Radiators ?

Fidelis

Ok, there are about four radiators in my house that refuse to function properly.
They only heat up a fraction of the other radiators in the house and the center and bottom areas of the radiators are always freezing cold. Three of them leak constanly in drips and drabs and out of three plumbers/scam artisits, nothing was fixed besides a replacement pump

Anybody know how to rectify this situation ?

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Nil Desperandum

Megatron

check for air locks ....
this used to happen in my house as well ..
you will need a proper rad key ...

but trust me this should fix the problem.

P.S. i've a nice long 4 inch scare on my back from a rad !!!

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No !!!!! I will crush you with my Bare hands

darthmise

yep, you need to 'bleed' the air out through the valve at the top.

Cloud

Sounds like airlock, but usually in an airlocked radiator the air rises to the top and thus the top is cold, not the bottom like you were saying (I think).

John.
--

Lenny

also you'll need to turn the heating on and it can be quite tricky
with all the heating fluid spraying out really hot !

Victor

Ok as someone who spent 3 years studying radiatiors in college, can I suggest that you fully describe the type and _age_ of premises, style of radiator (single panel, multiple panel, grid-type, top or bottom fed, etc.), piping - copper (starts off brown but changes to dark brown or bright green) or gun-barrel (black / metallic - rusts), heating system (oil / gas / back burner). How often do you run the sytem.

Given that they are cold at the bottom. Its possible (a) if very old that they are blocked / silted-up or (b) they have insufficient flow through them (the pump should help here).

Is there a (partly) closed valve somewhere?

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[This message has been edited by Victor (edited 16-03-2001).]

Fidelis

The house is about ten or twelve years old, a 6-month old radiator fitted into the kitchen is one of four radiators that doesn't work properly.
All the radiators are single panel I think, the standard 5ft long 2ft high maybe, something like that anyway.
A single pipe runs into the bottom left of a radiator and another runs from the bottom right, I think they may be copper, but to be honest I can't be sure.
It's a gas system, which runs about 5 hours a day recently and more often during the winter months.
A neighbour took a look at the piping in the kitchen, had to drill the concrete up a bit, but he said the pipes were all over the place and a plumber who came by sometime after that said that he wouldn't have done that at all.
A new pump was just fitted about 6 months ago and I don't know what you mean by a partly closed valve.
But yea, the radiators are freezing cold all over except the extreme top and the extreme left and right sides

Any advice would be much appreciated

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Nil Desperandum

Victor

Sorry, bu that sounds fairly messed up.

I *suspect* what is happening is that insufficient water is passing through the radiators. This could be becuase of

(1) a blockage or

(2a) alternatively the pump is feeding some of the rads and not the others.

(2b) one of those red 'wheel-type' valves near the boiler / storage tank is mostly closed.

Question 1 : why was the pump fitted?

Question 2 : just how cold is 'freezing cold '?

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Fidelis

I'm not actually at the house now so I can't check the 'whell-type' valve.

A plumber was called out to see if he could fix the system, get the radiators working again but what he did was tell me that there was not enough hot water reaching the radiators around the house and that a new pump was needed to boost the supply. Bastárd.

Did nothing of course, made £60 for installing a pump that didn't need to be installed and had no positive effect.

The radiators are 'ice-cold' all over except the extreme top and extreme left and right sides, if I feel the warm part of the radiator and then touch the cold part, it's actually a bit painful becaus it's like ice really, there's no other was I can put it, sorry

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Nil Desperandum

adnans

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">it's actually a bit painful becaus it's like ice really, there's no other was I can put it, sorry

[/B]</font>

some1 help him please cause he looks like hes so cold.

adnans

Decay

Bit of a fault finding exercise.

With the boiler on feel the pipes connected. One pipe should be hot. the other (usually the one with the pump) should be cooler but still hot.

If so then feel all the pipes in the hotpress/ airing cupboard/ hot water tank area. One of these pipes should be hot.

Make sure a radiator is on and feel the pipes where they enter the radiator. One should be hotter than the other.

If you have hot pipes near the boiler then the boiler is ok

If you have hot pipes neat the hotwater tank then pump ok. If you have hot water from the hot water tank but cold or luke warm radiators then the by pass valve is fully open.

If this is the case then proceed as follows.

At or near your hot water tank there should be some red water valve wheels. One pipe with a valve should enter the hot water tank and re emerge. This is NOT the pipe that exits from the top centre of the tank. you will know that its the right one as it will be very hot although no hot water is being used. turn this valve clockwise till shut and then turn anti clockwise 1/2 turn. If you leave it clockwise shut then no hot water from hot water taps :-)

If all the above appears OK then bleed a radiator. Buy a radiator key (about a pound) and loosen the nut at the top of the radiator. Do not remove fully. Either air or water will dribble out. If air wait till water.

Check the pump itself. Normally these have a little switch marked 1 to 3 for speed settings. Try three.

Hope this helps

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Chapter Fifteen,Elementary Necromancy', she read out loud. 'Lesson One:
Correct Use of Shovel...'
-- (Terry Pratchett, Jingo)

PostmanPat

Just by a new house godammit, if its given you so much hassel get rids of it !!

#################
PostmanPat

Victor

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Fidelis:
The radiators are 'ice-cold' all over except the extreme top and extreme left and right sides, if I feel the warm part of the radiator and then touch the cold part, it's actually a bit painful becaus it's like ice really, there's no other was I can put it, sorry</font>

Maybe I exaggerate .... are the rads actually frozen over? Nahhhhh....

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Fidelis

Thanks for the help lads, I appreciate it.
About this 'bleeding' lark, where would I buy a key because I don't have one and there aren't any valves or nuts/bolts on the tops of any of the radiators.
And do I need to take the rads outside to bleed them ?
Stuff flew out of a hole at the bottom of a rad the other day, black liquid, seemed to be just black coloured water but it's sealed with some mickey mouse piece of metal I think, it's leaking though on a regualr basis, not much mind you but enough to have to put a small container underneath it, 2 rad are leaking at the moment, only slightly though.

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Nil Desperandum

Kali

there should be a hexagonal bit at the side of the radiator with a little square bolt inside it.
ye get yourself a cloth, twist that with the key, and out comes all the excess air inside the radiator along with a bit of liquid (usually black colored as you said).
any diy shop should have them... if they dont just use a pliers.. but be careful not to loosen it too much.

ButcherOfNog

is there a presure gauge on the boiler? it may be that there isn't enough water in the heating system (esp if its been leaking). i know this happens in my own natural gas heating setup, the presure of water in the boiler drops, and i need to feed some water into the heating system by turning on a small valve for a few seconds ...

Victor

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Fidelis:
where would I buy a key because I don't have one and there aren't any valves or nuts/bolts on the tops of any of the radiators.</font>

You can get a key in any DIY / hardware / plumbing store. The valve will only be about 5mm (quarter inch) across. Possibly brass, often people paint over them. Usually at the ends on the top. Be careful *HOT* spluttering water.

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Fidelis:
And do I need to take the rads outside to bleed them ?</font>

Eh, no, just some old newspaper on the floor will be enough. BTW rads are really heavy (and they leak like mad when you try to move them).

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Fidelis:
Stuff flew out of a hole at the bottom of a rad the other day, black liquid, seemed to be just black coloured water but it's sealed with some mickey mouse piece of metal I think, it's leaking though on a regualr basis, not much mind you but enough to have to put a small container underneath it, 2 rad are leaking at the moment, only slightly though.</font>

This is either an actual leak *or* the valve has been left open and all the water has evaporated / leaked / gone to the expansion tank. Close ('c'lockwise for 'c'losed) all these valves - check at the boiler for (possibly a white) 'tap' - opening this will let more water into the system. Be careful with this, that you don't flood the house. The black is just dirt / rust in the water.

BTW Fid, where is the house?

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Fidelis

OK, I took a look at the boiler and there's two pipes with red valve things at the back of it, there's "Hot" on one and "Cold" on the other in pencil on the wooden boards behind them. I didn't touch the valves, and there's another pipe with no indication of what it is beside them and it's slightly larger in gurth than the other two (this pipe has no visible valve).

Now, to the bottom right of the boiler, connected to it is another two pipes with no indication of it and only one of them has a valve, a red valve.

The boiler has a green sliding button which I'm afraid to press incase it makes me wish I hadn't ...
And another turny switch like a small volume control which I don't know much about.
I'm in Clonskeagh, Dublin.

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Nil Desperandum

vac

Just go to a hardware store and ask for a rad key.. they're only about 50p id say..

Victor

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Fidelis:
OK, I took a look at the boiler and there's two pipes with red valve things at the back of it, there's "Hot" on one and "Cold" on the other in pencil on the wooden boards behind them. I didn't touch the valves, and there's another pipe with no indication of what it is beside them and it's slightly larger in gurth than the other two (this pipe has no visible valve).

Now, to the bottom right of the boiler, connected to it is another two pipes with no indication of it and only one of them has a valve, a red valve.
</font>

OK the big one is probably the expansion pipe. The others will be flow and return pipes for the immersion tank and the radiators.

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Fidelis:
The boiler has a green sliding button which I'm afraid to press incase it makes me wish I hadn't ... </font>

Ignore for the moment.

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Fidelis:
And another turny switch like a small volume control which I don't know much about.
</font>

Ignore for the moment.

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Fidelis:
I'm in Clonskeagh, Dublin.</font>

You mean you live about 500 metres away? I have a radiator key in the apartment. Mail me you phone number: johncleary72@hotmail.com

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