Removing a radiator

[JP_]

Probably a daft question, but never done this before. How much water approx would come out of a radiator pipe if cut? I need to remove this radiator before insulating the wall. Normally I'd get my plumber to do it, but he is really busy at the moment so thought I'd give it a go.

I have a hacksaw (still pretty sharp, only used once so far). Can I just cut where needed and quickly pop on one of these, with a container underneath to collect some of the water. Doesn't matter if it gets a bit wet, but don't want the whole system draining into my floor while I am faffing about, if I can avoid it!

https://www.toolstation.com/stop-en...1P2JwZEv6gpamS3oWDIlEXT4Vx4NMTGQaAqSaEALw_wcB

I think my plumber used something like this on previous rads pipes
.

 

[Mottie]

Is it a sealed or conventional system with a header tank? If a sealed system it’ll stop pretty quick as vacuum will hold most of the water in while you pop a stop end on. If unsealed, it’ll just keep coming and coming. Let us know and we'll come round to watch.

Cant you just shut off both rad valves, remove the rac and then move the pipes out of the way?

 

[JP_]

I think conventional. Sealed would have a megaflo or similar?

We don't have one of those here. This is what we have:

Cant you just shut off both rad valves, remove the rac and then move the pipes out of the way?

Not sure those pipes will move out the way easily. I need to replace joists too, so don't really want any pipes in the way. Think it will be easier to cut the pipes and then put in new pipes later - not even sure exactly how big new window will be right now...

 

[Mottie]

I think megaflo is for your hot water, not heating. Looks like conventional to me. How thick is the insulation going to be on your wall behind the radiator and are you fitting the same rad back on afterwards?

 

[JP_]

Will be 50cm kingspan plus plasterboard, so 6cm in all. Will have new rad too.

 

[Mottie]

Well you’ll obviously need to mount it and repipe it so that’s a job for the plumber but for now, why not just shut the valves off and remove the rad so that you can get on with what you need to do? The pipe I can see on the right looks like it has plenty of room to come away from the wall when disconnected from the rad.

 

[denso13]

Can I just cut where needed and quickly pop on one of these

Yes, if would prefer the pipes out of the way. Use a pipe slice though and you'll get a clean cut for the plastic fittings.

 

[Mottie]

If you want it all out of the way for other work, personally at this time of the year, I’d turn off the water to the header tank and drain the system down. You're going to have to do that anyway when you go to reconnect the new rad. You can run the hot water on your immersion heater if it’s going to take a few days.

 

[JP_]

might just wait for my plumber then!

Thinking about it, before he would put the new pipes in place and put valves on, and I'd leave a gap in the insulation to access the valves, before screwing the floor in place...

 

[JohnD]

View attachment 197488
Probably a daft question, but never done this before. How much water approx would come out of a radiator pipe if cut? .

If you bung the pipes, less than a bucketful. There is no need to drain the system.

Your feed and expansion tank has a 15mm pipe at the bottom, running down to the radiators, and a 22mm pipe over the top, bent over into a curve so that in the event of certain faults, water can escape out of this pipe.

You can buy a pair of rubber cones to poke into each.

https://www.toolstation.com/radiato...MInPm79a-n6gIVKoBQBh1mvAm9EAQYASABEgIxfPD_BwE

This will seal the sysyem. Since no air can enter at the top, little water will run out of the bottom. For best results, only have one pipe open at a time where you are cutting, and cap it before you cut the other. You can disconnect the valves from your radiator first, and the couple of litres it contains can be emptied into a bucket. Tilt it to tip out the last dregs, and turn it upside down before you carry it away. This will prevent drips.

The boiler must be turned OFF all the time the system is bunged. you can turn it on again after you have capped the pipes and removed the bungs.

if you are going to drain the system for any reason, it is a good idea to circulate a system-cleaning chemical such as X400 for several days (up to 4 weeks) beforehand to loosen sludge and sediment so that more of it comes out when you drain. It works better hot but you can circulate it cold in hot weather.