Balancing Radiators...

[Adrian80]

For me this has been very interesting..

It seems that all radiators have a design flow. Flow of water needed to give the desired output.

And by many of our temperature measuring techniques you are trying to approximate the flow through the radiator.

So what we need is Flow meter:
http://www.coleparmer.co.uk/catalog/product_view.asp?sku=3298600&pfx=


however the seem a little pricey....


so for now i think we stuck using the thermometers..

 

[ajrobb]

It seems that all radiators have a design flow. Flow of water needed to give the desired output.

If the boiler and the radiators are designed for the same temperature difference between flow and return then all well and good. Typically, a radiator is only 'rated' at a given flow and temperature difference so you can calculate its heat output. However, if the boiler is designed for a larger temperature drop than the radiator, then the radiator can be 'de-rated' to a lower flow rate and larger temperature difference to work with the boiler.

I don't know if it is coincidence or truly cause and effect, but magnetic filters are often recommended for condensing boilers. I don't know if this is due to increased sludge build up with lower flows. I'm surprised that combi boilers don't include them; they include most other auxiliaries.

Pump and boiler manuals can include charts of pressure difference against flow rate. You might get away with a couple of pressure tappings across the pump, say, and a differential pressure gauge.

 

[Adrian80]

Re derating: Again life is never simple....

Re Magnetic cleaners
Indeed one wonders