How to change an upstairs radiator

[danieljephcott]

Hello All,


Following on from a previous post regarding two cold bedrooms in my new build I have followed the help and advice given and tested out some things.


Initially bed 2 and 3 were around 15 degrees when the rest of the upstairs are more like 19 and our main bedroom being 21 degrees. Main culprit is that we have a nest thermostat wired into the main bedroom with the bedroom rad not having a trv. Meaning this room heats up in minutes where the other bedrooms need a lot more time however id need to set the thermostat to 23+ degrees for these other rooms to heat to around 18-19.


So I have bought a nest stand and converted the wired nest to a plug in and moved it to bedroom 2, I then turned down the valve on the main bedroom rad so that its water flow is very restricted. With this I’m almost managing 19 degrees in Bedroom 2 with the main bedroom maybe getting to 19-20.


However to further improve things id like to wire the nest into the hallway upstairs, add a trv to the main bedroom and ultimately increase the size of bedroom 2 radiator as it is tiny.


So my first question is: can I change the rad in bedroom 2 without draining the whole system? I wanting to almost double the size of the rad so that it heats that room a lot quicker. This will become a baby room for our new arrival.


My second questions is: can I add a trv valve to the main bedroom without draining down the system etc.


Ive added pictures of the bedroom 2 rad and the main bedroom. The one without the TRV is the main bedroom rad


When it comes to DIY im pretty competent however radiators are still a witchcraft I haven’t mastered. I would love to pay for a pro however money wont allow it so I need to try and tackle this myself and before the baby is due in July.


I will be doing lots more research, looking at youtube and asking some friends but some advise and help would be great.

thanks

dan

 

[stem]

The system looks to have been designed wrongly. The thermostat should be located in the last place to get warm, so ideally it should be left where it is, and a smaller radiator installed in bedroom 1 so that by the time bedroom 1 reaches the set temperature, the other bedrooms are already warm enough.

Also, at the moment it appears that you have the room thermostat in a room where there is also a TRV on the radiator, that's not ideal as you are trying to control the temperature in one room with two devices, one will interfere with the other. (This is why there isn't a TRV fitted to the radiator in bedroom 1)

Finally putting the thermostat in the upstairs hallway is a bad idea if the downstairs area has a radiator that is controlled by another room thermostat elsewhere. As the upstairs thermostat will be trying to regulate the temperature in an area that it has no actual control of the radiator that is located in it.

Sorry, my skills are electrical / controls, not plumbing, so I'll let someone else advise you how to change the radiator.

 

[JohnD]

Initially bed 2 and 3 were around 15 degrees when the rest of the upstairs are more like 19 and our main bedroom being 21 degrees. Main culprit is that we have a nest thermostat wired into the main bedroom with the bedroom rad not having a trv. Meaning this room heats up in minutes where the other bedrooms need a lot more time however id need to set the thermostat to 23+ degrees for these other rooms to heat to around 18-19.

Why don't you just balance the radiators by turning down the lockshield valve in the main bedroom?

 

[danieljephcott]

hi, thanks for the response which was perfect. So i understand the idea around the room with the termostat shouldnt have a trv which is why bed 1 doesnt have one. The rad in this must be a 600 x 400 at the most. however bed 1 also have a ensuite with a large towel rail. this has a trv which is on 1 but this helps heat that room up.

I see what your saying about the thermostat in the halway as your right the one downstairs is in the hall and that rad doesnt have a trv either.

Im fairly happy with keeping the nest in Bedroom 2 as this is going to be the most important room in the house due to it being a baby room. Maybe this rad needs to be bigger with no trv and then just add a trv to bedroom 1.

as mentioned moving the thermostat and reducing the flow of the rad in bed 1 has helped but i still cant get bed 2 up to temp without bed 1 being a sauna.

 

[danieljephcott]

all rads upstairs are on the lowest trv setting with bed 2 and 3 on full. as bed one didnt have a trv ive just locked off the flow so its barely open so this rad takes longer to heat.

its half worked but still not perfect. if i wanted to maintain 19 degrees in bed 2 at all times then bed 1 would likely be atleast 21degrees which is just to hot.

 

[JohnD]

hi, thanks for the response which was perfect.

So was mine.

Also quick and cost-free.

 

[danieljephcott]

you response was also great thank you. i have done this already which has helped as mentioned but still hasnt fixed the issue. the lockshield is closed as much as i can without turning it off. bed 1 just seems to heat so much quicker than any other room. all rads are bled and working correctly.

 

[stem]

in my new build I have followed the help and advice given and tested out some things.

If it's a 'new' new build I would be getting the house builder back to sort it out. Your heating system isn't properly designed and 'not fit for purpose'. Yous shouldn't be having to 'fudge' things in order to make them sort of work.

 

[danieljephcott]

we moved in July 2017 so past the 2 year point, they are not interested at all. slightly my own fault as it wasnt something I thought wasnt a big issue untill i now need to use this bedroom. i need to look through our paperwork tonight as im sure it has NHBC insurance so im wondering if i can do something with this. I was just thinking if i can sort this for £200 max then its worth it. Just concerned that it will drag on and baby will arrive.