One of my radiators has water running noisily through it. It runs constantly but the radiator is hot all over. I've just had a new combi boiler put in and I've had 3 burst radiators which have all been replaced! Help please
radiator
- Thread starter feebly
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I think bleeding and balancing will help
Al
Al
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Feebly:
When a radiator isn't full of water, then you'll be able to hear the water running through it. That noise you hear just means that there's air in the radiator.
The reason why the radiator is warm all over is because it's made out of metal and conducts heat well.
Balancing means adjusting the flow through the different radiator loops in your house so that the amount of water flowing through each loop is about the same so that the heat from the boiler is distributed evenly throughout the house. Balancing is normally done by PARTIALLY closing valves on the shorter radiator loops to pinch off the flow through the short cuts, thereby forcing more of the water to take the long scenic route through the longer radiator loops. If the problem is only the noise you hear from one or more radiators, I wouldn't start turning any balancing valves yet. I'd just bleed the air out of your system to get rid of the noise. If there are no further problems, then you don't need to do any more fixing. If you haven't had a problem with some radiators not being warm enough, there's no reason to believe you need to do any re-balancing.
A radiator not being full of water (causing the radiator to make noise as the water runs through it) is not a serious problem, and is certainly not an indication that this radiator is going to burst.
When a radiator isn't full of water, then you'll be able to hear the water running through it. That noise you hear just means that there's air in the radiator.
The reason why the radiator is warm all over is because it's made out of metal and conducts heat well.
Balancing means adjusting the flow through the different radiator loops in your house so that the amount of water flowing through each loop is about the same so that the heat from the boiler is distributed evenly throughout the house. Balancing is normally done by PARTIALLY closing valves on the shorter radiator loops to pinch off the flow through the short cuts, thereby forcing more of the water to take the long scenic route through the longer radiator loops. If the problem is only the noise you hear from one or more radiators, I wouldn't start turning any balancing valves yet. I'd just bleed the air out of your system to get rid of the noise. If there are no further problems, then you don't need to do any more fixing. If you haven't had a problem with some radiators not being warm enough, there's no reason to believe you need to do any re-balancing.
A radiator not being full of water (causing the radiator to make noise as the water runs through it) is not a serious problem, and is certainly not an indication that this radiator is going to burst.
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Thanks for that info. The reason I was worried was because all the rads that burst were corroded and having studied physics I know that it happens when air and water mix.
Here's another question.... Quite often the heating doesn't come on (timer is set) and I have to open that valve thingy (technical name!) at the bottom of the boiler. Why?
Here's another question.... Quite often the heating doesn't come on (timer is set) and I have to open that valve thingy (technical name!) at the bottom of the boiler. Why?
Oh dear!
I assume by 'valve thingy' you mean the 'valve on the filling loop'. If you keep needing to fill the system - then it's leaking somewhere.
When you fill it, you're adding aerated water from the mains. This leads to air in the rads and corrosion.
Even if your system had corrosion inhibitor added in the first place (why do I get the feeling it didn't?!!), it gets diluted each time you top up - so more corrosion.
If the new boiler work was done recently, it sounds like it was never finished off. Get the installer back and tell him to deliver a system that doesn't leak! (Unless of course you negotiated away all work except just hanging the new boiler - in which case, that's a pity.)
I assume by 'valve thingy' you mean the 'valve on the filling loop'. If you keep needing to fill the system - then it's leaking somewhere.
When you fill it, you're adding aerated water from the mains. This leads to air in the rads and corrosion.
Even if your system had corrosion inhibitor added in the first place (why do I get the feeling it didn't?!!), it gets diluted each time you top up - so more corrosion.
If the new boiler work was done recently, it sounds like it was never finished off. Get the installer back and tell him to deliver a system that doesn't leak! (Unless of course you negotiated away all work except just hanging the new boiler - in which case, that's a pity.)
I'm worried now, where could it be leaking to? My landlord paid the plumber just to fit the boiler and one new rad. Then he quibbled at the price. No way will he pay anyone to do more and I can't afford to. Is there anything that a doddery old woman can do. Well I'm not TOO old and doddery!!
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