RADS NOT GETTING HOT ENOUGH!!

[Wonfor]

Hi all,

Firstly, forgive me for being a muppet if you're a gas fitter but I'm a chippy that doesn't have a great deal of knowledge about pipe work for rads!

I have just built a 6m X 6m extension on the back of my house with a vaulted ceiling and having used an online calculator it seems that I needed to have something like 20,00 BTU in there. I installed 2 X vertical rads (that I could hardly lift and I'm a 17 stone lump!) that were something like 10,000 BTU each. Unfortunately, they're not heating up very well. I have a feeling it's because I've run them in 15mm pipe work. Is this the case and should I now change it to 22mm.

Thanks fellas (and ladies if there are any!)

 

[DaveHerns]

No idea of what's wrong but what kind of system and boiler do you have? What size house and how many existing rads? Have you tried balancing the system?

 

[picasso]

Can you post back with the make and model of your rads and how much 15mm pipe work before you get to 22mm ?

 

[gas112]

 

[muggles]

View attachment 102236

He may have a point here, beyond the madness of having your heating turned on - if you have TRVs fitted the hot weather has probably caused them to close down

 

[Agile]

You need to measure the temperature of each pipe at each radiator.

If the difference is more than 20 C then unscrew the heat of the TRV if you have one as that may be restricting the flow.

Some vertical rads need the flow on a particular side. Do yours?

Tony

 

[Jackrae]

You're lucky the building inspector didn't see how low down that socket was.
How do the existing rads perform when this pair are on line. Do they remain as hot as they did or do they also run cool (suggesting you have overloaded your boiler)
Try turning all the rest of the rads off and see if you get the heat you want into these pair (to prove you haven't got an unintended restriction somewhere), if so then you need to balance the system.

Adding 20,000 BTU load to your boiler might be asking too much of it.

 

[Agile]

Radiators have been rated in kW since 1980.

Never understand why some people still think in BTU.

Tony

 

[gas112]

Patio doors i see ,perhaps the sun is playing on the trvs and cutting heating off early .

 

[Dan Robinson]

You want to have words with the plasterer too. Lazy fecker missed most of it.

 

[45yearsagasman]

Radiators have been rated in kW since 1980.

Never understand why some people still think in BTU.

Tony

Ever considered why rad manufacturers like Stelrad for example, still use both kW and btus?

 

[Wonfor]

Thanks for all your replies (including the funny ones! )

Sorry, I should have said it was installed some months ago and the heating was actually being used at the time. I've been doing it bit by bit during weekends.

I don't want to start installing the oak floor if I have to get the ply up to change pipework to 22mm so I thought I'd ask for some advice.

The boiler is a Worcester 35cdi.
It's a 4 bed (loft converted) house with with 9 original rads.
The other rads were roasting hot when I turned the heating on.
I tried adjusting the new ones bit by bit and they did get marginally hotter but certainly not like the others (I could still hold my hand on them).
I think the original installation was done properly ie 22mm runs and 15 to rads. I just teed off of a couple of 15mm's I found going to and from the kitchen rad.

Will it actually help it if I change it to 22mm?

 

[picasso]

Can you post back with the make and model of your rads and how much 15mm pipe work before you get to 22mm ?

 

[gas112]

Have you tried turning everything else off apart from these two it may just be a simple airlock that needs shifting

 

[petit_pablo]

Thanks for all your replies (including the funny ones! )


I just teed off of a couple of 15mm's I found going to and from the kitchen rad.

That's probably the issue.