I'd be using the magnets to catch as much as possible and then dumping the water down the loo, not the sink.
Radiator Sludge
- Thread starter RainTown
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I'd be using the magnets to catch as much as possible and then dumping the water down the loo, not the sink.
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Sounds like you need to find someone you can trust to properly diagnose and carry out the necessary repairs. That can be difficult.
Family recommendations, local social media groups and the like can help. Research the companies/installers if you are unsure, but you'll ultimately need to rely on someone to put things right.
Best thing if you don't know anyone is to go into your nearest "independent" trade merchants and ask them to recommend someone.
Have any of the tradesmen actually gone around and balanced the radiators? That is: adjust the lockshield valves on each radiator to ensure that water doesn't flow preferentially to only a sub group of radiators? That could be the reason why some of your radiators don't get very warm rather than them being full of sludge.
Balancing can actually be done by anyone, although it requires a lot of patience. With the system running, open the main valves fully on every radiator and close the lockshield valves on all radiators except the one that get the least warm. Check that that one now heats up. Then go to the next radiator is the "warmness heirarchy" and gradually open the lockshield valve on it until it too now heats up. Check that the first radiator stays hot. Wait for at least 20 minutes between adjusting the lockshield and checking the radiator temperature. Proceed in this manner until you've adjusted all the lockshield valves, checking each time that all the radiators you've adjusted stay hot, and waiting 20 minutes of so between each adjustment and temperature checking (I said it needed patience!).
Balancing can actually be done by anyone, although it requires a lot of patience. With the system running, open the main valves fully on every radiator and close the lockshield valves on all radiators except the one that get the least warm. Check that that one now heats up. Then go to the next radiator is the "warmness heirarchy" and gradually open the lockshield valve on it until it too now heats up. Check that the first radiator stays hot. Wait for at least 20 minutes between adjusting the lockshield and checking the radiator temperature. Proceed in this manner until you've adjusted all the lockshield valves, checking each time that all the radiators you've adjusted stay hot, and waiting 20 minutes of so between each adjustment and temperature checking (I said it needed patience!).
Agreed
A skill worth learning. Paying an engineer to do it doesn’t make sense to me given the time it takes.
If you want to do it properly and have the time... A couple of temp clamps and adjust lockshield until getting the correct deltaT
I see 2 different distinction with balancing when it comes to central heating systems -
1- Balancing rads to obtain the correct ΔT across the rad to ensure the radiator is delivering its documented output and can replace the heat loss for the space it's been sized for. Also to try and ensure that a condensing boiler condenses as much as possible, maximising efficiency.
2 - Balancing the system to ensure that all the radiators heat up at the same time to try and ensure all the spaces and the overall property heats up uniformly, maximising comfort in as fast a time as possible. That also aids in maximising efficiency.
IME, the whole process is really quite fickle to try getting the 'mid point' between the 2 just right.
1- Balancing rads to obtain the correct ΔT across the rad to ensure the radiator is delivering its documented output and can replace the heat loss for the space it's been sized for. Also to try and ensure that a condensing boiler condenses as much as possible, maximising efficiency.
2 - Balancing the system to ensure that all the radiators heat up at the same time to try and ensure all the spaces and the overall property heats up uniformly, maximising comfort in as fast a time as possible. That also aids in maximising efficiency.
IME, the whole process is really quite fickle to try getting the 'mid point' between the 2 just right.
I only concern myself with 2 and then ensuring the heat curve of the boiler is appropriate for our house.
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There’s been a lot of responses, thanks everyone, so I’ll try answer as much as I can.
The Baxi boiler replaced an older combi boiler, which was installed ca: 2000-2005. The radiators were installed at same time. It was done by some free government program at that time for my elderly parents, as prior to that there was no central heating. It’s an old Glasgow tenement (built 1902) flat.
I don’t know if it’s “open vent” or not.
It used to work way better. But I didn’t myself live there til after my mum passed and my dad moved to care home.
No one has “balanced” the radiators. The Baxi installers said they’d emptied them, rest wasn’t his job, and wasn’t necessary. After they switched gas back on and did few quick tests on boiler, they left property within 5 minutes.
The 2 other people who visited recently were referenced in my original post. first guy said installers were cowboys, should have installed a filter (near return flow I think), and power flush was awkward due to my Belfast kitchen sink (shallow angle of run) and “hanging” toilet in bathroom. I specifically asked him about balancing and he said these 6 radiators, 2-bedroom flat, nah, not necessary mate , until you get into double figures of radiators.
Second guy says first guy and installer were both idiots, easy job, just connect his gear and he’d be flushing junk/debris down kitchen sink and done in a couple of hours.
One other guy I’ve spoken to by telephone says it’s cheaper to just get 6 new radiators, which of course he could supply and fit, I just needed choose radiator style.
I made poor man’s effort to “balance”, well more to understand the issue. The bathroom towel heater is the bypass, but I can shut it off easily. Then tried each of the other 6 in turn, only one open at a time, using the TRVs. 2 get decently uniformly hot, one a bit so so , and 3 are pretty much impossible to get hot all over. Only top half/third gets warm. I checked this again today with little thermal camera I forgot I had. The kitchen rad is the worst. I realise this isn’t balancing at all, but I’m really useless with tools in part as I’m partially sighted and can’t see that well.
“Family recommendations, local social media groups and the like can help”
Well, in end you (customer) has to decide. I’m an IT consultant and that market has its fair share of complete BSers. It’s challenging to tell difference between BSer and real expert if you lack technical knowledge / experience.
There’s a plumbers merchant 200m away, I’ll take the advice to go ask their recommendation for a local tradesman.
I’m parking the Gas Safe aspect topic, PM me if you want anything else on that specifically. Like I said, it was actually a horrible incident and I’m still a bit scarred by it.
The Baxi boiler replaced an older combi boiler, which was installed ca: 2000-2005. The radiators were installed at same time. It was done by some free government program at that time for my elderly parents, as prior to that there was no central heating. It’s an old Glasgow tenement (built 1902) flat.
I don’t know if it’s “open vent” or not.
It used to work way better. But I didn’t myself live there til after my mum passed and my dad moved to care home.
No one has “balanced” the radiators. The Baxi installers said they’d emptied them, rest wasn’t his job, and wasn’t necessary. After they switched gas back on and did few quick tests on boiler, they left property within 5 minutes.
The 2 other people who visited recently were referenced in my original post. first guy said installers were cowboys, should have installed a filter (near return flow I think), and power flush was awkward due to my Belfast kitchen sink (shallow angle of run) and “hanging” toilet in bathroom. I specifically asked him about balancing and he said these 6 radiators, 2-bedroom flat, nah, not necessary mate , until you get into double figures of radiators.
Second guy says first guy and installer were both idiots, easy job, just connect his gear and he’d be flushing junk/debris down kitchen sink and done in a couple of hours.
One other guy I’ve spoken to by telephone says it’s cheaper to just get 6 new radiators, which of course he could supply and fit, I just needed choose radiator style.
I made poor man’s effort to “balance”, well more to understand the issue. The bathroom towel heater is the bypass, but I can shut it off easily. Then tried each of the other 6 in turn, only one open at a time, using the TRVs. 2 get decently uniformly hot, one a bit so so , and 3 are pretty much impossible to get hot all over. Only top half/third gets warm. I checked this again today with little thermal camera I forgot I had. The kitchen rad is the worst. I realise this isn’t balancing at all, but I’m really useless with tools in part as I’m partially sighted and can’t see that well.
“Family recommendations, local social media groups and the like can help”
Well, in end you (customer) has to decide. I’m an IT consultant and that market has its fair share of complete BSers. It’s challenging to tell difference between BSer and real expert if you lack technical knowledge / experience.
There’s a plumbers merchant 200m away, I’ll take the advice to go ask their recommendation for a local tradesman.
I’m parking the Gas Safe aspect topic, PM me if you want anything else on that specifically. Like I said, it was actually a horrible incident and I’m still a bit scarred by it.
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