New Central Heating System Too Hot in Hall / Too Cold in Lounge

[Rialto]

We've recently had a new central heating system installed with a combi boiler and a wireless thermostat in the hall. All the radiators (except the one in the hall which is permanently on) have TRVs. The problem is the hall radiator is far too hot and it's not possible to turn it down manually. The radiator in the lounge seems to have a mind of its own, it comes on at first but then soon switches off when the room is still cold. It has now started to come on occasionally when the room is warm due to the gas fire being on. Most of the time though the lounge rad is stone cold and we leave it on its highest setting of 5. I've tried turning it off and turning it up to 5 - it comes on for a while but then soon turns itself off.

In short, the hall rad is far too hot and the lounge rad is far too cold! Despite being a fairly large rad, we need to have the gas fire on in the lounge. Is it possible the TRV on the lounge rad is faulty (if so, is there anyway of testing it?) or are there any other likely reasons for this and also, is there anyway possible of turning down the hall rad. I understand that this rad has to be on all the time but it is ridiculously hot for such a small hall. We don't use the front door at the end of the hallway so the hall stays uncomfortably hot all the time. Ideally, the hall rad needs to be on at about 10% of its current temperature.

Greatly appreciate any advice.

Thanks in advance

 

[JohnD]

The problem is the hall radiator is far too hot and it's not possible to turn it down manually.

Why?

I say it is possible (and necessary)

 

[Rialto]

Many thanks for the reply John - the hall rad doesn't have a TRV and the engineer told us that it has to be on all the time and can't be turned off

 

[JohnD]

Unless you have a solid fuel stove or some other unusual arrangement, that is not quite right. As it is the room with the room stat, it does need to be turned on all the time, and should not have a TRV, but it should be adjusted so it is the slowest room to warm up. The radiators need to be balanced. It is quite normal.

Putting the room stat in the hall used to be considered normal in the 1960's, but many would say it is more sensible to have it in your main living room, as long as that room does not have another source of heat such as a fire.

Did you pay for the heating installation yourself? How long did it take?

 

[Rialto]

Yes, I paid for the installation myself and it took a week to complete.

Ironically, the hall is definitely the quickest room to warm up in the house - the hall radiator gets hot almost instantly whereas the other radiators take a while to warm up and the lounge one soon turns itself off shortly after it gets warm

 

[JohnD]

The installer should have balanced your radiators. If he can't or won't you can do it yourself.

My stalker might be along to contradict me (he doesn't approve of DIY) but you can follow our Plumbing FAQ5.
//www.diynot.com/diy/threads/boiler-central-heating-faqs.175736/

It is pretty easy but takes time and patience. I assume you have no thermometers, but a good guide is that the Flow pipes should be "too hot to hold" and the Return pipes should be "too hot to hold for long."

 

[Terrywookfit]

Remove the TRV head and see what happens.
What temp is the room stat set at........What is room temperature where stat is located.
Try moving room stat into lounge.