# TRV's and removing a radiator



## StevieB (21 Nov 2009)

I need to remove a radiator, and one of the valves is a TRV. Does anyone know if these are sealed units? I can take the cap off the other end and do up the gland nut as usual, but the top of the TRV does not seem to come apart. I can turn it to 0 which stops the radiator getting hot and I therefore presume stops water flowing through the rad. If I undo the nut between the radiator and the valve when it is set on zero will that be OK or is SWMBO going to look at me like I am a complete silly person?!

Cheers in advance!

Steve


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## Dibs-h (21 Nov 2009)

StevieB":3xobiw94 said:


> I need to remove a radiator, and one of the valves is a TRV. Does anyone know if these are sealed units? I can take the cap off the other end and do up the gland nut as usual, but the top of the TRV does not seem to come apart. I can turn it to 0 which stops the radiator getting hot and I therefore presume stops water flowing through the rad. If I undo the nut between the radiator and the valve when it is set on zero will that be OK or is SWMBO going to look at me like I am a complete silly person?!
> 
> Cheers in advance!
> 
> Steve



If the TRV has a 0 (and you are sure that when you've set it to zero in the past, the rad has been cold) then setting it to zero, should stop water flowing thru it. Assuming you close teh other end off as well. Might be worth while counting the nbr of turns the other end takes to close and noting them. It may have been throttled down as part of a rad balancing thingy. When refitting the rad - wind the other end out the same nbr of turns.

As a extra precaution - I'd get 2 compression stop ends (I think that's what they are called) and that way you can leave the rad off as long as you want - knowing even if someone "turns" the TRV, no water comes out.


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## Doug B (21 Nov 2009)

Stevie.

Trv`s come with a plastic top that replace the head when removing a rad.

The head is heat sensitive so is not ideal for depending on to isolate the valve.

If you haven`t got a plastic top, then i`d suggest you buy a 1/2" threaded cap to fit on the outlet part of the valve to prevent any leakage.


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## matt (21 Nov 2009)

In my experience TRV's tend to dribble a bit. Placing a coin under the plastic cap tends to solve the problem.


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## RogerS (22 Nov 2009)

And don't forget that there is a horrible amount of water still inside the radiator and even worse loads of black crud...all ready to run out onto your carpet. 

And don't think that it will stay inside the rad because there's no airhole at the top to allow the water to fall out. It will. DAMHIKT.


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## StevieB (22 Nov 2009)

Thanks guys, by the time SWMBO had stopped umming and ahing over carpets and wallpaper this afternoon I ran out of time to remove the rad :roll: Will give it a go next weekend - hate doing plumbing jobs when the DIY shops are shut as I always need something as an emergency :wink: 

Ta for the advice, 

Steve


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## Digit (22 Nov 2009)

I do agree. I refuse to do any such DIY jobs of that kind at weekends for the same reason.

Roy.


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## Soulfly (22 Nov 2009)

I would try the technical section on the Practical Classics forum. Any of you watch Wheeler Dealer or Chop Shop on Discovery? Amazing what these guys can do.


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## cutting42 (22 Nov 2009)

Hiya

I did this a couple of weeks ago and my plumber mate HIGHLY recommended either blocking off the outlet of the TRV or if it came with a decorating cap, use that. I am assuming you do not have the decorating cap so I recommend getting a blanking plug from B&Q or Wickes like This one here for 22 mm, they do a 15mm as well.
HTH


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## xy mosian (22 Nov 2009)

Just in case you think the radiator is dry, when you have it away from the wall, Turn it over, valve holes to the sky.  

xy


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## jasonB (22 Nov 2009)

Soulfly":ngivkx8t said:


> I would try the technical section on the Practical Classics forum. Any of you watch Wheeler Dealer or Chop Shop on Discovery? Amazing what these guys can do.



Its a TRV not TVR :roll: 

Jason

TRV = Thormostatic Room Valve


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## rkchapman (22 Nov 2009)

Beware the frost setting - your trv may be closed now, but it will open in the middle of the night if it gets cold enough.


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## petermillard (23 Nov 2009)

rkchapman":2zf9v7wx said:


> Beware the frost setting...


Yep, make sure the valve isn't on the '*' - there's sometimes a couple of little plastic pins that you have to take out to enable the head of the valve to turn all the way round to '0'; do that and you shouldn't have to worry about capping the valve.

Remember as well that if you have a combi boiler, the system is pressurised. A good trick is to shut off the valves then bleed the rad (with a key in the usual way) into a small paint kettle or similar, just to take the pressure off.

Once you've done that, you can loosen-off the nuts where the rad tails join the valves (you'll get a little dribble of water out, but not much as the only pressure it's under now is from the weight of water within the rad) and there's usually enough 'play' in the feeds to be able to lift the rad off it's brackets and drop it flat onto the floor, or if the feed pipes are particularly long, onto a shallow box or a few bits of timber. Remember it's full of water so will be quite heavy, and it's important not to put the feeds under unnecessary lateral pressure!!

Now with the rad flat on the floor, the bulk of the rad will be below the level of the valves, so you can undo the valve nuts fully with minimal water loss; as soon as they're undone, just upend the rad onto its head (tails uppermost) and carry it carefully (still full of water remember!) out of the house to drain it in the gutter.

HTH, Pete.


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## StevieB (28 Nov 2009)

Thanks for all your advice guys, job done today and was pleased I had no problems in the end. Have capped both pipes as suggested just to be on the safe side. Still has not cured my hatred of plumbing, but has not made it worse either!

Cheers,

Steve


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