Plumbing Help! Removing a rad with thermovalve.

[Tyre_Tread]

I had a new central heating sytem fitted a while ago and all rads now have individual thermostatic valves including the towel rail in the bathroom.

I am in the process of installing new bathroom suite and retiling etc and I need to remove the towel rail.

In the oden days, no problem. Turn off both valves and undo couplings et voila!

Now, with the thermostatic valve I have removed the valve and depressed the pin underneath (manually as the cap cover is missing ) obviously turned off the valve at the other end of the rad. When I open one of the bleed valves there is still lots of pressure and it doesn't seem to diminish.

When I open the valves and turn the rad on it os the pipe WITHOUT the valve on that gets hot first.

For info the thermostatic valves are Westherm as supplied by Screwfix.

The company who installed the system (small local) want to charge me to sort this as I supplied the towel rail sourced from Screwfix (whom they advised me to go to) along with the valve to fit.

Any positive advice would be appreciated.

TIA

[CedGTV]

When you remove the main head of the TRV it should of been supplied with a screw cap to cover the body of the remaining elbow part of the valve.

No doubt the company took this away when they finished.

I'd pop along to screw fix and see if they will let you have this cap FOC and bob's your uncle.

[Ferg]

Yeah, you need the Decorators Cap which is supplied with the valve.
I've probably got one if you can't get one anywhere else.
Mail me if you need it and give me your address.

[mechsympathy]

Shirley you can turn the thermostatic valve right down to take the rad off and screw on a short blocked length of pipe for safety? Or have I missed something?

[Tyre_Tread]

Yes, the cap was probably removed by the intallers or misplaced or thrown away accidentally.

My point is really that even if I turn off the non TRV and manually push in the pin on the TRV then there still appears to be pressure.

The Plumbcentre guy was helpful as he sold me caps to put over the valve once the rad is removed and suggested I do this under the lowest setting on the TRV i.e the frost setting but I still seem to get pressure even though the valve is turned to the lowest setting and the room is above 7 deg C which is the reaction point for the frost setting.

Help!

[GreenV8S]

Tyre_Tread said:

When I open the valves and turn the rad on it os the pipe WITHOUT the valve on that gets hot first.

Obviously you need to turn off both valves in oprder to isolate the radiator, and if either one is leaking you'll get the symptoms you're describing. I suggest you leave one valve open and confirm that with the other valve closed down you get no flow through the rad. Then do it the other way round. Hopefully this will prove which of the valves is leaking, without all that messy playing about with the bleed screws.

[steviegasgas]

Hi, I had similar problem, I bought a freeze kit from the local builders merchant, followed the instructions, froze em up, cut pipes and put on new isolater valves, the old ordinary ones that work! Maybe as a last resort this might be worth trying if you cant get the valves to close.

[mechsympathy]

Tyre_Tread said:

The Plumbcentre guy was helpful as he sold me caps to put over the valve once the rad is removed and suggested I do this under the lowest setting on the TRV i.e the frost setting but I still seem to get pressure even though the valve is turned to the lowest setting and the room is above 7 deg C which is the reaction point for the frost setting.

Aha, with you now. Freeze kit and a new valve then