Quick plumbing question. The motorized valve on my c/h has failed (spindle leaks and shorts out the motor). I’m all set to replace it, but I can’t get it out.

The pipes either side are 28mm and won’t move apart far enough for me to pull it out.

So, do I:

(a) pull harder?

(b) cut the pipe leading to it, remove some piping and then somehow replace it afterwards?

I don’t have a pipe cutter that size, but it can’t be any worse than cutting down a steerer I suppose.

I hate plumbing. But plumbers are like hen’s teeth for some reason round here 🙁

Mate put a pic up to get the right advice

you could cut one of the pipes a bit further up and use a straight link to put in back together. mine was at the top of the system so it didnt need draining completely when the valve failed

Looks like a trip to B&Q for some couplings 🙁

Are you certain it’s 28mm? They’re nearly always 22mm.

The pipes are vertical so there will be some movement in them. They’re probably just tight in the clips. Push the top pipe harder

As funky said, give the pipes a tap and twist the valve then pull apart

Definitely 28mm.

The top pipe won’t move upwards very far because of all the pipework attached to it.

The bottom pipe won’t go down very far because (just out of picture) it bends and passes horizontally over another massive great pipe.

I think cutting it and then resoldering is the best bet. Need to get hold of a suitable joint first.

Although a beer would do instead I guess 🙂

take another pic further away

I can push the pipes apart by about 5mm in total, but there’s quite a lot more than that of pipe inside the valve (instructions say 20mm or so, reading through).

So hacksaw time.

if you cut the pipe a compression fitting might be better than a solder fitting to rejoin it.

Thanks TJ! Unfortunately, all I’ve got is a solder joint!

And anyway, I love the smell of flux 🙂

Put teh cut in above the valve – a solder joint in an old pipe can be tricky getting everything clean and dry enough

Not easy to solder 28mm pipe though. Copper has a nasty habit of conducting heat away from the area you’re trying to solder, 28mm has a lot of copper to pinch your heat. Make sure your blowtorch is man enough before you start.

If the pipes really are that tight, then you’d be best cutting through the pipe a few inches above the valve.
You then want a solder slip coupling, basically, just a straight 28mm connection, with no internal burrs/stops, so you can slide it up the pipe, push the pipes together,slide it into place, then solder it.
I had to do one earlier this year after breaking a stop tap at a customers house.
PITA draining off, but the solder was easily done, no problem at all getting it up to temperature – if you are taking the valve off completely, then there shouldnt really be any water left in the vicinity – it is water in the pipe that can cause problems when soldering old pipes. Maybe heat up up well first, to ensure any moisture inside has boiled off before starting to do the joint properly.
Whereabouts are you?

Alan.

Thanks for the tips. I’m in Cambridge.

Just waiting for the pipe to cool down a bit before attempting the other side of the joint. I think it’s OK (blow torch is quite ferocious so seems to be soldering quite well).

Fired it up. So far the reactor core doesn’t seem to have melted its way through to China.

It’s good when it all comes together isn’t it?

Yup! I’d still rather have been out on a bike ride though…