Removing a Radiator for Decorating ~ Trade Tip 

I fell foul of this decorating our main bedroom. Drained and removed radiator and removed TRV. As it was winter, I decided to refill the system so that the other upstairs radiators would get hot. To my horror, washer gushing out and into the space below floorboards ,ie the living room ceiling. I knocked the water off at the main stopcock and shot to Toolstation for a blanking plug. I got away with some peeling paint on the living room ceiling and the wife never found out.

I've only run in to these a handful of times doing HVAC in the US and had no idea about any of this. Thanks for the excellent tip!

What I’ve done is loose the joints on the rad lifted it up off the wall mounts and laid it on the floor flat on a pallet, tighten the joints back up sheet over the rad

Love it BOYYYYY! Enjoy your hols mate.

I learnt from other peoples mistakes and used the decorators cap, and for belt & braces also used a blanking cap on the valve.

Thanks Roger. Good advice.

Just noticed the oldest videos on your channel are from 10 years ago. So, Skill Builder is 10!!! Shouldn't there be a party somewhere? what about if we all meet at a pub in the Midlands?

Very helpful. Thanks

Invaluable - as always 👍

The 1.5 bar pressure is when the boiler is on right? I was told that when the boiler heats the water the pressure will rise again so ot may go too high if yoy do it to a cold boiler

I noticed via RU-vid (DIY Doctor) a product called Radkit - Pro, which seems an ingenious gadget to remove a radiator from a wall without draining it. Can you offer any recommendation for this product? Thanks

👍👍👍 good and to the point

As an ex pro I can advise everybody...... make up blanking caps to fit where the radiator was connected to each valve. That way you have eliminated any risk of a valve letting by. It gives you peace of mind. There is nothing worse than returning to your job the next day to find the valve has let by. Make up a couple and keep them in your decorating kit.

I'd like to replace my rads one or two rooms at a time would this trick work and just add inhibitor after? Or is there some risk of large air traps after? Thanks for the great helpful vids!

Great tip! Fell foul of this when wallpapering a hall in a Scottish winter... A lot of TRVs do have a '0' setting which is closed-closed. Just be mindful that the sealing surface might be flow cut from years of service.

Set to 0 and put a coin to compensate the movement if it gets too cold 😅

Forgot to mention that the lock shield valve should be put back to it's original setting.

Great advice from the plumbing master. Thanks Rodger.

Hi Rodger, thank you for that! I remembered it from my City and Guilds too, it's the Snowflake TRVs. We had a great teacher who told us lots of funny horror stories. That sticks with you. Quick question. I was doing a job where I had to remove a rad for decorating and it was no problem to keep the heating on because it was on spurs off the main ring. However, the lady asked me to temporarily remove another one for a different decorating company but on investigation under the floor boards it wasn't possible without shutting down the heating in the whole house as the radiator was looped in and the weather was really cold. My idea was to take it off and run a bit of 15mm copper between the Lockshield and the TRV but I've not heard of anyone doing this. Do you think that would work?

This is funny because I'm actually renovating a property and this exact thing happened to me last week. I removed the radiator and all was well until the night time. I woke up in the morning, boiler didn't work. I didn't know I had to cap off the radiator pipes. I only realised it was from the radiator because I tried to refill the radiator loop and water was spraying across the room. It was in an upstares room too so the living room now has water damage. not an issue as its being renovated and I haven't done the living room yet. Wish id have seen this video last week haha!

I took a kitchen radiator off for a friend. I asked for the cover cap to replace the thermostatic valve, to be met with a puzzled look from the house owner. This was an old thermostatic radiator valve, with "freeze" being the lowest setting (i.e. no "zero"). I explained the situation, and was told that it wouldn't happen. That night it happened. Flooding in the kitchen (wee tank in the loft supplying the heating circuit). Ever since then I do not trust these valves, but I use a couple of blanking fittings (all home brewed) to ensure there are no leaks. Belt and Braces, because the alternative is awful.

You always video-post the answer exactly when I need the info Roger ~ you're like Mystic Meg (or should that be Mastic Meg :)

Good vid My old school boss who is now 80. He showed me that if you cant shut a trv down is to take the head off and insert a 5p piece between the head and valve and then it will shut off. No joke this Cost him a fortune

Exactly that happened to me about 30 years ago when I was renovating my daughters bedroom. Fortunately it was a combi boiler.

Basic but ESSENTIAL advice.

Some service caps are not very robust and I've glued a penny inside them in the past. Capping is the best method, of course.

I usually put a 1/2" cap on the trv for my customers if they are decorating, no way that can fail.👍

TRVS are more hassle than what they're worth. Another problem is the pins get stuck. They're not worth using.

welease Wodger!

I have put plastic pipe in ,mostly down the back of rads 10mm,left enough slack to remove rad of brackets onto 3x2 wood on floor ,lean rad forward,tie string of wall bracket to hanging bracket on rad paint behind and re hang, no draining of rads,works a treat

My radiators only get luke warm. I've had a brand new boiler and a full flush. Still the same. I now want to rip the whole lot out and go all electric with oil filled radiators. Far better and cheaper.

I put a washer under the TRV, works everytime

Good advice sir 😉👍

Get a plumber do not risk it it always goes wrong!

Don't remove it. Find something about the height from the floor to the bottom of the radiator - a couple of paint tins usually does it. Turn off the valves, slacken the nuts but only a little. Lift the rad off the brackets, rest it on the tins ( to minimise pipe movement so you don't damage any joints under the floor) and rotate the rad it down on to the floor. Nip up the joints. Paint away. Refit in reverse. No refilling, only a few drips lost. Jobs a good un.

Plumbing tips, what you do best Roger! I've never known what these caps did since I put my own CH system in 30yrs ago, mystery solved and something valuable learned 👍

C'mon Roger how many people have got those service caps after 10 years ? Most are thrown away because the customer does not know what they are - even if the installer has left them !

A plumber gave me an alternative trick which I have used successfully. Shut down the lock shield and trv. Put a bin bag under each gland. Slacken the gland nuts a little. Lift the radiator off its brackets. Lay it down. Tighten the gland nuts. Now you can access the wall behind without removing the radiator but it is a bit of a stretch.

Thanks! I removed a rad and thankfully, realised the TRV might leak, so I made a stop end to screw into the open end. I wasn't aware of TRV service caps, but they do look like a good solution too.

I’ve seen a product Roger called ‘Radkit Pro’ which might be suitable for those who are nervous about taking a radiator off the wall for the first time. The ‘Radkit Pro’ is simply a device to remove a radiator without draining down the central heating system. The instructions seem simple enough as you clamp the Radclamp to the side of the radiator, undo the nuts, slide in the seals and lift off. Once you have achieved this allows you to paint behind the radiators or wallpaper behind them. Just wondered if you have come across this DIY product?

Yep! Agree with that...a little water goes a long way...in the wrong place! Simple advice but very useful.

Or you could get a radiator cover two screws to put it on and take it off 😊

I learn all kinds of things watching this channel.

Thanks for that you explained that very clearly. 😊

Don't even depend on lockshield not leaking make sure that is sealed off as well

i hate thermostatic valves so much. so much!

You're about a week too late with this in my case 😅

oh yeah.... Never thought of that. Nice one!!!

🧱👍🏽

That's a good tip.

How do you introduce some inhibitor when refilling? Presumably a good idea so circuit doesn't become too diluted?

Nice tip!

Thanks Roger. Is that TRV on the flow or return side - which side are you on?

Can you replace the water with ethylene glycol?

What I've done as a DIYER in the past is slacken off the compression joint between the trv to rad and also the one on the lockshield to rad. Rotate and lay the rad flat on the floor, brace with timber as necessary if there's not much slack in the pipework. Retighten the compression joints. Minimal mess, no chance of having any leaky accidents! Crack on with painting.

I seem to have gotten away with no cap a few times... not knowing the thermostatic valve could have opened :O I'll get a cap for sure next time. Thanks!