goleary
New Member
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! ) - 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!
Thanks again,
Gus
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! ) - 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!
Thanks again,
Gus