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Now is the time of year when we all need to make sure that our radiators are working correctly. There are a few common problems that all home owners can be aware of and in some cases repair themselves if your radiators or central heating system is not performing as it should
Scenario:
Some radiators in the house are not getting hot enough?
• The first thing to check here is that the radiator valve is turned on. It may sound simple but a simple twist of the valve might solve the issue
• Check if the radiators upstairs are colder than the radiators downstairs or if a radiator feels warm at its base but cold at its top. If this is the problem you most likely have air in the system and the radiators will need bleeding. If you have a combi-boiler you may have to top the pressure up after releasing trapped gases.
• If a few radiators are off and others are on you may have zone valves fitted to your system. If one of your zone valves is not changing over this could be the problem. Check the individual zones thermostat to see if this is set correctly.
If you are unsure about any central heating issue you should always consult a Gas Safe Engineer.
As a plumber I always remind my customers to get their radiators checked every year before the winter hits in case of problems. The above information is very helpful to people.
Comment by Derek Boiler Repairs — August 20, 2010 @ 11:48 am
Have just installed a Vasco radiator (order 101785), aprox 6500 btu. It does not seem to be getting hot enough.
The valve is on max.
The room thermostat has been set at 250c for test purposes but after 4 hrs it has reached 22.
The room is well insulated and measures about 24 m2.
All the radiators in the house (7 in all) have been bled.
The boiler is a Vaillant combi. and set on high.
Suggestions?
Peter Eyre
Comment by peter eyre — September 16, 2010 @ 9:08 pm
I have replaced my bathrooms old ( but efficient ) radiator with a new modern tall ladder radiator 2m high. The top of the rad is about the same hight as the adjacent hot water cylinder
This fails to work whereas the old one was fine. The heating system is conventional with cold water expansion tank. The inlet pipe to the rad is hot but the radiator only gets warm at the base ( probably conduction ). The radiator has been bled of air and no more is accumulating. The installer is B&Q and their plumbers are unable to correct or understand the fault. I have said the radiator must be faulty. Any other ideas.
Regards PJD
Comment by Peter Dimery — October 25, 2010 @ 3:00 pm
We need to replace our heated towel rail which is plumbed into the hot water system and not into the central heating system [and is therefore hot all the time]. The nearest like-for-like is your Mercury towel rail code KHP-P1A.2W, the only difference being that our existing rail has a ground-level feed on one side and a top exit on the other, whereas your product is connected both sides at ground level. Our system is gravity fed, so would connecting your towel rail work effectively, or must we have a rail with a top exit for it to work? Please kindly advise asap to our e-mail address given above - many thanks and regards - Charles de Bruxelles ++
Comment by C. de Bruxelles — November 16, 2010 @ 12:36 pm