Home Heating prob - need advice

mwin80 · 08-01-2010 2:51pm #1

Hi All,

i'm hoping somebody can point me int he right direction. We've recently moved into a new house and since we moved in i've suspected that our heating wasn't quite right. The cold snap has now verified this for me as we've been freezing for the last few days. Basically the boiler (gas) comes on fine. It's pressure looks normal, between 1 and 2 bar. However, when you touch the rads they are warm but not quite as warm as they should be. I've taken a rad key to the radiators expecting to release some air but water comes out straight away so i don't think i've got any air locks. As soon as i saw the water i closed the valve again so i didn't fully bleed the rads. Part of the problem seems to be poor insulation as some of our neighbours have already had their houses worked on to improve the insulation and we intend to do the same in the next few weeks however, my gut feeling still is that our heating system is not as good as it should be. Can anybody who's in-the-know offer any advice on this problem? It would be very much appreciated as it's becoming a big problem considering our current weather! many thanks in advance.

star-pants · 08-01-2010 2:53pm

Have you checked the thermostat?

mwin80 · 08-01-2010 2:54pm

hi again, i should also add that i've turned up the gauge on the boiler to almost full. Also, we have a thermostat downstairs and one upstairs. Both are now set to about 26-27 degrees but still no improvement.

star-pants · 08-01-2010 3:36pm

I'm not trying to ask stupid questions btw, but just so that you checked everything before having to call someone in.
The radiators - are any warmer than the others? upstairs vs downstairs
And do the radiators themselves have the temp knobs turned up? (just some don't always have numbers etc, so you might not know if it was fully open or not)

EL_Loco · 08-01-2010 3:40pm

I had to have my radiators "balanced" when I first got my house. Basically the upstairs was ok but no downstairs. The "out" value on the radiators upstairs weren't set right and were keeping the heat upstairs.

maybe bleed them too, could be trapped air. That said it could be alot of things, that's just what happened in my case.

mwin80 · 08-01-2010 6:06pm

was it expensive to have them balanced?

Micky Dolenz · 08-01-2010 7:03pm

Are all the rads luke warm? are some hotter than others?

When the boiler is on, do you get hot water? how hot is it?

EL_Loco · 08-01-2010 8:06pm

mwin80 wrote: »

was it expensive to have them balanced?

30 quid. took 10 minutes. It's literally a case of tightening screws/valves.

RickyRadar · 08-01-2010 8:24pm

You say that its an new house,like only built? Get your builder back and complain. It could be that the installer never commissioned the boiler. They would have to check to gas inlet pressure recommended by the manufacturer and adjust using an U gauge. If the pressure was low, your radiators would not heat to proper temperature, ie not being able to put your hand on for 10secs as the flow rate should be about 80degrees c. due to insuffient firing rate. Place a digital thermometer on the flow and return pipe . There should be only about 11 degrees of difference for standard efficiency or 20 degrees if condensing. Let me know the make and I should be able to identify the type.The boiler temperature setting could be set very low.

mwin80 · 11-01-2010 11:02am

ok here are answers to the questions.

Yes, some rads are hotter than others. For example, it's a three storey house, on the bottom floor, the kitchen is fine but the sitting room is freezing. The rad in teh sittign room would be warm to the touch but you could leave your hand on it and not have to take it away. On the middle floor for example one bedroom is roasting but the main bedroom is cold. The rad in this room would be warmer than the sitting room but still nto as warm as it should be. On the top floor, only one rad is on and its boiling IE: you can't touch it for very long at all.

Yes, all the rads in question are switched on. There are a couple of other rads switched off.

The temp gauge on the boiler is nearly up full

I've called the builder but haven't got a response yet. Thought i'd look for some advice here in case it was something quick i could fix myself.

The Rads are called "stelrad"

The house is kind of new. IE: nobody lived in it before us but that said, the house was standing idle for about 3 years before we bought it. Well almost idle, it was the show house so there would have been people in and out occasionally.

The name on the boiler is "ideal"

Yes, we get hot water when the heating is on and the water does be boiling. You can't put your hand under it for long.

I think that's answered everyone's questions. Let me know what you think..... thanks :-)

mwin80 · 11-01-2010 2:09pm

quick update - the builder got back to me. He's asked me to try turning off all rads except the ones that are not heating up properly. Then turn the heating on. He says this may "push" water into the problem rads. Hopefully it works. I'll give it a go later.

Does anyone think this will work?

RickyRadar · 11-01-2010 7:01pm

Which Ideal boiler is it? Look at the data plate. Is the circulating pump built in to the boiler case or is it separate? If the builders has asked you to turn of rads, it sound like you have a circulating problem, ie, the pump if insuffiently sized to pump the water around, or the system need to be properly balanced. You could turn down the lockshield rad valve almost off. The LS valve will slow the water through the rad thus allowing a better flow through the others. Sounds like the water is just passing through this rad and back to the boiler. Water will find the least resistant route.

mwin80 · 13-01-2010 10:46am

Hi, thanks for your post. The only question i can answer there is that the boiler is an Ideal Mini. What you are saying makes sense but unfortunately i can't answer your other questions because, for example, i don't know what the circulation pump or lockshield valve look like but if you give me a bit more info i can check it out for you.

I tried the test the builder mentioned. I turned off all rads except for the sitting room and bedroom and they heated up a lot better. However, when i turned all the other rads back on the problem returned straight away.

The builder has now given me the number of the plumber. I just have to keep chasing him now. Called him a few times but haven't got an answer yet. Thanks everyone for your suggestions. If you think of anything else let me know.

RickyRadar · 13-01-2010 7:12pm

The Mini is a combination boiler. In other words , you have no storage cylinder in your hot press.It works by heating water on demand. It has its own circulating pump built inside the boiler. The as the rads got hotter when you turned off some of them off. Your problem is clearly down to "system balancing". The water is pissing through the rads , taking the easiest route. This should have been done by the plumber on installation as part of his work. Dont let builder tell you otherwise.This means that some of the rads will not get sufficiently hot is not balanced properly. The circulating pump in the boiler may not be strong enough the cater for the extra height of your house. This can be upgraded if necessary to an 6mtr head pump.Firstly, Google- heating system balancing and you will get loads of info on how to do it and save you money.Look up lockshield valve also. Balancing is easy to do. Do this before you call in plumber as most are rip-off artists. Good Luck

Home Heating prob - need advice

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