I am a landlord, and my tenant recently reported that the radiator in the kitchen would only run extremely hot, and that the young children in the house had been warned not to go near it. The radiator is part of a sealed system which was fitted by British Gas in 2008, and has had no alterations made to it since, and no previous complaint has been received.
My Agents raised the matter with the plumber who had attended the house recently to deal with leaking taps, and to service and certify the heating system, and they have reported to me as follows......
"When he was asked to check the radiator in the kitchen, the radiator was switched off. When he put it on, he found it had the wrong thermostatic head - if you put a Honeywell valve on the radiator with a Drayton head, it may screw on and move, but it won't control the valve because the two parts do not match. In order to replace the thermostatic head he would need to drain down the whole system, replace, re-fill, and test which would be costly and was not included on his list when he went to the property."
As an elderly non-plumber, I have a few questions regarding the above.........................
1. How did he manage to switch the radiator on and off?
2. Is it not still easily possible to obtain a Honeywell TRV to fit onto the Drayton head (or vice-versa) without needing to drain the system?
3. I am led to believe that it is necessary to have one uncontrolled item in a pumped system fitted with TRV's. As there is no towel-rail on the system. could this have been a mis-match deliberately created by BG to create an uncontrolled item? (Unlikely?!)
Your views and comments would be much appreciated.
My Agents raised the matter with the plumber who had attended the house recently to deal with leaking taps, and to service and certify the heating system, and they have reported to me as follows......
"When he was asked to check the radiator in the kitchen, the radiator was switched off. When he put it on, he found it had the wrong thermostatic head - if you put a Honeywell valve on the radiator with a Drayton head, it may screw on and move, but it won't control the valve because the two parts do not match. In order to replace the thermostatic head he would need to drain down the whole system, replace, re-fill, and test which would be costly and was not included on his list when he went to the property."
As an elderly non-plumber, I have a few questions regarding the above.........................
1. How did he manage to switch the radiator on and off?
2. Is it not still easily possible to obtain a Honeywell TRV to fit onto the Drayton head (or vice-versa) without needing to drain the system?
3. I am led to believe that it is necessary to have one uncontrolled item in a pumped system fitted with TRV's. As there is no towel-rail on the system. could this have been a mis-match deliberately created by BG to create an uncontrolled item? (Unlikely?!)
Your views and comments would be much appreciated.
