radiator union leaks

[pam h]

Hello, I had the old piping to my radiators replaced in my basement as part of a basement finishing project. The old steel pipe was replaced with copper. The old couplings were re-used. (One was replaced because it broke during disassembly.) So the system works fine, heat gets to all 5 radiators. The problem is that some of the unions leak a small amount. Most of the leaks are coming from the coupling union. I've called back the plumber, but I wanted to get some advice. I feel like they will want to go in and replace all the unions - this will undoubtably add quite a bit to the cost. Is it possible to work with the old unions and get them to stop leaking? Is there a compound that can be used on the threads? Thanks for any advice.

 

[JohnjH2o1]

They may need to just be tightened. When they re-connected them they could have moved. You don't put pipe dope on the threads of a union. If tightening them doesn't work then take them apart and put a small amount of pipe dope on the face of the union.

John

 

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[Tom Sawyer]

If the plumber was the last guy to mess with the unions then he should come back and fix the leaks. What's with guys that leave the job with leaking fittings? Any leak at all is unacceptable.

 

[hj]

Pipe joint compound on BOTH the union faces and the outer threads should cure the leaks. Sometimes if the old parts are not put back together exactly like they were, there are some discrepencies which have developed over time and it takes more force to press them together so they do not leak. This is also the reason most plumbers would NOT reuse the old fittings, if for no other reason than to avoid "callbacks" like this.