BALANCING QUERY?

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kerjak

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Hi,

Wondering if anyone could offer some avice please?

Gonna be doing the above soon and understand basic principles.

I intend to find the order in which the rads heat up first with temp. clamp and multimeter before I start adjusting valves.

Do I have to open ALL valves fully before I work this out? Will it affect the order in which rads heat up if I don't?

I know which sides are the flow sides on all my rads(some have trv's, some lockshields)

I think if I open up the flow sides only and the attach temp. clamp I can work out by trial and error the order in which they heat up to say 20 degrees. From there I work my way from 1 onwards adjusting return side until I have an 11-12 degrees drop.

Is this correct?

Hope I'm making sense, any advise appreciated.

Thanks.
 
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Read How to balance a CH system.

If you remember that systems are normally laid own in a logical order - to keep pipe lengths to the minimum - you should be able to work out the order they heat up without needing a temp clamp.
 
Thanks for info, some of my rads seem to heat up at same time(going by touching pipework). So, I just want to make sure I have order correct before I start.

Most of my rads have lockshields on the flow side, how do you balance these if the trv is on return side?

Thanks again.
 
kerjak said:
Thanks for info, some of my rads seem to heat up at same time(going by touching pipework). So, I just want to make sure I have order correct before I start.
Click to expand...
Think logically how the rads would be piped together and the order should be obvious. Getting it exactly right is not too important.

Most of my rads have lockshields on the flow side, how do you balance these if the trv is on return side?
Click to expand...
In exactly the same way: remove all TRV heads and adjust the LS valve to give the correct drop across the radiator. The LS valve is controlling the flow rate through the rad, so it doesn't matter which side it goes as the rad is full of water - what goes in must come out.
 
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Thanks again for the info.

Point taken about "thinking logically about the order". However, I've kinda got my mind set on trying to figure out exactly which one heats up first via temp. clamp and multimeter(i.e. time how long each flow pipe on each rad takes to heat up to say 20 degrees). A bit time consuming I know.

So would it affect the order the rads heat up if I didn't touch valves at all?

I'm thinking this is the option to go for as it's actually the temp. of pipe I'm measuring, nothing to do with the position of any valves.

Then once I've got heat up order sorted I can then open up trv's fully then adjust lockshields to get the 11-12 degrees temp. drop.

Can I do it this way? Or am I missing something?

Cheers.
 
you are being far too logical about this, unless the system is brand new & piped to the book you are not going get the 11-12 degree difference you are looking for even if you are there for a month of sundays, rule of thumb downstairs rad locksheilds open fully upstairs locksheilds open 1.5 turns (from closed), you may need to close some slightly & open some more but thats a good place to start, how many plumbers do you think have a clamp thermostat
 
Thanks for reply, thought the lockshields closest to boiler should only be slightly opened then progressing to the farthest away one which should be opened fully.

I know I'm being way too logical, that's me I'm afraid and I do have pipe clamp and multi-meter, so why not use it?

I'm not a plumber just want to know if my train of thought on this is sound or not, that's all.

cheers.
 
yes you are correct that the ones closest to the boiler will heat up first but only if it's a combi, if you have a conventional boiler then normally the pump is in the airing cupboard & as the heat will take the path of least resistance the upstairs rads will heat up much easier than the downstairs, i don't care what any of the plumbers/heating engineers on here say none of them will do what you are about to
 
It is a combi I have. I realise none of the plumbers/heating engineers will do what I am about to do. That's why I'm doing it. Maybe they still should?

If I decide to do something, I do it the best I can I'm afraid(just the way I'm made).

So, I'm still looking to get my original query answered. In order for me to work out the heat up order of rads before I balance, do I have to mess about with any valves beforehand or can I just put the temp clamp on flow side?

Whether the valve on the flow side of rad is a 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 or fully open shouldn't affect how quickly the pipe heats up should it?

I think I can do it this way, just looking for a bit of advice to confirm it.

Thanks.
 
I am afraid you are being too picky about the balancing,just adjust the system until they all get hot at the same time. It would be impossible to adjust any system to this degree of accuracy.
 
  • Thanks
Reactions: CBF
CBF said:
rule of thumb downstairs rad lockshields open fully upstairs lockshields open 1.5 turns (from closed), you may need to close some slightly & open some more but thats a good place to start
Click to expand...
The typical LS valve is fully open at 1.5 turns from closed!

Have a good look at a TRV4. Below the shoulder where the pipe sits it is about 14mm diameter and then there is a small hole about 7mm diameter. So the area through which the water passes is reduced to 25% of the pipe size (area proportional to diameter squared). According to Drayton's literature the valve, as supplied, is able to carry 3.25kW.

So you will have to close the LS valve down a lot before it has any real effect on the flow rate.
 
The laser ones are of course not operated by a laser!

They are infrared sensors and just incorporate a laser pointer.

They are almost useless for serious heating setting though.

Very useful though to identify where more insulation is needed.

Tony
 
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