It's hot in here!

[Shutpa]

Last week, without really putting much thought into it, I decided to take advantage of a BOGOF offer and top up the insulation in my loft. The rolls turned out to 12m long and not 5m as I thought so I only used half the purchase. I was going to sell the remainder when a friend suggested that I top it up yet again. This I did and the result is absolutely phenomenal. Although our thermostat is only set at 21o, the upstairs part is now so warm that we have had to turn the radiators off. Even then the kids are complaining that their bedrooms are just too hot for comfort. Is this normal or is it that our original insulation was inadequate? In any case it's a great result for £58.00!

 

[JohnD]

look out for a BOFOF on TRVs then!

what depth did you have before, and what depth have you got now?

 

[noseall]

look out for a BOFOF on TRVs then!

 

[Shutpa]

what depth did you have before, and what depth have you got now?

100mm then, 300mm now!

 

[Shutpa]

look out for a BOFOF on TRVs then!

Now if I knew what Trv's were, I might share your hilarity!

 

[JohnD]

Thermostatic Radiator Valves

they turn off the heat supply to each radiator once the room has come up to the pre-set temp. There should be no need for anyone to turn rads on or off once they have been correctly set (but women like to do it anyway)

You need a room-stat as well, and the rad in that room must not have a TRV.

With all that insulation, and some TRVs, you should save quite a bit of money on heating.

 

[Shutpa]

Thermostatic Radiator Valves

they turn off the heat supply to each radiator once the room has come up to the pre-set temp. There should be no need for anyone to turn rads on or off once they have been correctly set (but women like to do it anyway)

You need a room-stat as well, and the rad in that room must not have a TRV.

With all that insulation, and some TRVs, you should save quite a bit of money on heating.

Cheers JohnD. Actually, the last time the BG guy came to service the system he did say that it looked a bit odd with all of the rooms in our extension having TRV's while there were none in the older part of the house. Is fitting them complicated?

 

[JohnD]

to do one can be easy. bung, two adjustable spanners; close the lockshield on the other end first and if you only do one at a time, you don't always have to drain.

the difficulty comes when you find the old one has threads that don't match the new; or the olive is in the wrong place and you have to nip it off, or the copper pipe comes up through a concrete floor and has no wiggle to accommodate a different valve.

It's probably better to do it in warm weather when it won't matter if the heating is off for a day or two while you buy new bits; and be prepared to drain if something goes wrong. Have one or two trays such as emulsion roller trays that fill fit under the opened rad end, some old towels, and as assistant to empty the buckets.

If you have a number to do it will be less trouble to drain down. You can usefully combine this with doing a chemical clean, replacing any worn lockshields, and putting in fresh inhibitor, as well as replacing any jammed or broken bleed valves.

 

[Shutpa]

Thank you JohnD, but with a dozen or so to convert I think I'll leave it to Brit. Gas.

 

[JohnD]

OK. If they're going to drain it down, and you have an open vented system, it would be good to add a bottle of Sentinel X400 or similar a couple of weeks beforehand. this will loosen the black sediment so it will drain out easily.

 

[Shutpa]

OK. If they're going to drain it down, and you have an open vented system, it would be good to add a bottle of Sentinel X400 or similar a couple of weeks beforehand. this will loosen the black sediment so it will drain out easily.

Cheers for this - it's people like you who make this such an invaluable forum!