Not all my radiators are hot..... Help

[D_Hailsham]

Would do it myself but keep seeing when searching the problems with leaks if you keep playing with the flow

Adjusting a LS valve shouldn't cause leaks -unless they are very old. Didn't you have new valves when you changed the rads?

My feeling is that the installer does not know how to balance radiators. A sure way to tell is how he deals with TRVs. He should remove the TRV heads before starting balancing so they do not close down and upset the flow through the system.

Some installers even say that you do not need to balance rads with TRVs fitted as the TRV does the balancing automatically. This is nonsense.

 

[dazeybear]

Think you might be right D-Hailsham.... I have been watching him closely as I am curious.... He just goes to the rad in question ie cold one and fiddles with both sides and says right I can feel its getting hot now.... oh and doesn't remove the trv's.

 

[D_Hailsham]

Then don't bother getting him back! He's not going to improve the situation.

Have a go yourself - this is DIY forum after all. Full instructions are here: How to Balance a CH System

If you don't want the expense of buying thermometers, it is possible to get a reasonable balance by feeling the pipes just before the valve. The guide to use are the flow and return pipes at the boiler. The flow and return of each rad should feel the same as the boiler's. It takes some time for a rad to settle down, so you need to allow five minutes or more after each adjustment. Don't adjust the valve more than 1/8th turn at a time. You may even have to make smaller adjustments.

You need to ensure that the heating runs all the time, so turn the room thermostat up to 25 or more.

 

[JohnD]

without a thermometer, a rough guide is that the flow should be "too hot to hold" and the return should be "too hot to hold for long"

 

[dazeybear]

Thanks guys and wish me luck..... will keep you up to date

 

[dazeybear]

Oh my Goodness!! Just read what I need to do, I'm gonna need a miracle not luck. I haven't a clue what it even means i cant adjust the pump speed (i'm a girl) way out of my league, looks like I may have to pay someone else who know's what they are doing if I want to get to the bottom of this!!! thanks anyway guys

 

[JohnD]

I haven't a clue what it even means i cant adjust the pump speed (i'm a girl)

We'll have none o'that here

To balance your rads you need:

a screwdriver

a small adjusting spanner

one or more hands

a bit of time

the instructions

 

[rkinsella]

Hi Dazeybear,

Had the same problem myself recently, plumber ended up replacing the heat pump. Since then the house has been toastie! Sounds like time to find a new plumber, always get a recommendation if you can and don't hire a relative.

I had a go at tuning the rads myself, but since it was actually the pump that was broken I was wasting my time. The pressure in the system was never enough to heat all the rads, all I was doing by balancing was moving the pressure around.

 

[dazeybear]

Yeay all balanced thanks guys x