Leaking pin holes in radiators

It's more or less that simple - just get one the same size. Don't forget to turn off both 'valves' first.

How easy is it to replace a radiator? Do you just drain it down, remove it, install a new one and fill it up?

Yup, it's pretty much that easy.

Don't waste your time trying to fix pin holes, it's not going to be a single failure point, it'll be riddled.

My usual trick for removing a rad is lock the valves off both ends, loosen the fittings off, pull the pipe off each end and jam a thumb over each end, lift off the wall, turn it upside down and carry it out. Two people for bigger rads.

Only issue is older rads were imperial lengths so if the pipework doesn't have a bit of flex to adjust for a modern metric length that is slightly different you need a tail that adjusts to take up the difference,  these are available.

If you have ave a wet vacuum cleaner with a big drum, you can close off the valves and disconnect one pipe, then suck all the water straight up the vac before it hits the carpet. Open the bleed at the top so it can flow.

Water inside will prob be very dirty, I used bin bags and tape and bits of ‘stuff’ to create a floor/carpet protecting pool/reservoir underneath before removal (can wrap it around up pipes) and cover the end holes in rad to stop em leaking when carrying it out

Playing darts with a mate aged about 9 or so. Mates aim was terrible and he hit the radiator where the dart stuck in. Pulled out the dart to get a thin stream of water arcing out the hole.

I went home, pretty clear how this was going to go and I wasn't for hanging about.

How do you refill it? Just leave the bleed open, open the in valve, and let more water into the system at the boiler? Or open both valves before going to the boiler?

<p style="text-align: left;">Refilling is basically that yes.  A big bleed!</p>

Had to replace 2 of mine due to pin holes.

Couldn't find the same size so went a few cm shorter and used longer tail pipes to conpensate. Didnt want to risk flexing very old pipes that went under the floor.

Only issue is older rads were imperial lengths so if the pipework doesn’t have a bit of flex to adjust for a modern metric length that is slightly different you need a tail that adjusts to take up the difference

Or buy Myson Premier HE rads which are still measured in inches, and weirdly still fitted in some new builds.

I am not a plumber/heating engineer.

If you've got pin holes appearing in two rads the others probably are not far behind. Possibly years of grot accumulated in there & the inhibitor either non existent or diluted out. The rads are corroding from the inside out & are beyond economic repair. You've been blessed by making this discovery before the winter sets in. If you're going to the extent of draining down, flushing & refilling I'd be looking at the system as a whole & replacing the radiators as this is going to be an ongoing problem. The black scale that accumulates is incredibly messy if it escapes. If it gets into your carpets or furnishings it results in a truly horrible mess that's difficult to clean up, so prepare with polythene & towels. I feel your pain but there's little point making multiple temporary repairs. As a very minimum I'd be replacing the affected rads, fitting a filter to collect the magnetite/sludge, flushing and refilling with inhibitor at the correct dilution.

D.

Turn the rad upside down before carrying it through the house.

If it's an old single panel rad a new double, twin convector one will be a fraction of the size and nicer looking.  You can google to find the btu rating if your old size.

That would make it worthwhile for me to alter the piping.  Old copper seems a lot stronger than new stuff so no need to worry about it.

Davesport +1

I'd replace the lot, it'll be easier in the long run.

For minimal mess, find the drain connection, a T shaped piece at a low point, either at the boiler or on a hallway rad usually by a door with a barbed end that you put a hosepipe onto, and drain it from there. Open the valve and so it starts to drain, then go upstairs and open the bleeds to let air in while you have a cup of tea. There's always dregs in the system, and it will be full of black iron oxide sludge which stains so be ready with buckets and put towels everywhere.

Modern rads are generally more efficient and therefore smaller. It's not a massive problem because you'll balance them afterwards.

The first one will give you some head scratching, but after that they're easy.

The upside to getting a plumber to do it is they'll not make a mess on the first one (you will lose some sludge, so start on a wipe clean floor,not a room with carpets!) and they'll use solder fitting which look neater than either push fit or compression fittings.

I didn't replace mine, but they were so full of sludge when I moved in I took them all out and jet washed them before re-installing them with TRV's which involved changing about 6" of pipe on each end as the pipe was kinked and knackered which meant about 80 leaking compression fittings! Took about a weekend but made a big difference to how quickly the house warmed up. And because it's old and I don't want to do it again I'm really keen on changing the inhibitor, so it's drain, flush and re-filled annually.

Ideal opportunity to replace rusty old radiators with more efficient and prettier new radiators with no leaks.

Replacing rads is fairly straightforward but much easier when you employ a plumber to do it.

Maybe time to explore ‘what radiators for future ASHP installation’?

The last time I looked (Best Heating, earlier this year) they were showing rad outputs, Btu and watts) for both gas boiler and ASHP temperatures.