Moving a radiator

[melross]

I wondered if someone can offer some advice. I need to move a radiator further along the wall which will entail moving/extending the existing pipework to. Do I have to drain the whole system or is there another solution? Thanks in advance.

 

[Bodd]

Drain I'm afraid

 

[Madrab]

Depends, what kind of system do you have, sealed or open vent?

If it sealed and depending on where on the system the radiator is and how it's piped you may need to drain the main flow and return pipework at the most or just the rad and supplying pipework at the least. You can shut off all the other rads at both ends to avoid draining them.

 

[Bodd]

Depends, what kind of system do you have, sealed or open vent?

If it sealed and depending on where on the system the radiator is and how it's piped you may need to drain the main flow and return pipework at the most or just the rad and supplying pipework at the least. You can shut off all the other rads at both ends to avoid draining them.

Could get air locks doing that way

 

[Madrab]

Just as much risk if the whole system is emptied IMO. If an OV system is dirty enough to restrict the feed/flow or is piped in such a way as to make it susceptible to airlocks then it really wouldn't matter how much was drained down, it can/would still airlock but that's then another process.

If it's sealed system then airlocks shouldn't really be an issue. As long as it's allowed to circulate properly and then bled systematically from highest/furthest to nearest and then balanced it shouldn't have any issue if the other rads are left full.