Is fitting a thermostat onto an old radiator an easy or difficult job?

[purpleplatypus]

Hello all,

I just moved into a flat in an old 1930s block of about 30 flats and it turns out the the heating is controlled communally, which means the radiator in my is on 24/7 throughout the winter (something they conveniently forgot to tell me at the viewing and which I didn't even think to check).

Anyway, I have asked the landlord if a thermostat can be be added to radiator, which I assume is an original fitting, and they said they will look into it once the communal boiler is turned off in March. For reference it's a basic Faral Modena radiator with two pipe connections (one to the left, other to the right)

My question is, would this be an easy job? Is it simply a matter of fitting the thermostat onto the radiator heads, or would the radiator need to be replaced, removed and put back etc.? I am worried that the landlord will say it is too difficult/expensive and refuse to do it. Maybe it is, but then again it could be it's a simple thing but he just doesn't want the expense of doing it for the entire block if word gets out mine's been done.

Also, are there laws on this? Surely a tenant should have the ability to regulate the heating the room? Not to mention how incredibly wasteful it is financially and environmentally.

best,
PP

 

[Mottie]

Do you mean a Thermostatic Radiator Valve (TRV)? Should be possible. For now, can't you just turn the radiator down/off?

 

[oldbuffer]

1. Normally its quite a straightforward job. The radiator does not need to be removed, but the water needs to be drained form the system unless some other method like freezing is used.
2. Provided there is nothing unusual and good access for an electric freezer, I would estimate around an hour:
2a. 15 minutes to freeze.
2b. 15 minutes to remove the old valve, clean up connections as necessary, and fit the thermostatic valve.
2c. 15 minutes to allow the pipe to thaw.
2d. 15 minutes to test and nip up / re-test as necessary.
3. As Mottie has pointed out, radiators have two valves. One is adjusted once and should not them be altered - the lock shield valve. The other can be turned on, off and in between by means of a (usually) white plastic knob. This is wheel head valve and can be used to regulate the temperature.
4. I very much doubt the landlord has any legal obligation to upgrade your heating controls.

 

[ericmark]

The TRV comes as two parts

the bottom part has connections and a pin connects it to top part,

once the valve is fitted there are a host of top parts which can replace the top part, from a cheap eQ-3 around £15 to Drayton Wiser £43 as to what they can do I have two the eQ-3 and the Energenie mihome, at £85 a pair plus they need a hub at another £40, I prefer the cheap eQ-3 as I can manually set everything on the TRV head, mine are bluetooth so can set them with phone if near to them, and with bluetooth version they can be linked together for example when two radiators in the same room.

As standard it seems M30 x 1.5 mm connection for the head is used, the eQ-3 had a load of adaptors, the Energenie only two, the eQ-3 auto adjusts its self and if travel too much or too little shows a report code, the Energenie did not tell you if within range or not, and in spite of costing a lot more, was in most things not as good as the eQ-3.

There is another stand alone called the Terrier i30 never used one so can't say how good.

The energenie can use IFTTT (if this then that) and with that one can set up geofencing, that is detecting when your phone is near and turning up the heating, but the energenie also has OTT anti hysteresis software, so to get 20°C at 8 am I had to set it at 22°C at 7 am then down to 20°C at 8 am. So can't see the geofencing working very well, the Drayton Wiser claims to work out how long it takes to heat the room and uses algorithms to ensure at temperature on time.

The lock shield valve was also important, as it takes a valve around 5 minutes to exercise the valve, the e-Q3 do it mid day on Saturday it opens valve wide, and closes valve then back to setting so the TRV does not stick. If the radiator heats up too fast, then the temperature over shoots, so lock shield set so radiator takes around 20 minutes to hit max temperature.

In mothers house with a modulating boiler the energenie mihome were spot on, if it over shot I closed the lock shield a tad, and if not hitting target opened a tad and once set worked very well, but this house with an on/off boiler the results have not been as good.

As to how they work on a common boiler not sure, I know at work the central heating is one pipe, and steam from the boiler is fed in at one end and water and wet steam drips out onto the rails on the other end, some water systems are piped in series and others in parallel, the Myson fan assisted radiator works out very well with a series system, the water is not restricted it simply turns on a fan when you want heat, the iVector has a 5 speed fan, very clever, but a very high price, the whole advantage of the fan assisted is it can heat and cool, not really required for domestic, we don't look after people that well, only machines like computers.

 

[Deleted member 292770]

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[purpleplatypus]

thanks guys... unfortunately there is no valve at all on the radiator, so I have 0 control of it (atm I leave the windows open most of the time to create a cool temperature which I prefer).

Apparently the control boiler will be switched off for the summer next month, so hopefully the landlord can just stick a TRV on mine. If doing so would affect the other flats on the same floor, honestly I'd rather just have it off altogether if that's possible.

 

[dilalio]

Post a photo.
Can't see how there's no valve at all!

 

[Nige F]

thanks guys... unfortunately there is no valve at all on the radiator, so I have 0 control of it (atm I leave the windows open most of the time to create a cool temperature which I prefer).

Apparently the control boiler will be switched off for the summer next month, so hopefully the landlord can just stick a TRV on mine. If doing so would affect the other flats on the same floor, honestly I'd rather just have it off altogether if that's possible.

get a cheap duvet and cover the rad

 

[CBW]

Post a photo.
Can't see how there's no valve at all!

Have seen some with just elbows going into the rads

 

[dilalio]

Have seen some with just elbows going into the rads

So have I... But only in hospitals or care homes!

 

[purpleplatypus]

Thanks guys... tbh what I know about radiators would fit on the back of a postage stamp. I've attached pics of the metal bits on either side of it.