Radiators

p1grinder

i have an old radiator that is to long for were i want to move it. from its design (as far as i can tell) i should be able to loosen the top and bottom bolts that go through all the sections, bang off a few sections, shorten the bolts and reconnect? any advice, its at my sisters house i've never tried this before.

Ron The Plumber

I'm so glad you got it all figured out, since you never done this before.

mdshunk

I've seen it done, but even expert plumbers hesitate to do it. You have about a 90% chance of having a leak unless the mating surfaces are prepared well, and even at that it still might leak. You'll also have to have means to thread the "bolt", since it only has threads for a few inches on the end.

p1grinder

i'd love to sit down with a master plumber and have him walk me through it. thats not gonna happen. my sister is givin me a great opt. to try something and i'm gonna work at it till i get it right. she's got other rads to use if this don't work. what whould be my best bet for making sure the mating surfaces are true?

KillerToiletSpider

If you manage to get the sections you want to come off to come off without cracking the next section that you want to save, take an angle grinder with a cupped wire wheel on it and clean the mating surface on both sides thoroughly. After that use a machinist's square or something else with a true straight edge to check the mating surfaces for distortion, if it is badly distorted, and a good percentage are, scrap it unless you can machine cast iron. If it is not overly distorted move on to the pinning rods, use a thread pitch gauge to determine the thread size and pattern, and make sure you have a die that can cut a matching thread, then cut your rods to an inch or so over the length desired and thread them.

Now is assembly time, you are going to need a can of a product called Expando, some plumbing suppliers carry it, most don't, you may have to try and get it from a heating contractor, you have to have it so do what needs to be done. Mix the Expando per the directions on the can and apply a liberal coating to all mating surfaces, put them together and run you pinning rods through and put the nuts on and tighten down to snug and leave it sit for an hour to allow the Expando to set, then tighten the nuts down tight, making sure to do it evenly, and use a compressor to pressure test it.

Sectioning radiators is hit or miss, it is not guaranteed to work.

Good Luck.

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