]

i spoke to another plumber tonight at football, he thinks that the reason he is dead against doing any soldering is that to do any soldering he will have to drain the system, but drop down systems are very prone to airlocks and can be very time consuming to put right

 

[seco services]

i spoke to another plumber tonight at football, he thinks that the reason he is dead against doing any soldering is that to do any soldering he will have to drain the system, but drop down systems are very prone to airlocks and can be very time consuming to put right

thirty yrs in the trade should of got the hang of it by now.

 

[imroberts]

drop down systems are very prone to airlocks and can be very time consuming to put right

If this is the case, can anyone explain to me why?

The reason it surprises me is my central heating runs through my loft with drops in every single room (bar one) and I've never suffered any problems after it's been drained.

I don't understand why the system would be any more prone to airlocks than a more conventional setup, however I'm not a plumber by profession

 

[seco services]

drop downs can be a pain when both flow/return fill at the same time
and the air won't always get pushed into a rad and may get stuck on the horizontal to the rads.