Snapped towel radiator tail

[treecott]

Hi, I wonder if anyone could give me some advice. I have been fitting a towel radiator, and I put PTFE tape around the radiator tails which were supplied with the Towel Rail. Connected it up, and the water was coming out of where the tails were inserted.

I took the towel radiator off, and took the tails out, and put new, and more PTFE tape around them, and tightened them up. Unfortunately, I overtightened one of the tails, and when I connected the Radiator back up again to the valve, it sheered clean off as I tightened the nut up. I now have the nut with part of the radiator tail, and the other piece of the tail is stuck in the towel radiator. I have tried to remove it with a hex key, but it is too small, and just turns, and I wondered if there is anything I could use to remove this piece that is inside, or will I have to scrap the towel radiator and buy another one (which seems a shame). Any help or advice on how to remove this, or if there is a particular tool I could purchase to remove it, it would be much appreciated.

Surely this must have happened to someone else out there!!!. If you would care to share you tips, look forward to hearing from you. Thanks in advance.

 

[twgas]

can you post a pic, I've never managed to break one

 

[Whitespirit66]

What shape is the inside of the tail? If it's hex, then use one of these -

http://www.plumbworld.co.uk/radiato...gleBase&utm_medium=GB&utm_campaign=GoogleBase

Or, how much of the tail protrudes from the end of the rad? You might get something to grip on it.

 

[buck51]

http://www.screwfix.com/p/screw-extractor-set/18643
Check out the link you need somthing like this,
Or you could cut through the tail with a pad saw in three places, until the cuts just reach the thread and then collaps the tail and remove it.

 

[treecott]

Hi, thanks very much for the quick replies. I have had a look at the links, and unfortunately I dont think they will help.

I will try and take a picture, but not much to see, unfortunately. I will try and explain. The radiator tail was threaded into the bottom of the towel rail, and tightened with the hex key, I have obviously overtightened it, (as I said, it had been leaking, and I was making sure it was tight so it would'nt leak again). When I attached the radiator valve, and tightened the nut on the valve, the tail just snapped, leaving part of the tail in the nut, and the rest of it inside the towel radiator.

Unfortunately, there is nothing outside to get hold of with pliers. I fitted the tail, it was tightened with a hex key, as it was threaded, but as it has snapped, it has left a smooth circle, with nothing to get hold of, therefore using the hex key doesnt work.

Hope I have explained enough so you understand my predicament. I need something that will go inside the circular tail, that will grip the smooth inside, and then can be turned to extract it. - Any ideas? Basically, it looks like it is a pipe within a pipe if you get my drift.

 

[buck51]

And the link I posted. will do exactly what you want to do, that is what they are made for!!!
Or try my other solution, and then let us know how you get on

 

[cantaloup63]

op - bucks is right. Look at the picture from the link and look at the direction of the threads. As you tighten them, they will be undoing the broken tail.

 

[treecott]

Hi, Again, thanks very much for the replies. Having had the night off to think about how to go about this, and reading your replies, I had a go this morning to remove the broken bit in the towel radiator. I used the hex key, and also added a screwdriver in as well to make it good and tight, and after a bit of a struggle, it started to move, and within about 10 mins, I had the broken bit out.

I appreciate the suggestions, and was reluctant to cut it out in case I damaged the threads on the radiator, but felt that if I could get something firmly fixed into the circular tail, I would be able to unscrew it, and I cant tell you how relieved I am to have removed it, my wife was having a dicky fit thinking we would have to buy a new towel radiator, just before xmas and all that.

Thanks very much everyone for your contributions, and I can recommend the use of a hex key and screwdriver for removing broken rad tails, if anyone is in the same mess as I was.

Thanks again. and next time, I will NOT overtighten it.

 

[cantaloup63]

Use some loctite55 tape instead of PTFE. Youtube will show you how to use it.