Permanently removing a rad

[preecy]

I have two small radiators at either end of my hall way. I would like to remove one completely and replace the other with a larger radiator.

For the rad i intend to remove, should i just cut and cap the pipes behind the wall or is it better to join/bridge the two ends?

 

[terryplumb]

dead legs not good. best to trace back to flow and return pipes / manifolds and strip out / dosconnect there.

 

[preecy]

so capping them is a 'no no'. the rad pipes are buried in the wall so tracing them back to the mainfold would be difficult, at least for me. to avoid dead legs, couldnt i just bridge the flow and return pipes instead?

 

[John D v2.0]

You could but you'd need a valve to stop all the flow bypassing, plus bleed valve would be good too

 

[terryplumb]

not a good idea at all, water will always take the path of least resistance so you effectively would be creating a by pass in the system . if you really do not want to start taking floor boards up etc to find the pipe drops from upstairs ( presume not a bungalow or flat ) then capping both pipes and " see how it goes " may be a way forward. you MAY be lucky. if you have an opportunity in the future to disconnect then do so. if you have problems after capping you will have to bite the bullet

 

[Madrab]

Dead legs, whilst not ideal, are not as big an issue when it comes to central heating pipework. Just cap them as far back as you can get and take it from there.

Avoid making a loop.

 

[FiremanT]

as per Madrab, perfect advice. Pretty much just ignore JohnD. DO NOT "bridge"

 

[John D v2.0]

Actually you should ignore firemant as he's said ignore my advice even though i answered the question asked and he's also said do not bridge.

 

[FiremanT]

Err. You advised that it is okay to join ( bridge or loop ( the 2 pipes then fit a valve in between. Are you a bit slow?
Your method will not cause a problem, but it is a stupid idea and demonstrates (again) your lack of knowledge. But the manner in which it us written may convince a DIYer that it is relevant advice.
Obviously I said do not bridge or loop. Your advice is to build a bridge, then put a barrier accross

 

[John D v2.0]

couldnt i just bridge the flow and return pipes instead?

You could but you'd need a valve to stop all the flow bypassing

Err. You advised that it is okay to join ( bridge or loop ( the 2 pipes then fit a valve in between.

Ah sorry I should have made better use of the quote faculty, but I was replying quickly on my phone. I've dug the relevant quotes out above
I meant it was only OK to join the pipes if a valve is installed to stop all the water bypassing (basically a restricted bypass.)

 

[ianmcd]

Just cap them off it will be fine, the radiator that you are going to increase the size of to replace the two smaller ones though ? You better check the diameter of the pipes to this one and the distance it runs, there are limits to the sizes of radiators you can use depending on the supplying pipe sizes.