possible leak almost inaccessible yorkshire fitting.

[omega015]

on a house I recently bought and am doing up I suspect I have a leak on a Yorkshire fitting on the central heating main feed pipe upstairs which is almost impossible to get to. I can just reach it with my hand to feel the joint and it does look like a tiny bit of water is coming out when I run my finger under it and by tiny I really mean tiny (when the pipe is hot) will need to see tomorrow what it is like when cold.

Unfortunately the joint is located under the bathroom which is laminated floor and above the kitchen which has some PVC like panelling going on. so its going to be costly to take up/down either which I don't think will happen.

would something like Fernox LS-X or other jointing compound work by smearing this over the joint? im pretty sure I am not going to be able to get a torch on the fitting and remove it, clean it up and get another fitting back on.

Any ideas to try while I have "slight" access to it? I've not noticed the pressure dropping on the boiler so I don't suspect the leak is currently causing any issues. like I say its not even a drip, my finger just looked a little wet (well less dusty and clean) after running it across it.

Regards,

Michael.

 

[dcawkwell]

Floors got to come up.
Or knock a hole in the ceiling.
Don't use compression joints under floor.

 

[Terry lambert]

Have you got room to reach and cut the pipe then bridge the joint out with a couple of push fit. Fittings?

 

[misterdubya]

+1

 

[omega015]

cannot knock a hole in the ceiling as its some t&g pvc stuff. would have to take down a good portion of the ceiling I think. not sure how easy will be to get the laminate up as think tillers might have tiled over last row and placed shower tray right over it too.

might be able to cut and use some push fittings but not sure if there is the height to get a cutter around it.

guessing nobody is recommending the Fernox LS-X or equivalent external sealing compound as a last resort?

and thank you all for the time to reply

 

[Terry lambert]

LSX ect is a no I'm afraid

 

[Galoka]

Well, it might not be the right thing to do, but you haven't really got anything to lose by trying to seal the leak, it's not really going to make things worse. (And it might not even be the joint, I had a pinhole leak in a length of pipe - presumably and impurity that gradually disappeared over the years.

So I would probably try that first, maybe try one of the things you dose the CH water with? I know of someone who used it successfully. E.G.


http://www.screwfix.com/search.do?fh_search=leak+sealer&fh_view_size=20

Or rather than LSX, I might try some expoxy metal putty, tohugh you might not be able to locate the actual leak to make that worthwhile. I fixed a leaking rad on a car with it, and it kept going for a number of years until I got rid of it.