radiator not heating up properly

[mr_sj]

had a problem with one radiator in the house for a while now. when the heatings on all radiators heat up fine and work perfectly, the living room one never heats to the same temp as the others, even if thermostat is on full it will only be warm at best.

thought i had found the problem when i spotted the TRV had been snapped when the chair pushed against it, ive replaced it today and refilled the system but still the same problem. the pipe and valve going into the radiator are boiling hot but the radiator itself and the valve and pipe at the other end are just warm. a while ago (2 years) we had a problem when the raditor had been bled and the valve not tightened properly and it had leaked without anyone noticing and had rusted in the top corner, not sure if that has now caused a problem inside the radiator ??

any advice or ideas on what could be the problem and how i can rectify it, thanks a lot

 

[seco services]

is the other valve open enough ?
the the rad could be full of sludge.

 

[mr_sj]

other valve is open fully. today when i bled the system the water was flowing out of the radiator no problem, if it was full of sludge would that have been obvious today ? not sure if it would come out in the water or stay stuck inside the radiator.

could it also just be a problem with the other radiator valve not working properly ?

 

[seco services]

can be try taking the top of the trv off.
is it a new trv ?
sludge will sit in the bottom of the rad and can restrict the valves.
whats the temp of the rad like in the centre bottom compaired to the centre etc ?

 

[mr_sj]

i took the TRV off today as it was broken and now both valves are just normal wheel head valves and both are fully open.

 

[seco services]

try shutting the working rads to push full flow round that one.

count the number of turns you shut each valve so you can put them back.

 

[mr_sj]

bottom of radiator is pretty cold, middle is warmish and top is slightly warmer still.

the valve on one side is boiling hot as is the pipe and the valve and pipe on the other are cold/luke warm.

 

[mr_sj]

try shutting the working rads to push full flow round that one.

ok, will try that now.

 

[mr_sj]

turns out that actually i wont try that now as just been informed by the wife that theres no bloody way im turning any heating off tonight when the kids are in bed and she's freezing.

will now try it tomorrow instead !

 

[seco services]

as just been informed by the wife that theres no b****y way im turning any heating off tonight

will now try it tomorrow instead !

ok

 

[bengasman]

turns out that actually i wont try that now as just been informed by the wife that theres no b****y way im turning any heating off tonight when the kids are in bed and she's freezing.

will now try it tomorrow instead !

that's right, do as you're told

 

[mr_sj]

ok, have shut all radiators off and just left living room one on it is now boiling hot, much hotter than it has ever been before and there are no cold spots.

what does that mean then ?

 

[mogget]

ok, have shut all radiators off and just left living room one on it is now boiling hot, much hotter than it has ever been before and there are no cold spots.

what does that mean then ?

You should balance the system so that all radiators heat up evenly. Have a look here:

//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=37170

 

[mr_sj]

brilliant, thanks for all the help as always !

 

[seco services]

it was easyer than you thought.