Living Room Radiator Not Getting Hot

[WSB]

Hi,

We have a Potterton Suprima wall boiler mounted in a cupboard upstairs. Have done for 15 or so years.

All radiators in the house are getting hot except the one at the front of the house in the living which stays cold.
One other at the other end of the living room gets hot and another in the living room gets warmish.

Have bled all radiators/towel rails in the house and no air is coming out of any of them.

The suspect radiator I let bled water (quite clear) for a while to ensure there definitely wasn't any air in there.

But it's still not getting hot.

The valve (standard not TRV) on that radiator feels like it opens and closes properly and it's definitely left in the open position. The pipe feeding the valve is cold though, so possible clue there.

Aside from paying someone to flush the system, is there anything else I can try?

Thanks

 

[Madrab]

Turn the other rads off and just leave the 2 that don't get as hot as the others and see if they warm up, if so then it's probably a balancing issue

 

[DP]

Does that radiator get hot when hot water zone is turned off

 

[WSB]

Not sure as I have my hot water setting to continuous. I'll switch the water off and the heating on and see what happens.
But if this is an issue with the diverter valve, would that not affect all radiatiors?

 

[DP]

One step at a time lad

 

[WSB]

Ok, gave it quite a while with water heating off and central heating on. No difference. Rad still cold.

 

[WSB]

Will try turning the other living room rads off and some other easy to get to ones as Madrab suggests.

 

[WSB]

Can't turn the others off as the valves jammed and don't want to force them.
Any other ideas?

 

[Madrab]

Well we need to get the system back to a baseline and that means getting all of the valves so we know they are all working properly.

If you aren't sure about the valves and how far you can push them re twisting them to free them up then you're at the 'get someone in' stage I'm afraid. The valves are either going to free up or they'll snap and need replaced. Either way you need to get the rads to the point where they can be at least adjusted and turned off and on individually so you know everything works.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Can't turn the others off as the valves jammed and don't want to force them.
Any other ideas?

Pop the placcie covers off and use an adjustable spanner on the valve shaft. If the valve stems have been painted, chip as much off as you can. Don't need to do both valves on each rad, one on each will be fine. When you do manage to close one, note on a bit of paper how many turns it took to close (this in case you move a lockshield, gives you a base setting to go back to on the off chance that the system was balanced once upon a time)

 

[WSB]

Thanks fellas. will have a look over the weekend. Will be careful though as don't want to knacker it.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Rad valves are fairly robust. Don't start hitting the spanner with a hammer though

 

[WSB]

Could it be that the pump is on its way out. Namely, hasn't got the ooomph to push the hot water to the rads furthest away?

 

[terryplumb]

Did the problem rad heat up previously ,if so, when did it start to be a problem ?

 

[WSB]

It's been like it quite a while. Just decided to do something about it.
Not just that rad. Another in the living room gets slightly warm. Another in that room does get hot though