Radiator not getting hot

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Hello everyone.

I have a combi CH with 3 single rads upstairs, 1 single rad and 1 double rad downstairs.

All have tower valves except the downstairs single rad.

My problem is that the downstairs double rad is really struggling to get hot.

I have bled all the rads (clean clear water comes out).

Pressure is correct and taken apart the tower valve on the double rad.
The valve doesn't seem to be stuck.

So why isn't the rad getting hot please? :cry:
 
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Turn all other rads off (using valves), does problem rad then get hot? If so may just be a balancing issue, you need to 'throttle back' the other rads to ensure this one gets its fair share of water.
 
Thanks for that Hugh.

We have had the CH for a few years now and never have had this problem before. All have been on fully open without a hitch.....

....however, tomorrow, I will try out your suggestion and put the outcome up on here!

Thanks!
 
Another question please....

...If one radiator is not getting hot, will another rad's tower valve effect it please?.....meaning, can another rad's tower valve effect the hotness of another rad i.e the one that is not getting hot?
 
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what is a tower valve?

Why are you going red?
 
JohnD...a tower valve is the valve found on one end of the rad!

2-waytrv_Page_1_Image_0002.jpg


And I have gone red, cus I wanted to!
;)
 
the thing in your picture is a Thermostatic Radiator Valve.

At the other end should be a Lockshield valve.

Tower is the name of a budget manufacturer/marketing organisation.
 
Yes....I know John.

Best to explain everything to help get a concise diagnoses!
:)
 
Hugh.

I have tried your suggestion and still the double rad is cold.

I have taken all the Tower valves apart and made sure the pin is moveable.

I have even bled the cold rad and let out a fair bit of water, replaced it and still it is cold.

One thing I have noticed is the pipe to the valve is hot and just the other side of the valve (where the valve meets the rad) is hot.

Any suggestions please? :confused:
 
So you turned off all the other rads and this one is still cold?

Then you have a blockage.

You can try closing fully the valves at each end of the rad, and taking the rad off (turn it immediately upside down to prevent sludge dribbling out). Take it out into the garden and hose it through.

Hold a bucket under each of the valves in turn, and briefy open it, water should gush out. If not you have a clue as to where the blockage is.

Let us know how much sludge comes out.
 
Thanks for that JohnD.

Just to double check....if I turn both valves either end of the rad (one being a TRValve and the other a lockshield valve) OFF, I can safely remove the rad without water filling my house please?

I will report back when I get chance to do the above procedure (being Best Man at a wedding this Saturday), so it probably won't be 'til next week!

Thanks for the advice! ;)
 
The TRV's are supplied with a cap for fitting when Rad is to be removed, e.g. for decorating. If you have a cap, remove head and fit it, this should ensure no leaks! Turning valve off should achieve desired effect though. (Put a bowl under if it drips.) Protect floorcoverings before undoing anything and removing the rad, if there is sludge in there it will stain permanently!

Combi boilers are usually on a sealed system, water has to be 'topped up' manually when required. Worse case scenario, you'll lose whats in the system, it wont keep pouring out!
 
Right 'Team'.

I have removed the double rad that stays cold, drained it and about less than half a pint of black very runny sludge came out. The rest of the water was clear.

I hosed through the rad and reconnected.

It appears to be working but now 2 of the 3 single rads upstairs has decided not to work!!! :evil:

The only one that is working upstairs out of the 3 is what I believe to be the first rad in the flow system. The pressure remains at about 1 bar.

I think I will take each one off and clean them through as well, next week.

But is there any advice to what is happening please?
 
if you turn off all the hot radiators, does the cold one then warm up?

if so, it is most likely because there is an easy passage of flow through the hot one(s).

If there is an easy path, them the hot water will tend all to go through there, especially if it is closest to the pump, it will circulate through the path of least resistance.

To cure this, close the lockshield valves fully, with the heating off, and wait until the rads go cold. Then open the lockshield on one of them by half a turn ONLY and feel if it gets warm when you start the pump. Only adjust it by a quarter turn at a time. You want the Flow pipe to be "too hot to hold" and the return pipe to be "too hot to hold for long" which is about 20C cooler. Adjust all the lockshields like that, then run it for a bit and see if the temperature drop between flow and return on all rads is still about right. Do not adjust any of them more than a quarter turn at a time while you are fine-tuning, and wait at least ten minutes before making another adjustment. You can hire or buy pipe thermometers or an infra-red sensor if you want to be any more accurate.

It is also possible that your system has a bypass pipe fitted to allow circulation even if all the rads are turned off, as might happen if you have TRVs on all rads and no room stat. In this case you will find the flow and return pipes at the boiler are both very hot, and all the rads are cold, so you have to follow the pipes until you find the bypass connecting hot and cold. It may have an adjusting valve on it but should never be fully closed.

After you have finished cleaning out your radiators, add a corrosion-preventing chemical such as Sentinel X100. As you have no tank to pour it in, you will have to add it into a pipe or a rad bleed orifice using a funnel or injecting it under pressure - there are tubes available that will fit on a skeleton gun such as is used for silicone sealant. It will be easier to get the chemical in when the rad is empty and the system is not pressurised.
 

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