Converted Hot Water System Column Radiator removal

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goleary

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Good morning all,

I've got 6 great big cast iron column radiators piped through the floor, which I'm trying to get sanded and poly'd.

Prep steps already taken care of - system's drained... anything else?

There's no shutoff valve - piping comes up from the basement below, hits a ninety, and goes directly into the rad, see pics below of basement and finished space piping, no unions anywhere in the mix. My question is this - what's the best way to get these out, and be able to get them back in? There's not enough space to get a wrench on the nipple between the elbow and the rad in every case - it does look like if I could get a wrench on it I could turn it clockwise (oddly enough) and have it loosen from both the elbow and the rad bushing.

So do I cut the nipple at the elbow, try to use what's left of the nipple at the rad bushing to turn it out of the bushing, remove the elbow and cap the vertical? Then when it comes time to put everything back, new elbow, new nipple, line everything up and go?

What are my chances of getting the gory remains of that nipple out of the bushing? Am I going to end up removing the bushing (I've heard 8' breaker bars are in order in that eventuality) and replacing when I can't remove what's left of the nipple?

I'm in a rush (of course! :D) - trying to move in in two weeks, and the floor guy is telling me he needs 3 days to get it done. Thanks in advance for your DIY radiator removal tips! IMG_0572.jpgIMG_0570.jpg

Thanks again,
Gus
 

goleary

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Of course now I realize that the picture I picked as an example shows the nipple welded into the bushing...

This is the only one like this as far as I know, the rest are threaded.

This one I guess I'm going to try turning the bushing (with nipple!) out of the radiator to disconnect, unless someone has a better way?

Thanks again (again),

Gus
 

Tom Sawyer

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Hate to be a downer but there ain't a snowballs chance in hell of you being able to unthread anything there. If you put a wrench to anything you are pretty much committing to re-piping the entire system from the bottom up.
 

goleary

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Ouch...

Why's that?

I've gotta get that linoleum tile up... which means that at least one of them has to come out (most unfortunately the one I posted the pics of).
 

Tom Sawyer

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Because the steel piping is probably close to a hundred years old, rusted and fragile.
 

goleary

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Ah! Yeah, close to a hundred might be an underestimation - house is ~1885, I don't know enough about heating systems to know if this is original, but it is most certainly old.

I gather then that it's time to whip out the phone and call my plumber? At least get his advice on what to wreck to make removal possible and make his life easiest when it comes time to put them (or maybe just the one) back.

Thanks for the timely, and succinct, reply Tom - it's much appreciated. I got all this news last night so my mind has been racing trying to figure out how to handle it, not very conducive to a productive work day.

Gus
 

hj

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You CANNOT remove the nipple by turning it EITHER way, unless it is a left/right nipple which is very unlikely, since it would be 4" long. That one is NOT welded, either, they just used a decorative radiator bushing. Some "idiot" put the radiators in place and then piped from them to the main. There has to be union somewhere, but we cannot tell you where unless we see the piping below the floor.
 
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goleary

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HJ,

I checked out a couple of the nipples, they do seem to be threaded in opposite directions on either end, at least where I had a chance to look this morning. I need to take a wire brush to them to confirm though, I just traced them with my fingernail.

There's a union... about ten feet up the supply side piping in the basement, on the upstream side of a takeoff for another radiator... If I'm going back to that point to start piping new the snowball Tom Sawyer mentioned is looking to have a better night than I am tonight.

I can't say thanks enough for getting back to me guys - very much appreciated.

Gus
 

tmmcken

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Hey Gus,

As (un)luck would have it it looks like I'm facing pretty much the exact same issue you have. Retiling an old bathroom linoleum floor. House built ~1910. Have to get the radiator out to refinish it and do the tiling properly. That 90 deg piping and the bushing in the first picture look identical to mine and I'm conflicted on how to proceed. The other side has a coupler which comes apart rather easily but this side is rock solid.

How's your project coming? Any word from the plumber?

Fwiw, I'm over in Cambridge, MA

Terrence
 

goleary

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Terrance - man, what a pain.

I consulted with my plumber - showed him the nearest union, wandered around the basement hoping to find something that would make it better, cussed the guy who did it, and realized how useless cussing someone dead at least 40 years was.

In my case there was no union\coupling on either side for quite a distance in the basement below, that length is really the measure of how much a pain fixing it will be. Do you have access to the piping below? There could be a union nearby in the basement if you're lucky.

Since I had to get mine out quick, the plumber said to just cut the piping with a sawzall - in your case this would be the hard piped side only assuming there's no union just below the floor that would allow you to pull the rad out without cutting. Needless to say, cutting steel is going to send shards of it flying, so watch your eyes, and cover the cut ends. I moved the rads (an endeavor all its own-1000lb furniture dollys are the way to go!), got to work on the floor, and now I'm refinishing rads in preparation of moving them back in. I'm going to stick them back in place, call the plumber up, and get plumbing in the next week or so to replace all the pipe I had to cut.

Important thing here though is to call the guy you're going to use to give him a feel for the situation, check your assessment, and get a rough cost for putting them back in. Make sure he's ok with you doing whatever portion of that work you feel comfortable with.

I've got a bundle of replacement piping to do, I hope your outlook is rosier than mine!



Hey Gus,

As (un)luck would have it it looks like I'm facing pretty much the exact same issue you have. Retiling an old bathroom linoleum floor. House built ~1910. Have to get the radiator out to refinish it and do the tiling properly. That 90 deg piping and the bushing in the first picture look identical to mine and I'm conflicted on how to proceed. The other side has a coupler which comes apart rather easily but this side is rock solid.

How's your project coming? Any word from the plumber?

Fwiw, I'm over in Cambridge, MA

Terrence
 
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