Leaking Rad Stem Valve

[dk1uk]

Hi - I have builders in at the moment.

They must have slightly damaged the flow stem on one of the rads as now it's leaking - about 2 litres an hour.

I have a conventional central heating system with a feed tank in the loft.

I'm reasonably handy with rads but tightening the valve hasn't worked.

They're fixing it tomorrow anyway - but I just want to check that this volume of water leaking from my system isn't going to cause any issues?

Presumably my loft feed tank will just compensate for the loss of water until it's fixed and I can run the heating until then?

Many thanks

 

[D_Hailsham]

I would check the feed tank to make sure that the ball valve is working.

There is also a danger that the pipe from the feed tank is blocked with sludge, so no water will get into the system to make up for the loss. You should be able to hear when the ball valve opens.

By the time the repair has been carried out all the water in your system will have been replaced, so there will be no inhibitor in it. Make sure the inhibitor is replaced. Sentinel X100 is good. 1 can up to 10 rads, 2 cans 11-20 rads, etc.

 

[dk1uk]

Great thanks.

I've taken off a few rads for decorating in the last few weeks and they seem to refill fine so hopefully the feed tank is OK.

Sorry for the silly question, but I add the Sentinel directly into the feed tank? Sorry for the even more silly question - would that be the small or large tank in the loft?

Thanks

 

[D_Hailsham]

Sorry for the silly question, but I add the Sentinel directly into the feed tank? Sorry for the even more silly question - would that be the small or large tank in the loft?

It's the small tank. Your family won't thank you if you add it to the large tank as it will contaminate all the cold water you use when washing, flushing the toilet etc.

The builders caused the problem; so it's up to them to put it right, including paying for the inhibitor and adding it to the system.