Rotate a Radiator
Anyone know the process for rotating a steam radiator? Is it possible to rotate it at a 90Ëš angle? When we had a leak on this particular radiator last winter, the plumber had to rotate it slightly to perform work on it. Just curious if anyone has tried to do this with success and if…
Anyone know the process for rotating a steam radiator?
Is it possible to rotate it at a 90Ëš angle?
When we had a leak on this particular radiator last winter, the plumber had to rotate it slightly to perform work on it. Just curious if anyone has tried to do this with success and if it’s actually possible without much hassle.
Between pipe dope, high heat, age and rust, the iron fittings on radiators are extremelly difficult to rotate. The brass valve is usually much easier. I’ve had a couple of instances where I had to remove a section of pipe, usually because the level of the floor had changed, and in just about every case I ended up breaking off the pipe and chiseling out the stub with a cold chisel and ball peen hammer. If you’re not careful, you’ll break the pipe below the floor, and then you either have to remove a section of the floor, or the ceiling below. Because of the dissimilar metals, I’ve found rotating the brass valve is much easier, so if that’s an option, go with that, but you really should have a pipe wrench on both, the valve and the pipe below, pulling in opposite directions so that you can hold the pipe steady and not torque it to the point that it snaps at the threads.
ejalbk is correct. Though there is a caveat: that fitting is probably on there with pipe dope which means it might as well be welded. You have to break that seal without breaking the pipe. It is a veritable tight rope. You are going to need a large pipe wrench to get enough leverage.
You have to rotate the valve which is theoretically not a problem assuming you can get the valve to turn (disconnect radiator and move aside before you try it). Assuming you can get it to move, you’ll probably want to remove it from the pipe coming up out of the floor, and put new paste on the threads and then re-tighten the valve down to the angle you want.