Help! I can't bleed my radiator

josephiny

This may sound a very girly question but has anyone any tips for someone who is too feeble to bleed a radiator?

I know what I'm supposed to be doing and have the proper little key thing but I cannot get it to turn.

Is there anything that I can do to loosen it up?

If I can't do it myself are there any other options?

Thanks

crosstownk

Ok - first of all be sure you are turning it anticlockwise. Assuming you are, then try to find something to increase the leverage you are applying to the tool - a good solid pliers might help. But before you increase the leverage, be sure the tool fits the bleed valve snugly or else you may do damage to the valve.

BaZmO*

Also, a little tip with you're trying to loosen screws or bolts (or anything with a thread) when they seem impossible to open is to turn it a tiny bit clockwise first and then anti-clockwise. It should do the trick. Failing that, you probably need to get a whole new heating system installed in your house.

subway

may as well join in on this.
there are 2 rads in my house that cant be bled as the bolts are rounded off.
its impossible to get in with a vice so if anyone has any tips it may help myself and the OP.

btw OP, the bleed-key should have some holes on the handle.
put a screwdrive through the hole to get some extra leverage on the really tight ones.

BaZmO*

subway wrote:

may as well join in on this.
there are 2 rads in my house that cant be bled as the bolts are rounded off.
its impossible to get in with a vice so if anyone has any tips it may help myself and the OP.

Long nose pliers?

Alun

subway wrote:

may as well join in on this.
there are 2 rads in my house that cant be bled as the bolts are rounded off.
its impossible to get in with a vice so if anyone has any tips it may help myself and the OP.

You might just have room to get a small cutoff wheel on a Dremel or similar in there and cut a slot for a normal screwdriver blade?

btw OP, the bleed-key should have some holes on the handle.
put a screwdriver through the hole to get some extra leverage on the really tight ones.

Be careful though .. with some of those little keys, the ones that are made of a dull grey cast metal, the handle can snap off really easily.

subway

Alun wrote:

You might just have room to get a small cutoff wheel on a Dremel or similar in there and cut a slot for a normal screwdriver blade?

good idea!
ill find a dremel and give it a go

GreeBo

The older style radiator keys have been discontinued for a good reason.
These are the silver one with the "nut" on one end and a 1-2 inch lever with a loop at the end.
the reason the are no longer used is that they give you too much leverage and you overtighten.
The newer ones are much smaller, hardly any leverage.
If you have some tightones use the key with a pliers or vice grips, but make sure you are not tightening it!
With you looking at the radiator you should be turning to the right...:o

JamesM

josephiny wrote:

This may sound a very girly question but has anyone any tips for someone who is too feeble to bleed a radiator?

I know what I'm supposed to be doing and have the proper little key thing but I cannot get it to turn.

Is there anything that I can do to loosen it up?

If I can't do it myself are there any other options?

Thanks

Be careful of the vents positioned at the back of the rad facing the wall - they are the ones where the head often snaps off. Because these are at the back of the rad, people sometimes mistakenly try to turn them in the wrong direction.
Jim.

wyndham

I was asking a plumber about this last week.

Try EVERY means possible of bleeding it normally first. If it's stuck, give it a spray of WD40 and leave it and come back and give it another spray if it still won't move. The last resort is to drill a hole in the top of the rad and then plug this with a self-tapping screw.