Cold radiator on first floor

[Crispa]

Hi, I don't think this has been dealt with elsewhere but I'm new to this forum so please forgive me if it has. I have a newish (less than 5 years old) radiator that just doesn't heat up, although it used to! It only has standard valves and the entry valve gets hot (sometimes). I've tried bleeding the radiator and water comes out striaght away. If I close either value, the water continues to flow, so I don't think there is a blockage. I've tried turning off all the other rads but still this rad doesn't heat up. Any ideas?

 

[swidders]

sound like one of the valves is sticking

 

[mogget]

This does sound like either a partial blockage or an airlock. The amount of water needed to flow through the bleed valve is very small in comparison with the amount needed to make it hot.

What colour is the water when you bleed it?

Is there inhibitor in the system?

 

[twgas]

when you say newish do you mean a replacement or an addition to the system. If an addition I would wager the new pipe is plastic and has a blockage in it.

Seems rad supplies added in plastic pipe onto a copper system get blocked fairly often/quickly.

 

[Crispa]

Thanks for the quick help. The rad is an addition and, yes, the pipes are plastic. The water is clear but has a slight yellow/brown tinge. I think there is inhibitor in the system. Assuming I have a blockage, how can I clear it?

 

[swidders]

Before looking at flushing and powerflushing options, I think you should look at the valves. Turn them off and undo them from the radiators. Then open each in turn to check that water does actually pass through them. If not then try sticking a screwdriver in them to seem if you can loosen any blockage or stuck valve and if this works you will have to replace the one with a fault.

 

[Crispa]

OK, I took the rad off and found that water only flowed out of one valve so I removed the valve and found that only a trickle of water came out of the pipe so I guess I have a blockage of some sort. Can anyone advise on the best way to clear the blockage? I have a solid ground floor so all the ground floor rads are fed from the 1st floor which makes draining the system a bit of a pain, especially as not all ground floor rads have drain cocks. If I have to drain the system after using a flushing agent, is there any way to avoid having to drain each ground floor rad individually? Thanks again for your help ppl