Leaking radiator join

Discussion in 'Plumbers' Talk' started by Laura Drury, May 6, 2018.

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  1. Laura Drury

    Laura Drury New Member

    I removed a radiator for decorating, but since reattaching there is a very small leak around on of the pipe joins. We noticed when reconnecting that a small section of the threads were still on show despite tightening as fully as we could. I am a complete DIY novice and have read about PTFE tape and boss white. What is the best thing to do to resolve? And is there anyway we can fix it without having to drain the radiator again? Eg. Put tape around the threads on show?
     
  2. DIY womble

    DIY womble Well-Known Member

    Use tape if using old olive or take your chance with bigger spanners ( get ready for a flood when things snap)
     
  3. Pollowick

    Pollowick Screwfix Select

    Exactly which joint?

    Can you take a picture then add an arrow to show where. It may be possible with just a little draining, or may require a lot more.
     
  4. Heat

    Heat Screwfix Select

    Definitely don’t put ptfe on threads on show. The ptfe tape is only for the male threads that go into the radiator. Needs enough wraps, (but not too much) to have the tail feeling tight on last couple turns, otherwise not enough tape. Boss White paste or similar also helps there.
    I assume your leak is where an olive is and paste is best for sealing the olive, by a slight smear over the olive. Unfortunately this means working with it live, or having to drain or partly drain the system to expose the olive. If you have a sealed heating system, like a combi boiler, then just take the pressure off the system from a drain cock or rad and fix the weep, before redoing the pressure.
    I prefer non hardening pastes like V2 Lube. Expensive but does drinking water, as well as heating systems and gas, plus none is wasted as wont harden in tub. The cheaper Boss White is superb for male threads with ptfe tape on heating systems though.
    Sorry to add this, but you are better with a decent heating engineer doing anything with your heating system. I don’t recommend any of my customers touching plumbing, and that even includes the better ‘engineer’ hands on types.
     

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