Silverline 427586 Radiator Bleed Key - Set of 2

These radiator keys are made of brass machined to exactly fit standard radiator bleeders .

This item is more substantial than the usual tools and therefore harder to lose.

I paid Amazon to get this to me fast, so I was shocked when the order confirmation indicated it would be 6-8 weeks for delivery. I know it comes from England, but sheesh, that's how long it took to cross the ocean 200 years ago! I wrote to the seller (not amazon) and they were GREAT! They responded immediately and assured me it would arrive well before that, and it did. The product is excellent- it fits the old east coast radiators I needed it for. Purchased with the more traditionally shaped bleed key because I figured if I ordered both, one would be good. In fact, both are well constructed, sturdy, and worked really well. Now I have two great products instead of the flimsy breakable ones that Home Depot sells.

I bought this for my cast iron water radiators. The ones sold locally were made of tin or some other soft metal and deformed after a season. These looked like brass so i figured they might hold up better. They are definitely heftier and feel pretty sturdy. Two things to keep in mind: 1) Machining is just OK on these. Instead of a square hole, the center is drilled out with a circle and then right angles are cut into it to fit the corners of your bleed valve. This results in something that fits about 75% of my radiators. The cheap tin key fit them all. 2) Shipping is from UK - it took ~3wks to get to me.

Since it's made of brass, this is way stronger than the zinc die cast versions I have been used to which are brittle and crack easily. And it allows you to apply more torque for those crusty bleeder valves, but they take more room too, so it may not work as easily in tight places. I don't know why they don't have another hex head on top so you could use a universal joint and ratched, but they don't. Still, why better then what I was used to.

Better would have been flat butterfly-style ears which would be more comfortable on the finger tips when dealing with a reluctant valve. But this does give the leverage I was looking for, as verses the much smaller key that came with the replacement vent I installed.

While better than the soft nickel keys you can get at local hardware stores these still deform a little and a stuck valve will not open. Unlike the keys with a flat flange for the handle these don't give you as much leverage either

Did the job.

the keys dont fit particularly well on my radiator bleed valves, but they did manage the job on most of them. Summary:for the price , still a satisfactory purchase overall

For bleeding radiators, it's all you need!

In the picture on the website it shows these two keys on the silverline packaging when received it was in a plastic bag and also did some work on my radiators you can see from the pictures what they look like.

Even at this price it’s not worth it. The square shape required to hold the bleed valve is achieved by cutting a groove into the side of a cylinder. It has no ability to grip with conviction; there is just not enough hold. It also felt as if the metal was so soft it stripped the groove. It just rotated on the bleed valve.

It was a bit difficult turning the key because of the very short cross bar handles. It fits the radiator but not very ergonomic. You’d end up doing a lot of wrist gymnastics.Would definitely look at other options.